KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Minnesota Twins closer Brandon Kintzler was concentrating on Terrance Gore, the Kansas City Royals pinch-runner, not Paulo Orlando, the hitter.After Salvador Perezs pinch-hit RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning pulled the Royals within a run, Gore ran for him. With Orlando, who had four hits to match his career high, at bat, Kintzler picked Gore off first base to preserve the Twins 7-6 victory Thursday night.Gore was initially called safe, but after a 1 minute, 15 second review, the call was reversed to end the game.Kintzler made two throws to first baseman Kennys Vargas and the second one nabbed Gore.I think the game plan was just forget the hitter and try to pick the guy off, Kintzler said. I knew I had him. But, you just never know what the replay is going to say. Ive never ended the game on a pickoff. Maybe when I was a kid.Gore is used almost strictly as a pinch-runner and has 11 steals in 12 attempts this season.He got caught leaning, Royals manager Ned Yost said.Byron Buxton tripled, doubled, drove in two runs and scored twice in the victory.Buxtons one-out double triggered a three-run ninth off Kelvin Herrera (2-6). Robbie Grossman, Miguel Sano and Max Kepler contributed run-scoring singles in the ninth.The Twins won for the first time in 10 games this season at Kauffman Stadium.Michael Tonkin (3-2) was the winner, while Kintzler logged his 16th save in 19 opportunities despite giving up two runs, three hits and a walk.Royals left-hander Danny Duffy was pulled with one out in the seventh, allowing four runs and eight hits, including a solo homer to Vargas in the sixth.The Twins three-run seventh included a two-run triple by Buxton, who scored on Jorge Polancos single.Twins starter Kyle Gibson failed to hold the two-run lead through the bottom of the inning. Jarrod Dyson tripled home Drew Butera and scored on Whit Merrifields single to tie the score.Orlando had two doubles, while Butera had three hits, equaling his career best, including a single to lead off the ninth.Royals designated hitter Kendrys Morales was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning.He got sick, Yost said. He was running a little bit of a fever and was down in energy.DOZIER SITSTwins 2B Brian Dozier, who is 1 for 30 after hitting his 42nd home run in his first at-bat on Sept. 22, did not start for the first time since May 24. When you get tired you start trying to muscle the ball and hes been a little more impatient the last couple of days, Twins manager Paul Molitor said. Were down to 12 at-bats if he plays the next three games, roughly. Give up three to try to make the last 12 really good. ... Eduardo Escobar made his first start of the season at second base. He started four games there last season.ONE MORE VICTORYThe Royals need one victory in their final three games to have a winning record for the fourth consecutive year. The last time the Royals accomplished that was 1975-1980, six straight winning seasons.TRAINERS ROOMTwins: 1B Joe Mauer, who is hitless in his past 15 at-bats, missed the three games against the Royals with a quad injury.Royals: RHP Kris Medlen, who is on the 60-day DL with rotator cuff inflammation, said he is shut down until November when he will begin a throwing program. Beyond frustrating, Medlen described his season. He was 1/3 with a 7.77 ERA in six starts.UP NEXTTwins: RHP Tyler Duffey has allowed 198 base runners (161 hits), 31 walks and six hit batters in 131 innings. He will make his final start Friday at the White Sox, who will counter with LHP Carlos Rodon.Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura is 0-1 with 5.40 ERA in two starts this season against the Indians. Cleveland LHP Ryan Merritt will make his first big league start. Mike White Jersey . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Dalton Schultz Jersey .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. http://www.authenticcowboysshopnfl.com/ . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Chris Covington Jersey . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. Leighton Vander Esch Jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. RALEIGH, N.C. -- While missing one key player, North Carolina State found another.Ted Kapita scored 17 points in his debut to help the Wolfpack beat St. Francis Brooklyn 86-61 on Sunday.Torin Dorn added 21 points for N.C. State (2-0), which shot 59 percent.Kapita, a freshman from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sat out the Wolfpacks season-opening win over Georgia Southern on Friday because the NCAA was reviewing his eligibility.The 6-foot-8 forward came off the bench to make 7 of 8 shots and grab eight rebounds in 24 minutes.What a great first night for Ted Kapita, N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said. Wow. He comes in there, he plays with great energy, hes got enthusiasm, he gets rebounds, and he also concentrates and puts the ball in the basket.Abdul-Malik Abu and Dennis Smith Jr. had 12 points apiece for N.C. State, and Terry Henderson scored 11.The Wolfpack played without starting swingman Maverick Rowan, who reported feeling concussion-like symptoms after scoring 17 points in Fridays victory over Georgia Southern.Glenn Sanabria scored 14 points to lead St. Francis (0-1), which trailed 42-31 at halftime. Rasheem Dunn added 12 points and Yunus Hopkinson 10.St. Francis led 7-4 early, but N.C. State scored on nine of its next 10 possessions during a 19-4 spurt to seize control.We need to develop some poise on offense, St. Francis coach Glenn Braica said. Theyre playing the like the house is on fire a little bit, but thats OK. Theyve got good energy.BIG PICTURESt. Francis: The Terriers played with plenty of effort, as evidenced by the fact that 10 of their first 13 points came after offensive rebounds. They can take solace in the fact that they wont have many games more difficult than this one on their schedule.N.C. State: The Wolfpack shhowed why they are a popular choice to be a dangerous team by the end of the season.dddddddddddd With the emergence of Kapita, they will have four strong options in the post after Omer Yurtseven becomes eligible next month.FRESHMAN STANDOUTKapita entered the game with 5:23 left in the first half and scored eight points in the final 4:21 before halftime. He played a large role in N.C. States 52-18 advantage on points in the paint, but his intensity was just as noticeable as his production.Nobody can teach in basketball how you control yourself, how you play, your energy level, Kapita said. I think thats something none of the coaches can coach me there. Its something I have inside of me. I play with my heart.INJURY UPDATERowan, who was replaced in the starting lineup by senior BeeJay Anya, is in the Wolfpacks NCAA-approved concussion protocol. N.C. State said Rowans CT scan was negative. Holding him out obviously is the right thing to do, Gottfried said. Hopefully hell be back for us in the next couple of days.TIP-INSAfter missing its final 16 3-point attempts in its opener, N.C. State made only 1 of 7 3-point tries against St. Francis. . Smith picked up his fourth foul with 15:04 remaining in the game and sat out for the next 7 1/2 minutes. . The Terriers hustled their way to 16 offensive rebounds and outscored the Wolfpack 19-14 on second-chance points.UP NEXTSt. Francis: Plays at No. 8 Virginia on Tuesday in a tough game against another Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.N.C. State: Plays Montana in the Virgin Islands on Friday. Its the first of three games in a four-day stretch for the Wolfpack at the Paradise Jam. 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