MINNEAPOLIS -- When your starting pitcher gives up three home runs, you need to take advantage of every offensive opportunity you create. The Kansas City Royals blew a big chance Saturday night.Brian Dozier hit his 25th home run of the season and the 100th of his career, leading Tyler Duffey and the Minnesota Twins over the Royals 5-3.Tied 1-1 in the fifth inning, the Royals got a leadoff walk to Alex Gordon and a single by Alcides Escobar. But No. 9 hitter Raul Mondesi popped up a sacrifice bunt attempt, and the Twins turned a double play on a hard-hit grounder by Paulo Orlando to get out of the inning.That was a big play because if we get the bunt down, Paulos ball -- probably, if they play the infield in -- goes through for two runs, Royals manager Ned Yost said. Hes an excellent bunter. It just shows you though theres nothing in this game that is a sure thing no matter how good you are at it.For the second time this season, the Twins homered three times off Royals starter Dillon Gee (4-6), who gave up five earned runs on 11 hits and one walk in 5 1/3 innings.The first five innings ... we were battling pretty good and the curveball was good, Gee said. We were able to battle our way through five, and in the sixth it just fell apart.Robbie Grossman homered in the fifth inning to put Minnesota ahead 2-1. In the sixth, Kurt Suzuki hit a one-out single and Eddie Rosario drove a belt-high fastball into the bullpen in left-center for his eighth home run of the season.Dozier then hit the same pitch deep into the second deck in left, ending Gees night.The ball just started elevating and I wasnt commanding it very well, Gee said. They put good swings on mistakes.Duffey (8-8) won for the third time in three starts this month. He allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings, striking out six. His outing was especially timely given the recent troubles of Minnesotas starting staff. In the previous three games, Twins starters lasted a combined 10 innings.The more that the short outings get compounded, the more that it taxes your team collectively, Molitor said. You need a little relief. Long starts are right up there with off days.Ryan Pressly pitched a scoreless eighth and Brandon Kintzler allowed an unearned run in the ninth but held on for his 11th save in 12 chances.Cheslor Cuthbert hit his 10th home run of the season in the third inning to tie the game 1-1. But Grossman hit a leadoff home run in the fifth to put the Twins on top for good.CUTHBERT CRUSHINGCuthbert took over third base for the injured Mike Moustakas in late May, and the rookie has been on a tear since the All-Star break. After going 1-for-4 on Saturday hes hitting .336 since July 15. He also had four straight multi-hit games earlier this week and hasnt gone hitless in consecutive games since June 15-16.UP NEXTLHP Hector Santiago will try to earn his first victory for the Twins on Sunday. Santiago (10-6), acquired from the Angels in a four-player trade on Aug. 1, has allowed eight earned runs in 10 1/3 innings in his first two starts for Minnesota, both losses. Hell face RHP Edinson Volquez (8-10), who is 0-2 with three no-decisions since July 9.Wholesale Vans Shoes Ireland .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. Cheap Shoes Ireland . Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. http://www.clearancevansireland.com/ . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. Clearance Vans Shoes Ireland Free Shipping . - The Washington Redskins have cut defensive lineman Adam Carriker and punter Sav Rocca. Wholesale Vans Shoes Ireland Online . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006.ESPN looks at the potential strategy options for the U.S. Grand PrixLewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Max Verstappen have already played their first strategic move at the U.S. Grand Prix by opting to set their fastest time in Q2 on soft tyres. As a result, they will start the race on the yellow-striped tyre while the rest of the top 10 starts on super-softs.The useful running of the super-softs is limited by degradation, meaning its extra grip over the soft soon disappears after a few laps. As a result, drivers starting on the super-softs are likely to make a pit stop around lap 10 before moving on to the softs or mediums for the rest of the race on either a two-stop or three-stop strategy. However, Hamilton, Rosberg and Verstappen can run much longer into the race before making their stop and comfortably target a two-stop race.Warmer conditions are expected on Sunday, which should play to the strengths of the high-working-range soft compound over the medium, but could see higher degradation levels across all three compounds. The key to a quick race is likely to be maximising time spent on the soft tyres without running into degradation issues.Pirelli recommends no more than 15 laps on the super-softs, 21 laps on the soft and 30 laps on the mediums.On that basis, Pirelli has predicted the following possible pit-stop strategiees:QUICKEST Two-stopper: 1 stint on supersoft (14 laps on new tyres) + 2 stints on soft of 21 laps (new tyres)SECOND-QUICKEST Three-stopper: 1 stint on supersoft (10 laps on used tyres) + 3 stint on soft of 15-16 lapsSLOWEST Two-stopper: 2 stints on soft (16 + 20 laps considering the first set used) + 1 20-lap stint on mediumAlso possible Two-stopper: 1 stint on supersoft (10 laps on used tyres) + 1 stint on soft of 20 laps + 1 stint on medium of 26 lapsThe only difference between Verstappens tyre allocation and that of the Mercedes drivers is an extra set of fresh super-softs whereas Mercedes has two sets of fresh mediums.dddddddddddd It is unlikely any driver will use more than one set of mediums, but Verstappen, Hamilton and Rosberg all have an allocation to allow them to go soft, soft, medium. Daniel Ricciardo, who will start from third on the super-softs, will have to adopt a different strategy and has two sets of new softs and one set of new mediums at his disposal for maximum flexibility. Perhaps the oddest allocation left over is Jenson Buttons. The McLaren driver has three sets of new super-softs and only one set of softs (used) after unexpectedly getting knocked out of qualifying in Q1. ' ' '