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KANSAS CITY, Mo. Kansas City Royals Shirts . -- The Royals were trailing the Twins by a run in the ninth inning Tuesday night, and Kansas City manager Ned Yost was on the top step of the dugout, conferring with catching coach Pedro Grifol about the potential decisions he would have to make. Thats when Yost heard a voice pipe up. "The bat boy who never says anything turns around and says, Esky is going to get a hit and Gordos taking him in the fountain," Yost said. "I said, OK. Sounds like a pretty good plan." One that worked out perfectly, too. Alcides Escobar led off with a blooper to shallow right for a single, and Alex Gordon swatted the second pitch he saw over the right-field wall to give the AL Central-leading Royals a dramatic 2-1 victory over Minnesota -- and help them avoid their first three-game skid since mid-July. "Got a slider over the plate and put a good swing on it," Gordon said. "Really didnt have any offence going all night and was able to muster up something, so that was great." The Royals had been shut down all night by Ricky Nolasco, who scattered three hits over seven innings. But after going quietly in the eighth, they managed to break through against Perkins (3-1), who had converted 18 consecutive saves on the road. "We had a really good game out of Ricky. I feel bad for him because he pitched seven shutout innings and threw the ball well," Perkins said. "He and the team dont have anything to show for it. Its not a fun feeling." Wade Davis (7-2) earned the win with a perfect ninth inning in relief. Danny Duffy was nearly as sharp for the Royals as Nolasco was for Minnesota. The left-hander allowed four hits and a pair of walks over 6 2-3 innings, but was in line for the loss after giving up a double to Brian Dozier and a slicing single to Joe Mauer to start the seventh. The Royals had several chances to push a run across much earlier -- and with much less drama. Billy Butler was hit by pitches from Nolasco on two occasions, and the first time -- in the second inning -- he advanced to third before getting stranded. Christian Colon was left standing on second in the third inning, and Jarrod Dyson was picked off first base in the sixth. Dyson was also picked off first base in Monday nights 1-0 loss to the Yankees. The Twins also had opportunities to push across an early run. Trevor Plouffe grounded into inning-ending double plays in the second and fifth, and Danny Santana was picked off first base in the fourth. Eduardo Escobar was stranded at second base in the sixth. Those missed chances proved to be important when the ninth inning rolled around. "I dont think anybody saw that coming," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, "a bloop and a blast and a big walk-off for them." SPARSE CROWD There were only 13,847 fans in attendance, and the empty seats certainly caught Yosts eye. "Were in a pennant race," he said. "Weve been working hard to try to make our fans happy and make our fans proud of us for a lot of years, and wed like them out here to enjoy a night like this with us, because this was a special night. A fun night. I just wish there could have been more out here to enjoy it with us." NOLASCOS BUG Nolasco may have benefited from a warm, muggy night at Kauffman Stadium, where the temp at first pitch was 91 degrees. Hed been battling a flu bug thats been going through the clubhouse. "The heat may have helped him," Gardenhire said. "He sweat some of that out." TRAINERS ROOM Twins: OF Byron Buxton, one of baseballs top prospects, is headed for the Arizona Fall League. Buxton is still recovering from post-concussion symptoms -- primarily headaches -- that he sustained after an outfield collision at Double-A New Britain on Aug. 13. Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura will miss his start Wednesday night with soreness in his back, and 2B Omar Infante could miss a couple days with shoulder inflammation. "Everybody is dealing with something this time of year," Yost said. "My feet hurt." UP NEXT Twins: RHP Phil Hughes (14-8, 3.65 ERA) tries to win his fifth straight when he faces Kansas City for the fifth time this season. Royals: RHP Liam Hendriks makes his Royals debut after arriving in a trade from Toronto. Hendriks spent his first three seasons with Minnesota. "Itll be interesting," Hendriks said of facing his former team. "It could be really good or really bad." Wholesale Royals Jerseys . -- Omar Infante walked past the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium, where he dressed so many times as a member of the Detroit Tigers, and slipped on a crisp, new Kansas City Royals jersey. Royals Jerseys China . -- Arizona pitcher Bronson Arroyo is expected to miss a week to 10 days because of a back injury. https://www.cheaproyals.com/ .Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seems to be leaning the fiscally responsible way.Let me put it like this: Its going to be a challenge, Jones said of re-signing both of Dallas biggest potential free agents.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Doug Marrone rolls his eyes whenever someone mentions the importance of continuity. Thats a crutch the Buffalo Bills rookie head coach refuses to lean on when it comes to assembling an offensive line or most anything else for that matter. "Im not as sold as much on the continuity factor than what other people may be," said Marrone, a former offensive lineman. "When I hear a coach talk about continuity, the first thing I think of is: Excuse." Hell even use a profanity to get his point across for emphasis. Marrones not big on excuses of any kind in the face of adversity. Thats something that has been evident in the full-speed-ahead demeanour he has projected since being hired in January. In replacing Chan Gailey, Marrone became the latest in a long line of head coaches tasked with the responsibility of turning around a franchise that has spent much of the past 13 years lacking relevance. Adversity, Marrone understands, comes with the territory, and something hes encountered in previous jobs. He was an assistant under Sean Payton in New Orleans, where the Saints went from "Aints" to contenders. Marrone spent the past four seasons at his alma mater in Syracuse, where he went 25-25 in returning pride to a program that had become a perennial loser. "Every place is different. But whats not different is how hard its going to be, and the many challenges youre going to have," Marrone said. "You know theres going to be challenges. And you know theres going to be probably more than you think when you come in." He wasnt kidding. The Bills have already endured their share of setbacks in preparing to open the season against New England on Sunday. Theyve had a revolving door at quarterback because of injuries. Veteran free-agent addition Kevin Kolb is out because of a season-ending concussion. And rookie first-round draft pick EJ Manuel missed two weeks of practice with a left knee injury before being cleared to start this week. The Bills are already missing starting cornerback Stephon Gilmore (broken hand). Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd might not be ready for the season because of a sore foot and the time hes lost due to a contract squabble. If thats not enough, Marrone had to scramble to sign kicker Dan Carpenter after rookie Dustin Hopkins hurt his groin Monday. Marrone has remained unfazed. "Id rather be hit with adversity and find out whos in and whos out," he said. The Bills are a major work in progress after going through a near top-to-bottom off-season transformation. It began on Jan. 1, when Russ Brandon was promoted to team president, gaining authority over the franchises daily operations. Doug Whaley took over as general manager after Buddy Nix stepped down in May. And then theres been host of roster changes, topped by the seelection of Manuel with the 16th pick in the draft to address a position thats been unsettled since Hall of Famer Jim Kelly retired following the 1996 season. Custom Kansas City Royals Jerseys. The changes are part of a concerted effort by Brandon, who opened the year by saying he will leave no stone unturned to repair what he called the Bills "tarnished relevancy." Buffalos 13-season playoff drought is the NFLs longest active streak. And the Bills have gone eight straight years without a winning record. "We cant change the past," Brandon said. "Ive been here, and I share (fans) frustrations. But our focus is on the future, moving forward and getting this right." It wont be easy. "Its not going to come without tough times and adversity," Brandon added. "But I have all the confidence in the world in the group that weve assembled here." Hiring Marrone was the first step, and one the Bills approached carefully. Too often in the past, the Bills have hired a coach and then built the team around that persons philosophy. This time, Brandon helped established a vision of what type of team the Bills should be, and then hired the coach to fit that approach. "I wanted a coach that was in lockstep with our thought process, rather than continually fit round holes into square pegs," Brandon said. "Coach Marrone, when we spoke to him numerous times, everything flowed exactly into what we were attempting to accomplish." Marrone won over the Bills brass in outlining a plan to introduce an aggressive, up-tempo and attacking style on both offence and defence. By starting anew and breaking from the past, Brandon believes the Bills can rebuild by having everyone working toward the same goal. "Were going to build this altogether and stick through it," Brandon said. "When times are tough, well be shoulder to shoulder." Former Bills general manager Bill Polian likes what hes seen. "I think Doug Marrone is a great coach. I think he proved that at Syracuse. I know hes got a plan for how to proceed," said Polian, now a TV analyst. And hes pleased the Bills finally began addressing the quarterback position by drafting Manuel. "Hes got some growing to do, so fans need to be patient with that," Polian said. "But I do think that the futures bright, and some good pieces are in place." Marrone wasnt aware what qualities the Bills were looking for in a coach when he interviewed for the job. He simply stuck to what he knew and who he was. "The worst thing you can do is try to fit what theyre looking for," Marrone said. "Because eventually in this profession with all the adversity and difficult challenges of the job, you cant function. You become dysfunctional." Theres been enough of that in Buffalo. ' ' '