Dobnak escaped the jam when he speared Hunter Dozier’s line drive right back up the middle.

The Royals’ last chance to pull ahead came on a series of miscues in the sixth. Alex Avila was called for interference when his catcher’s mitt was nicked by Jorge Soler’s bat, then Ryan McBroom singled before Gordon was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Tyler Duffy responded by striking out Adalberto Mondesi and pinch hitter Ryan O’Hearn to end the threat.

In a strange coincidence, Avila also was called for catchers’ interference on Soler’s previous at-bat.

The Twins put the game away with three runs off Ian Kennedy in the seventh.

The Twins purchased the contract of left-hander Danny Coulombe and recalled right-hander Sean Poppen before the game. Both relievers had been on the four-man taxi squad that made the trip to Kansas City.

Twins: RHPs Jake Odorizzi (bruised ribs) and Zack Littell (right elbow inflammation) went on the injured list after getting hurt in the series opener. RHP Homer Bailey was moved to the 45-day injury list after a setback in his recovery from right biceps tendinitis. “Most teams are dealing with rosters that don’t necessarily look like they looked on opening day,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Some of these teams — and we want to be in this group — just go out there and play.”