conds on the clock. James proceeded to drive the lane with Bryant defending, slice through a couple of Lakers and convert a layup that

MINNEAPOLIS -- For almost three seasons, Josh Willinghams family was there to greet him outside the Twins clubhouse at Target Field. Willinghams family was waiting for him again on Friday, only this time the slugger came out of a different door. Willingham returned to Target Field and hit a bases-clearing double in Kansas Citys five-run fourth inning, and the surging Royals hung on to beat the Minnesota Twins 6-5. When Willingham popped his head out of the visitors clubhouse after the game, his three young sons ran excitedly to be with their dad in his new surroundings. "I knew it was going to be a little strange playing against your former team," said Willingham, who was traded from the Twins to the Royals four days ago. "Im just happy we won the game tonight." Danny Dufy (8-10) allowed three runs in 5 1-3 innings to win his third straight start. Kansas City has won 11 of 12 and sits atop the AL Central. This one didnt come easy, though. Oswaldo Arcia hit an RBI double in the ninth and pinch-hitter Chris Parmelee drove him in with a groundout to cut the Royals lead to 6-5. But Greg Holland struck out Danny Santana for his 37th save in 39 chances. After Minnesota took a 2-0 lead in the third, the first six Royals hitters reached base to start the fourth off Ricky Nolasco (5-8). Willingham drilled a bases-loaded double down the left-field line to make it 3-2. Two batters later, Alcides Escobar tripled to score Willingham and Mike Moustakas. Escobar also blooped an RBI single in the eighth to make it 6-3. Nolasco made his first start since going on the disabled list July 8 with an elbow strain. He struck out three and looked sharp in every inning besides the fourth. The right-hander signed a four-year, $49 million free agent contract in the off-season, the richest free agent deal in Twins history, and now has a 5.99 ERA. "I dont think its about building confidence up with a guy like him, its about results and we need to get results out of him," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We need to see him get going stronger and more consistent, and giving us a chance." After Duffy was removed, Aaron Crow and Francisley Bueno finished the sixth inning before Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Holland preserved the victory. That trio has allowed only four runs over the last 44 1-3 innings, including two by Holland on Friday. The Royals are 19-4 over that span. Kurt Suzuki had three hits for Minnesota. BACK-T0-BACK REVIEWS.ALMOST Third-base umpire Chris Segal called Trevor Plouffe safe after Royals C Salvador Perez tried to pick him off in the fourth. The call stood after a 3-minute, 23-second replay review. Two pitches later, Plouffe scored when Arcia grounded into a double play. Gardenhire wandered out of the dugout to consider challenging the Arcia call, but returned without challenging. HOLLAND TIRED "Im wearing Greg out. I cant find any way to get him a break," Royals manager Ned Yost said about his closer. "Its more my fault than it is his, but hes so good, you just have to do it." THE BODY GETS BOOED Former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura was booed loudly when he and his wife were shown on the Target Field big screen for "kiss cam." Ventura has been in the news recently after winning a $1.8 million defamation lawsuit against the estate of "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle. Its probably the loudest Ventura has been booed since he wore a feather boa and wrestled as a bad guy at the old St. Paul Civic Center in the glory days of the AWA. TRAINERS ROOM: Twins: Top prospect Byron Buxton will head to the Twins facility in Fort Myers to rehab from a concussion suffered during an outfield collision while playing for Double-A New Britain on Wednesday night. Royals: After a Thursday X-ray showed hes not ready to return, 1B Eric Hosmer wont have his fractured right hand examined again until after the Royals current 10-game road trip ends. Once cleared, Hosmer likely would need a week or two of work before rejoining the team. UP NEXT: Yordano Ventura (9-8, 3.45 ERA) pitches for the Royals against Minnesotas Phil Hughes (12-8, 3.88) in the second game of this four-game series. . The Royals play 32 of their final 42 games against teams currently at or below .500. . After doubling in the eighth on Friday, Twins 1B Joe Mauer will try to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 17 games. Wholesale Jerseys Shop . The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal. NFL Jerseys Cheap . Inter moved five points behind fourth-place Fiorentina and eight points behind third-place Napoli, which visits relegation-threatened Sassuolo on Sunday. http://www.authenticcheapjerseyswholesale.com/. Pinch-hitter Tommy Medica singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 in their first home game since Gwynn died of cancer Monday. Cheap Jerseys Store .com) - The San Francisco Giants delivered plenty of big hits to tie the World Series. China NFL Store . Like a magic trick, the puck popped out behind Stalock in the San Jose net. While Sharks coach Todd McLellan decried the legality of the tiebreaking goal, the Los Angeles Kings celebrated their latest, greatest escape yet.Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - In a battle of future Hall of Famers, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant did not disappoint on Thursday at Staples Center. It was James and company, however, who got the best of the seasoned veteran Bryant. James totaled 36 points with five rebounds and five assists in the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-102 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron is an amazing basketball player, Lakers coach Byron Scott said. Kyrie Irving supplied 22 points and Kevin Love added 17 points despite dealing with back spasms as the Cavs snapped their season-high six-game losing streak. Coming off one of the worst shooting performances of his career, Bryant had a phenomenal game getting his teammates involved. He scored 19 points and deposited a career-high 17 assists, but his efforts could not keep the Lakers from dropping their third straight game. Cleveland coach David Blatt was under fire recently and criticized of his control of the team, prompting the notion that his job may not be too secure. He rallied his troops for at least one game, though, with help from his star. We locked in defensively in the second half, Blatt said. We got stops and we took care of the basketball. Were not out of the mud yet, but were going to be. James buried 3-pointers around a pair of Jeremy Lin free throws to push the Cavs in front, 79-75, entering the fourth. James continued to assert himself in the fourth, following a Love 3 with a basket and a pair of free throws before assisting on Matthew Dellavedovas trey that made it an 89-78 game with 9:11 left. I feel good. I was able to attack the paint, James said. We have to scratch right from the beginning. We picked up our intensity in the third quarter.dddddddddddd Any win is huge. Los Angeles couldnt seem to make much headway until Wesley Johnson canned a corner triple to cut the deficit to six, but Tristan Thompson cleaned up a James miss at the other end to keep Cleveland in front, 102-94, with 2:48 remaining. Bryant kept Los Angeles close with a 3-pointer to make it a six-point spread, then made two at the line after Shawn Marion fouled him from beyond the arc with 43.5 seconds on the clock. James proceeded to drive the lane with Bryant defending, slice through a couple of Lakers and convert a layup that essentially sealed it. They made it less comfortable for us in the third quarter. They countered with good defense, Lin said. Earlier, J.R. Smith knocked down successive 3-pointers as the Cavs jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the early going. Los Angeles used a 10-0 run later in the quarter to take its first lead at 23-21. Both teams entered the second quarter tied at 30-30. Lin and Nick Young hit back-to-back 3s during a 10-2 run to open the second, but Cleveland responded with a 14-2 burst as Loves dunk at the midway point gave the Cavs a 46-42 lead. Bryant, who dished out 10 assists in the first half, capped the second quarter with a 3-pointer in front of Love to give the Lakers a 61-57 lead at the break. Game Notes Bryant had 15 assists in a 103-94 win over the Washington Wizards on Feb. 12, 2002 ... James has won 13 of the last 16 matchups against Bryant dating back to 2006 ... Jordan Hill had a team-high 20 points for LA ... Cleveland scored 12 points off 12 turnovers ... Smith scored 14 points in the win ... There were 16 lead changes and 11 ties. ' ' '