Red Wings to snap their longest losing streak of the season

MINNEAPOLIS -- Samuel Deduno had that ever-important command, of his fastball and his emotions. The key to keeping calm? "Oh, just breathe," Deduno said with a smile after he pitched seven sharp innings to send the Minnesota Twins to a 3-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday. One of Justin Morneaus two doubles drove in Minnesotas first run in the fourth, and Deduno took over from there. "Some guys really look like they think theyre going to hit it, and then all of a sudden it just kind of moves late on them," said Morneau, who handled more than his share of groundouts at first base during Dedunos outing. "He did a really nice job tonight. That was what we needed." Deduno (4-2) gave up only five hits and, more importantly, one walk. He struck out three and let only eight fair balls leave the infield. Jared Burton pitched a scoreless eighth and Glen Perkins notched his 20th save in 22 tries with a scoreless ninth inning despite allowing a walk and a double. The Twins even managed to beat Jeremy Guthrie (7-6). The right-hander topped them twice earlier this season and brought a 6-2 record over nine previous career matchups into the game. Guthrie gave up an RBI single to Oswaldo Arcia right after Morneaus big hit, but the other run he allowed was unearned. Salvador Perezs soaring home run, to the second deck in left field, was the only evidence of success by the Royals against the improving Deduno, who last year couldnt find the plate despite showing some potential with his lively right arm. "Everything moves. Just tough," Royals designated hitter Billy Butler said. "Hes got a good slider. Hard curve. Hes just real efficient." After shining for the Dominican Republic during the World Baseball Classic in March, Deduno has finally found the control of his fastball that escaped him before. His career walks-per-nine-innings ratio was 5.2 entering this game, buoyed by the 53 he issued last season in 79 innings. In seven starts this year since being called up from Triple-A Rochester, Deduno has completed six innings with three runs or fewer allowed four times. "Hes got a really nice natural cutter that just bores in on our lefties," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "We just havent done anything against him." Following consecutive singles to start the seventh, Deduno had runners at the corners with one out. But he struck out David Lough, celebrating the whiff with a slight hop off the mound at the end of his follow through. Then he got Elliot Johnson to ground out. "That was a huge sequence of pitches," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, adding: "Hes more in control on the mound. His windup, hes not falling all over the place." Said Deduno: "Tonight, everything was working." For a couple of below-average teams, this was a crisply played game befitting of the clear-and-dry picturesque summer evening. The fielding error by Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas in the seventh that loaded the bags prior to Pedro Florimons sacrifice fly, which came against reliever Will Smith, was about the only blemish. Lough, the right fielder, did his best to keep Guthrie in it by tracking down Morneaus two-out double in the corner and start a textbook 9-4-2 relay to keep Josh Willingham from scoring in the sixth. Guthrie lost his third straight start, but he could hardly be faulted for this one. He retired the first nine batters he faced and allowed six hits over 6 2-3 innings while striking out four and walking two. The Royals, who have won five of six against the Twins in Kansas City this season, fell to 14-10 in June. That was their April record, too, but that ugly 8-20 mark in May is what has kept them from seriously challenging first-place Detroit in the AL Central. The Twins improved to 11-4 in their last 15 home games. NOTES: The Royals will send RHP James Shields (2-6, 2.92 ERA) to the mound Friday to face Twins RHP P.J. Walters (2-3, 4.88), who didnt finish the first inning in his last start, a loss at Cleveland. Shields has taken 10 straight turns without a win, despite a 2.87 ERA during that span. The Royals have won the last five of his starts, though. ... Twins DH-RF Ryan Doumit, whos also the backup catcher, handled rookie Kyle Gibsons pregame bullpen session and reported no problems with his sore right ankle. This was his third straight game on the bench. ... Twins CF Aaron Hicks, who began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester this week for his strained left hamstring, was scheduled to increase his playing time to nine innings by Friday. GM Terry Ryan declined to put a timetable on Hicks return to Minnesota. ... The Twins signed second-rounder Ryan Eades, a RHP from Louisiana State, giving them 23 of their first 25 draft picks under contract. ... Perez is 6 for 10 over his last three games. ... This was Guthries first loss in four starts at Minnesota. ... Lorenzo Cain hit the double against Perkins to snap an 0-for-18 skid. ... This was the shortest game of the season for the Twins at 2:29. Dale Murphy Jersey . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. Getting Creative The Pittsburgh Penguins will try their best to acquire Ryan Kesler from the Vancouver Canucks before the Trade Deadline. Bobby Cox Jersey .com) - It may just be the right place and the right opponent for the Detroit Red Wings to snap their longest losing streak of the season. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/dansby-swanson-braves-jersey/ . Week 2s biggest games include Florida facing Miami and Notre Dame travelling to the Big House to conclude their rivalry against Michigan in primetime on TSN2 and TSN 1050. Custom Atlanta Braves Jerseys .Y. - OK, it is done. David Justice Jersey . There is no argument that the line of Pacioretty, David Desharnais and Thomas Vanek was one of the hottest in the NHL leading into the post-season, and they did combine for three goals and seven points, but it was the depth of all four lines that helped propel Montreal.The Oklahoma City Thunder will try to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference quarterfinal series on Monday night when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Thunder earned the Game 1 win with a 100-86 victory Saturday night. Oklahoma City dominated the first half and led by 22 at the break, but saw its lead shrink to just two points in the fourth quarter. The Thunder pulled away late once the defensive intensity picked up on the OKC end. "In the third quarter, our defense wasnt as aggressive, but give them credit. They came out when they were down a big number, they came out better," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. "We didnt get the stops in the third that allowed us to play at our pace, but we responded and had a very good fourth quarter." Kevin Durant finished with 33 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead the Thunder. Durant scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting over the final 12 minutes. Russell Westbrook added 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists and Serge Ibaka had 17 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in the win. Zach Randolph paced the Grizzlies with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Mike Conley and Marc Gasol finished with 16 points apiece. Conley added 11 assists in the setback. "It was an interesting game. They came out with a lot of force like we anticipated. They played with a lot of force, went to the rim and got out in transition," said Grizzlies coach David Joerger. "We did a good job managing our turnovers, but to allow them to get 21 points on fastbreak points is just way too many for us.dddddddddddd" Memphis scored the first six points of the third and had the lead to single digits, 60-51, following Tony Allens three-point play with 7:17 remaining in the third. A pair of Ibaka free throws just over a minute later pushed the Thunders spread back to 11, but the Grizzlies scored six straight to make it 64-59 with 3:49 to go. The teams traded baskets and OKC took an eight-point edge, but Randolphs layup in the closing seconds of the third made it 69-65 entering the final frame. Mike Millers first points of the game came with 8:46 when he nailed the 3- pointer that made it a two-point game. Durant then drew in a trio of defenders as he slashed to the hoop and dropped the ball off to Ibaka, who slammed it home as he was fouled. Ibaka sank the free throw and OKC went 3-for-4 from the free throw line to make it 80-72. Durant nailed a cold-blooded trey with 7:16 left to open a 10-point lead and the Grizzlies never got within single digits the rest of the way. "We never broke, we did a great job staying together," Westbrook said. The Thunder outscored the Grizzlies 32-13 in transition, despite forcing just six turnovers. OKC was 28-for-32 from the free throw line while Memphis finished a hideous 18-for-31 from the charity stripe. Memphis won the battle of the paint, 50-34, but was outrebounded 51-41. Grizzlies starting forward Tayshaun Prince played just under five minutes on Saturday due to illness. He is expected to be back in the starting lineup on Monday. Game 3 is scheduled for Thursday night in Memphis. 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