KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jason Vargas pitched seven shutdown innings, Mike Moustakas cracked a two-run homer and the Kansas City Royals romped to a 5-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night. Alcides Escobar had three hits and Omar Infante also drove in two runs for the Royals, who followed up a sweep at the hands of Minnesota last weekend by sweeping Houston and then taking the first of their three-game set against the Twins this weekend. Ricky Nolasco (1-2) gave up five runs on 11 hits in 5 2-3 innings for the Twins. He was coming off a 7-1 win over Kansas City in which he allowed one run on four hits in eight innings. Vargas (2-0), who signed a $32 million, four-year deal in the off-season, allowed seven hits while striking out four in another dazzling start. The crafty left-hander lowered his ERA to 1.24 while going at least seven innings in each of his four outings this season. Vargas put runners on base each of the first five innings, though he was never in serious trouble. Only twice did a runner reach second base and each time a lazy fly ball ended the inning. Even when the Twins hit a ball hard, Alex Gordon was there to make a play. The Royals Gold Glove left-fielder threw a strike from the warning track to second base in the fourth inning, cutting down Josmil Pinto as he tried to stretch a single. Two innings later, Gordon made a running catch into the padding in foul territory on Joe Mauers fly ball. Escobar sent a charge through the Royals anemic offence with a double in the third inning, and consecutive singles by Nori Aoki, Infante and Eric Hosmer staked them to a 2-0 lead. Infantes single drove in Escobar to make it 3-0 in the fifth. Billy Butler, in the throes of a massive slump, singled in the sixth before Moustakas, also off to a slow start, sent a pitch sizzling into the seats in right. His second homer of the season made it 5-0 and chased Nolasco from the game. Neither team threatened to score again, the Royals wrapping up their first shutout win and the Twins getting blanked for the first time this season. NOTES: The Royals placed OF Jarrod Dyson on the bereavement list and recalled INF/OF Jimmy Paredes was recalled from Triple-A Omaha before the game. ... An MRI exam on Royals OF Lorenzo Cain (strained groin) came back negative. Manager Ned Yost hopes to have him back after a 15-day DL stint. ... Twins OF Jason Kubel got the night off from the starting lineup. He flied out as a pinch hitter in the seventh. ... LHP Bruce Chen (sore back) will start for KC on Saturday. He was initially scheduled to pitch Thursday. RHP Kevin Correia will start for the Twins. ... There was a moment of silence before the game for the victims of the shootings Sunday at a Jewish community centre and nearby senior living centre in suburban Kansas City. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Online . The 26-year-old Sobotka injured his left leg playing for the St. Louis Blues in a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. The Blues said he would not recover from the injury in time for the Olympic tournament. Wholesale Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . Langer appeared to be in trouble when his second shot on the par-5 18th ended up in the rough short of the green. He hit a brilliant pitch to 5 feet and made the putt after Slumans birdie attempt rolled just wide. https://www.customnikebaseballjerseys.com/ . The Twins announced Thursday the 28-year-old Albers cleared waivers. He will join the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization. Custom Nike Washington Nationals Jerseys .Derrick Rose scored 23 points, and the Bulls pulled away from the Nets for a 105-80 victory on Wednesday night. Chicago held Brooklyn to 29 points on 26. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Outlet . -- EJ Manuel followed the worst game of his career with the best.DENVER -- Denvers deep roster just keeps the Nuggets rolling. Kenneth Faried had 17 points and nine rebounds, Randy Foye and Evan Fournier scored 18 points apiece, and Denver had seven players score at least 13 points in a 120-94 victory over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night. Quincy Miller had 16 points and 11 rebounds -- both career highs -- and J.J. Hickson had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who have won five straight after losing eight in a row. "I think theyre handling it well right now," coach Brian Shaw said of the winning streak. "Theyre staying hungry and staying active. Our defence is off the charts. We dont seem to be getting too full of ourselves. " The Nuggets have scored at least 120 points three times in the five-game winning streak, and theyve done it despite attrition to their deep roster. First, Andre Miller was excused from the team after yelling at Shaw during a loss to Philadelphia on Jan. 1. Since then, forward Wilson Chandler (left groin strain) and Anthony Randolph (sprained left ankle) have gone down. The Nuggets have answered the adversity with a renewed focus. "What happened with Andre, everybody realized we have to get together to win games," Fournier said. Other players have stepped up, and Saturday it was Quincy Millers turn. The second-year pro looked comfortable in his second start, two nights after checking NBA leading scorer Kevin Durant. "That helped me a lot," Miller said. "KD is one of the best scorers ever and I held him to 30 after he scored 48." Miller has impressed Shaw with his defence more than his offence, and with his ability to respond to playing time. "Hes getting opportunities and hes making the most of it," Shaw said. "He is getting more and more confident the more time that he gets out there on the floor. This is great for him." Tobias Harris had 22 points and nine rebounds and Glen Davis scored 20 points for the Magic, who have dropped seven straiight.dddddddddddd. The Magic have lost the first four games on their five-game Western Conference road trip. They havent scored 100 points in the last seven games, and things got tougher with the absence of leading scorer Arron Afflalo. Afflalo, who played four seasons in Denver before being dealt to Orlando in the summer of 2012, strained his right foot in Fridays loss to Sacramento. He entered Pepsi Center wearing a walking boot, depriving Orlando of much-needed offence. "Its real frustrating just because weve been losing," Harris said. "A lot of our guys are hurt right now. We have to stay together as a team. Stay positive." Without Afflalo, the Magic didnt have enough firepower to match the suddenly rolling Nuggets. It was apparent from the start. Denver jumped out to a 34-19 lead in the first quarter with a 14-2 run. Ty Lawson and Fournier hit consecutive 3-pointers to push the advantage to double digits. The Nuggets used a 10-2 run in the second quarter to go up 56-33. Orlando got within 15 twice, but Foye made it 69-47 at halftime. Davis hit two early buckets in the third quarter to get the Magic within 16, but Foyes 3-pointer made it 81-60 and Hicksons hook shot gave the Nuggets an 86-60 lead with 4:20 to go in the period. "It was a challenge the entire night," Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn said. "Their ability to get downhill and get in transition provided problems for us." Bad went to worse when guard Jameer Nelson left the game in the second half with a hand injury and didnt return. "Well mend our bodies tomorrow and be ready for Dallas," Vaughn said. Denver led 92-66 heading into the fourth. With most of the starters on the bench for fourth, Denver led by as many as 36 points in the quarter. NOTES: Chandler missed his second straight game. ... Vaughn said there is no timetable for Afflalos return. ... Nuggets F Darrell Arthur left the game in the third quarter with a left groin strain and didnt return. ' ' '