KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Alex Gordon connected on the high fastball and knew he'd gotten enough. He immediately opened his right palm, letting his bat fall to the turf while starting a slow walk to first, making sure to watch his home run sail into the night.
The defining moment of the Royals' 8-1 victory over the Twins on Thursday night was a homegrown outfielder showing off his signature swing. The fourth-inning grand slam that bounced its way into the right-field fountains helped the Royals to a fifth straight victory and also highlighted the most encouraging part of the team's recent surge.
That would be Gordon, who hadn't looked like himself most of the season after signing a four-year, $72 million contract in January.
It's all changed recently. Gordon had been KC's hottest hitter heading into Thursday's game, batting .429 with a .520 on-base percentage over his past seven games.
"He's getting pitches to hit now," Royals manager Ned Yost said before the game, "and he's not missing them."
That continued as KC started a brief homestand, the team improving to 61-60 and moving above .500 for the first time since July 22.
Gordon's earlier struggles could have been partly attributed to injury. The outfielder missed a month with a broken bone in his wrist following a May 22 collision with teammate Mike Moustakas.
Whether that was part of it or not, his offensive profile had changed dramatically in 2016. His strikeout rate soared to a career high, while his inability to make contact with pitches out of the strike zone contributed to an average that hovered most of the year in the low .200s.
"You go in a slump, it's because you're not really seeing the ball well and you're swinging at balls out of the zone," Yost said. "You're having a hard time recognizing off-speed stuff, and you're swinging at it down in the zone. But he's seeing the ball better now."
The fourth-inning at-bat was another example, as he worked his way to a favorable 3-1 count before uncoiling on Tyler Duffey's high fastball.
On the day the Royals brought Rally Mantis Jr. _ the team's second insect good-luck charm _ home from Detroit, they watched as a few breaks went their way in the critical fourth inning.
With two on and one out, Eric Hosmer hit a weak dribbler to Duffey but was able to avoid a double play by just beating the throw to first.
After a Kendrys Morales walk loaded the bases, Salvador Perez lofted a high, harmless flyball down the left-field line that threatened to end the rally. Instead, it landed in the first row of seats, and Perez was hit by the next pitch, tying the game and moving the line forward for Gordon.
Moments before the 3-1 pitch, the Royals showed a "Rally Mantis" pump-up video on the videoboard. Gordon hammered the next pitch to right.
And at this point _ the Royals are now 4-0 with Rally Mantis Jr. on the bench _ it's hard to say if that was coincidence or not.
The Royals also received a rare standout effort from a fifth starter. Dillon Gee delivered with his longest outing of the year, going seven innings while surrendering one run with seven strikeouts. His only blemish came on the game's fourth pitch, as Brian Dozier sent a leadoff home run to left center.
With the victory, KC won for the 10th time in 12 games.
