AP: Pena’s RBI single in 12th lifts Royals past Twins

After getting his first hit since July 3rd, Tony Pena, Jr knocked in a runner other than himself for the first time since June 24th, raising his batting average to a commanding .158 in the process, and making Trey Hillman look slightly less dumb for batting Tony Pena Jr in such a critical situation:

Tony Pena Jr. broke out of a slump at just the right time, driving in Mark Teahen with the winning run in the 12th inning to give the Kansas City Royals a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

Pena didn’t play the first eight games of the homestand and didn’t enter the game until the eighth inning as a pinch runner. He snapped an 0-for-17 drought with a one-out single in the 11th, then followed Teahen’s double with another base hit in the 12th.

Robinson Tejeda (1-2) pitched a perfect inning to pick up the victory, while left-hander Craig Breslow (0-1) took the loss for the Twins.