MINNEAPOLIS -- First the Minnesota Twins lost the game. Then they lost their cool.

The Kansas City Royals scored on a big blast early then added on to their lead in a 7-2 win over the Twins at Target Field on Wednesday.

The win secured a three-game sweep for the Royals, who never trailed during the series here that began on Monday. Kansas City, which started the week one game back of the Twins in the A.L. Central standings, is now two clear of Minnesota.

The Twins finished their six-game homestand against Milwaukee and Kansas City 1-5 and are now 3-7 in the month of June after winning 20 games in May.

"It's nice to come in here and have them in first and us in second (and get a sweep)," Royals left fielder Alex Gordon said. "No one expected it to be like that. But they have a great team and we know it's going to be a fight throughout the year."

After being pummeled for 7 1/2 innings and watching a golden opportunity to take control of the division race slip through their fingers, the Twins unraveled in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Right fielder Torii Hunter was called out for strike three on a pitch that looked low and outside. He immediately took exception with home plate umpire Mark Ripperger, who ejected him from the game. Twins manager Paul Molitor approached to hold Hunter back and was also tossed, his first career ejection as a manager.

But Hunter didn't go quietly.

On his way back to the dugout, Hunter continued his tirade, removing his elbow and shin pads, each of his batting gloves and finally his jersey, throwing them all onto the field before finally heading back to the clubhouse.

"Just a lot of emotions," Hunter said. "I thought it was a ball. The pitch before that, I thought it was a little up. He called it a strike and that's fine, but I thought the last pitch he called a strike was revenge because I said something the pitch before that. It was definitely a ball.

"We have bad days, all of us. As hitters, pitchers, even umpires have bad days. And he had one. What can you do? You can't do nothing about them, can't talk about them, we get in trouble for it."

The outburst overshadowed a dominating performance by the Royals in nearly every facet.

Kansas City right-hander Edinson Volquez pitched seven innings of one-run ball, throwing a season-high 115 pitches -- the most by any Royals pitcher in a game this season. Volquez (5-4) allowed six hits, walked three and struck out six, lowering his ERA this season to 3.07.

"He got through seven innings, that was big," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "We didn't have (closer Greg Holland), we didn't have Wade (Davis). He took us deep in the game. He started to labor there in the sixth, but found a way to get us through seven, which was huge."

Volquez was given all the run support he needed in the early going, as the Royals posted a four-spot in the first inning, nearly matching their run total from the first two games of the series (five).

After an RBI single by first baseman Eric Hosmer, Gordon followed with a three-run homer to make it 4-0 quickly against Twins righty Kyle Gibson.

"That was a big blow to give (Volquez) some cushion," Yost said. "It's always nice to get runs early, always. It gives your starting pitcher some wiggle room in case he makes a mistake. It relaxes him, frees him up a little bit and allows him to attack the zone more aggressively."

Gibson (4-4) settled down after that, allowing one more unearned run, taking a loss for the first time since May 17. His final line: Five runs, four of them earned, on five hits and two walks in six innings of work. Gibson struck out six and has now fanned 15 batters over his last two starts; he struck a total of 30 over his first 10 starts this season.

Minnesota committed three errors, allowing the Royals to tack on three more ru