A couple of notes from the Twins' second straight shutout:

-- The Twins have rebounded nicely from the 10-game losing streak that threatened to derail their season. Since breaking the skid, Minnesota has now won eight of 10 games, moved into third place, and closed in on .500 once more at 25-29. The Royals, meanwhile, have now lost 11 straight home games, a Kauffman Stadium record.

-- Samuel Deduno showed exactly why the Twins are so hopeful he can finally harness his electric stuff. He allowed only four hits and was in complete command all night. He struck out five, a season-high for him, but what struck me was this: It's only the eighth time this year that a Twins pitcher has recorded five strikeouts. Yeah, that's not many.

-- Josh Willingham was hit by a Luis Mendoza pitch in the third inning, the eighth time he's been hit this season. That leads the American League, and contributes to an on-base percentage that, despite his .218 batting average, stands at .360, second highest on the team.

-- Interesting that the Twins were in Kansas City, just a couple of hours from Mike Pelfrey's hometown and alma mater, when Wichita State athletic director Eric Sexton decided to fire baseball coach Gene Stephenson, who built the Shockers program into an NCAA champion over his 36 years in charge. With Pelfrey so close, there were Wichita media in the clubhouse to get the former Shocker's opinion.

And he didn't hold back.

"Shameful," Pelfrey said. "To force out a guy who's a legend, it's not right."

Pelfrey said he talked to his former coach Monday night, and was appalled to learn that Sexton had delivered a quit-or-be-fired ultimatum to a man who won more games in his career -- 1,837, including the 1989 College World Series championship -- than any other program.

"He deserves to go out on his own terms. Forcing him out if not right at all," Pelfrey said. "I don't like the way they handled it."

Pelfrey said he had imagined returning to Wichita once his career is done and perhaps offering his services as pitching coach. But "now I don't know if I want to be part of that program anymore," he said. He works out at the Shockers' facility in the offseason, but isn't sure that will continue either, with a new coaching staff that doesn't know him.