(Sports Network) - The Kansas City Royals return home after a calamitous road trip this evening to take on the Minnesota Twins in the opener of a three-game series between American League Central foes.

Kansas City lost all eight games of its just-completed trek and were swept in back-to-back four-game series for the first time in franchise history. After failing to post a victory against the defending world champion Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, the Royals were outscored by a whopping 23-4 margin in four straight setbacks to Toronto.

The slide is Kansas City's longest since an eight-game drought from September 17-26, 2006. The club also endured a 13-game losing streak from May 12-25 of that season.

The Blue Jays extended the Royals' woes with a 7-2 triumph on Monday. Shaun Marcum limited Kansas Citys punchless offense to two runs -- one earned -- and five hits through the first 7 1/3 innings, with Gregg Zaun and Marco Scutaro each socking home runs to give the right-hander all the support he would need.

Zaun belted a two-run homer in the second inning and Scutaro delivered a solo shot in the fourth. Both blasts came off Kansas City starter Brett Tomko (2-6), who surrendered all seven Toronto runs (6 earned) on eight hits in six innings of work.

The Royals' prospects don't appear to be real promising tonight either, considering the season-long struggles scheduled starting pitcher Brian Bannister has endured in night games.

Bannister has lost all five of his starts at night this season while being battered for 25 runs, 40 hits and six homers over a span of 27 2/3 innings. In contrast, the cerebral right-hander is 3-2 with a 2.29 earned run average in five day starts.

On the other hand, Bannister has registered an outstanding 2.29 ERA along with a 3-2 record at home this year, and has held opposing batters to a .209 average at Kauffman Stadium. One of those wins came at the expense of the Twins last month, when the 27-year-old allowed one unearned run in a complete- game three-hitter on April 13.

For his career, Bannister is 3-0 with a stellar 1.45 ERA in four overall outings against Minnesota.

He will have to rebound from last Thursday's shelling at the hands of the Red Sox, however, in order to give the Royals a chance to break out of their funk. In that game, Bannister yielded seven runs and 12 hits in just 5 1/3 innings during an 11-8 Kansas City setback.

The Twins were idle on Memorial Day after taking two of three games on the road from Detroit over the weekend. In Sunday's rubber match of the series, Jason Kubel hit a tie-breaking grand slam in the eighth inning to catapult Minnesota to a 6-1 win.

Kubel's shot backed an outstanding effort from 25-year-old Twins starter Glen Perkins (2-1), who gave up just one run on seven hits and a pair of walks over a career-high 7 2/3 innings.

Minnesota is hoping for a similar effort from another youngster when Nick Blackburn takes the mound tonight. The rookie is 4-3 with a solid 3.55 ERA in 10 starts this season, but is coming off a losing decision to Texas on Thursday.

Blackburn shut the Rangers out through the game's first five frames but was rocked for seven runs in the sixth, although just one of those was earned due to a costly error by second baseman Alexi Casilla. The 26-year-old had won two straight starts prior to that defeat.

Blackburn has never faced the Royals in a starting capacity but did throw 2 2/3 shutout innings against them in relief last September.

The Twins have won four of six meetings with the Royals so far this season and took two of three tests at Kauffman Stadium from April 11-13. Since the start of the 2005 campaign, Minnesota has compiled a 20-12 record in Kansas City.