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Alex Prieto is congratulated on his first Major League home run in Sunday's win over the Royals. (Ed Zurga/AP)

Their struggling offense was revived again. They salvaged a positive out of a brutal road trip that ended at 2-4. Coming into the game, the Twins had lost seven of their last nine games.

They saw a few bizarre moments -- including a first baseman trying catch a ball in right field and a right fielder that made a putout at first base on the same play.

In the process, they received a highly advanced lesson about the Major League Baseball rule book and then they weren't quite sure what exactly they learned.

"I think I'm mentally dumber now than I was before the game," Twins first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz said. "I know less about the game now than I did before this game started."

Mientkiewicz wasn't the only one who felt that way. He was involved in a fifth-inning play that brought confusion to a whole new level.

The Twins were leading 6-2 in the fifth when starting pitcher Kyle Lohse was in a bases-loaded jam with one out. Kansas City's Mike Sweeney lofted a pop fly into short right field that brought the infield fly rule call from first base umpire Jeff Kellogg. Twins first baseman Mientkiewicz and second baseman Michael Cuddyer both converged on the ball and called for it, but as Mientkiewicz made the catch and readied a throw, he bumped into Cuddyer and dropped the ball.

As Desi Relaford scored from third base, Mientkiewicz threw down the line and inadvertently drilled Sweeney in the back as he stood near first base. The ball rolled away between home and first. Sweeney collapsed to the ground immediately and was flat on his back near first base.

"I thought I got shot," said Sweeney, who was considered out already because of the infield fly call. "I didn't see it coming."

"I've never seen a runner be a cut-off man," joked Twins center fielder Torii Hunter.

In the confusion, Angel Berroa and Carlos Beltran were caught standing near each other at second base. As Beltran scampered back to first, Twins catcher Henry Blanco retrieved the ball, threw -- to of all people -- right fielder Jacque Jones, who had run in and covered the bag.

Jones tagged Beltran out to end the inning.

"Nobody was at first and I saw Beltran was all the way at second," Jones said. "I had to be somewhere. I couldn't just stand around. So I went to first."

"That's staying involved and not just standing in the outfield and watching and admiring the play," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of Jones' alert move.

In the scorebook, call it a fly out to the first baseman and a 3-2-9 putout. But don't call it a sacrifice fly or a double play since Kellogg ruled the play a dropped ball.

"An infield fly was called, so I go up with an infield fly (hand signal)," Kellogg said after the game. "He drops the ball. (Sweeney's) still out. And I let everyone know behind me that he was out because it was an infield fly. No, it was not a catch."

Relaford's run still counted because it was no longer considered a force play once Mientkiewicz dropped the ball. That also meant Beltran didn't have to return to first base all along.

"When that ball falls and ruled not a catch, runners may advance at their own peril," said MLB supervisor of umpires Steve Palermo, who was at the game.

It did mean Jones had to apply a tag and not settle for just stepping on the bag.

"A lot of smart baseball people did a smart thing during what was a confusing play," Palermo said.

"I was trying to be sure," Jones said. "You can never go wrong by tagging somebody."

Mientkiewicz wondered if he should ask the home plate umpire if the run should have been allowed to score but thought better of it.

"That's when I realized I'm too dumb to try to figure this out," Mientkiewicz said. "I'm just going back to the dugout to sit down."

"You'll probably never seen that again in 80 years -- 100 years," Hunter said.

Hunter had his own weird moment in the second inning. During his first at-bat, Royals starter Jimmy Gobble's first pitch sailed about 10 feet over the plate to the backstop. Hunter momentarily thought he was John Kruk at the All-Star game facing Randy Johnson.

"When he threw that ball, I said do I want to get back in that batters' box?" said Hunter, who later singled in the at-bat, one of his three hits on the day and 12 for the Twins.

The extra entertainment was a boost for a Minnesota club in need of a few laughs, and a lot of runs.

After Lew Ford's homer gave Minnesota its first run in the third, the Twins batted around in a five-run fourth inning, that included Alex Prieto's first big league homer and a two-run single by Corey Koskie.

The rally made it 6-0 and was the most runs scored in an inning by Minnesota this season. After giving their previous two starters a combined three runs, it was boost for Lohse (2-4) -- who labored in five innings for the victory and snapped a seven-start winless streak.

"It was a long road trip for us," Gardenhire said. "Believe me, it's better to go home after this win today than getting whacked around."

"It was fun that we won, but it was a weird game," Hunter said.

Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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