KANSAS CITY -- Score one for the senior members of the Royals pitching staff.
Thirty-one-year-old Brandon Duckworth made his first start of the season, dove into early trouble and wriggled free. He gave way to 30-year-old Kip Wells, who created his own kind of trouble but also managed to hold the Tigers at bay.

The kid wasn't too bad either.

Twenty-four-year old Joakim Soria pitched a scoreless ninth, and Kansas City broke a seven-game losing streak by defeating Detroit, 7-3, on Sunday afternoon.

In his first three innings of work, Duckworth gave up six hits and walked four, but managed to strand five Detroit runners. He settled down and allowed only one hit in his final two innings of work.

"Five of the first six hitters squared the ball up pretty good," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "Even the outs were hit hard."

Hillman added that once Duckworth became more aggressive to the plate and let the movement of his pitches take care of itself, the results improved.

"He's got some life to his fastball," the manager said. Hillman said that Duckworth just didn't have the precision he needed in the first two innings. That got him behind, and he had to leave pitches out over the plate.

"As the game went along, I was able to control my body a little bit better," Duckworth said. "Obviously, I would rather have gone about seven, but a win's a win."

Duckworth noted that he was pitching behind in the count early in the game, and just like all big league hitters, the Tigers were getting good swings. He said he made some pitches at critical times.

"You just want them to hit the ball at people, which they did," he said.

Duckworth said he had to try and slow down his body. His body was getting out in front, so his arm wasn't getting up. That made the ball run all over the place.

Fellow senior citizen Wells -- along with Duckworth, one of just three active members of the Royals pitching staff age 30 or over -- replaced Duckworth in the sixth and set the Tigers down in order.

In the seventh, Wells put men on first and third with no outs, but he managed to induce a double play and cut off the Tigers' threat.

In the meantime, the Royals were putting their own runners on base. But unlike Detroit, they were finding ways to get them home.

"We were much more efficient, especially offensively," Hillman said. "Situational hitting -- our focus was better. [We] did some good things on the basepaths, as well."

The Royals fell behind early, 3-0, but a Jose Guillen solo homer leading off the second helped get the offense on track. Esteban German tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. A few pitches later, Mike Aviles scored the go-ahead run when Tigers starter Kenny Rogers bounced a breaking ball in front of his catcher and over the screen.

"I felt like we were in control," Hillman said. "The guys were more focused than they had been."

Yet, Hillman noted, "When you're playing a team of sluggers like the Tigers, it's still a close game, even when you have a four-run lead."

Alberto Callaspo, playing in just his second game since coming off the disabled list, rapped out three hits and a walk in four trips to the plate. The second baseman also made a crucial play to end the first inning, relaying a throw from right fielder Jose Guillen to catcher Miguel Olivo to gun Magglio Ordonez out at the plate.

"Just the fact that we saw more pitches and scored more pitches up made a big difference with a pitcher like Kenny," he said. Rogers gave up seven runs, six of them earned, and allowed eight hits in his six innings of work.

With infielders Mark Grudzielanek and Alex Gordon on the DL, Callaspo figures to get a significant amount of playing time in the final 32 games of the season.

Mark Teahen provided another offensive spark, as he drove in three runs with a sacrifice fly and a two-run single.

Max Utsler is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.