The Kansas City Royals return for their first home stand after the All Star Break with some fun promotions this week.

The Royals host the Cleveland Indians (July 24-27) and the Minnesota Twins (July 29-31). Throughout the homestand, fans can be a part of some terrific events including Mizzou Night (July 25), Faith and Family Night (July 26) and Hunting and Fishing Night (July 29). Fans will also have the opportunity to get some great giveaways including a special edition Omar Infante poster (July 27) and another edition of T-Shirt Tuesday (July 29).

Thursday, July 24 – Cleveland Indians vs. Royals, 7:10 p.m.
· GordoNation – Fans can enjoy being a part of GordoNation, a special seating section in left field that will be reserved for die-hard Alex Gordon fans on Thursday home games throughout the season. The first 100 GordoNation fans will also receive an Alex Gordon big head. Tickets cost $35 and come with a gold GordoNation t-shirt. (photo attached) For details, visit www.royals.com/gordonation.

· All You Can Eat Seats – Fans can purchase All You Can Eat Seats located in the Loge Level (Sec. 318 – 325), which include unlimited ballpark fare. All the hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, pretzels and Pepsi products you can handle for $40 per seat! Individual and group discount tickets are available. For details, visit www.royals.com/allyoucaneat.

Friday, July 25 – Cleveland Indians vs. Royals, 7:10 p.m.
Mizzou Night – Supporters of The University of Missouri can join fellow Tigers for a day of big league action presented by FOX Sports Kansas City and Rally House. Visit www.royals.com/mizzou for details or to purchase discounted tickets. The first 3,500 Mizzou fans who bring their Mizzou Night discounted ticket to the Tigers table located inside Hy-Vee Gate B will receive a limited edition black and gold KC Royals Mizzou cap.
· Buck Night – Hot dogs, small Pepsi products and peanuts are just $1 each all night long. www.royals.com/fanvalue.
· Summer Fireworks – Fans will enjoy a spectacular fireworks show, presented by Hy-Vee and Pepsi, after the game.

Saturday, July 26 – Cleveland Indians vs. Royals, 6:10 p.m.
· Faith and Family Night presented by Hobby Lobby – The postgame festivities include appearances by select Royals personnel and Scott Dawson. Contemporary Christian musician Matthew West will also perform. Tickets for the game and postgame event start at just $10! www.royals.com/faith.

Sunday, July 27 – Cleveland Indians vs. Royals, 1:10 p.m.
· Omar Infante Poster – The first 10,000 fans will get a poster of Royals second baseman Omar Infante, courtesy of Pittcraft Printing and The Kansas City Steak Company.
· Mother/Son Day ­– Mothers and sons can enjoy a special day at the ballpark by purchasing a ticket package that includes a limited edition hat and commemorative photo. For more information, visit www.royals.com/family.
· Family FunDay Sunday – Each Sunday home game features pregame interactive kids entertainment by School of Rock, plus face painters, caricature or balloon artists in the Outfield Experience. New this season, fans also have the opportunity to get pregame autographs from select players each Sunday. All-Day Play Passes for unlimited activities in the Outfield Experience are available for just $10. In addition, the Royals are offering a Family FunDay Sunday 4-Pack that includes four Hy-Vee Infield tickets, $10 in loaded value per ticket to use for concessions and merchandise and four All-Day Play Passes – over $150 in value – for just $80! For more information, visit www.royals.com/sunday.
· Sunday Fun Run – All fans 14 and under can run the bases after the game (conditions permitting).

Monday, July 28 – Off Day

Tuesday, July 29 – Minnesota Twins vs. Royals, 7:10 p.m.
· Hunting and Fishing Night – The Royals have teamed up with Heartland Waterfowl to present Hunting and Fishing Night at The K that includes a special Field Plaza or Hy-Vee Infield ticket offer.

The first 750 people who bring the Hunting and Fishing Night ticket to the Hunting and Fishing Night table will receive a limited edition KC fishing lure. For groups of 20 of more, please call (816) 504-4168. Visit www.royals.com/huntingandfishing for more information.

· T-shirt Tuesday – The first 10,000 fans will receive a heather blue vintage Royals t-shirt, courtesy of Sprint.

Wednesday, July 30 – Minnesota Twins vs. Royals, 7:10 p.m.
Student Night presented by INK Magazine – Rivals Outfield Box or Hy-Vee Infield tickets are available for Wednesday home games for youth and students with a valid ID at the Kauffman Stadium Box Office for just $8. Select tickets are also available online at www.royals.com/studentnight. Seating is subject to availability.

Also Wednesday, July 30: Local Music Showcase presented by INK Magazine – Catch a free pregame concert on us. Every Wednesday Student Night also features live local music prior to the game in the Outfield Experience. Performing during this showcase will be the band, Katy Guillen & the Girls. For details, visit www.royals.com/studentnight.

Thursday, July 31 – Minnesota Twins vs. Royals, 7:10 p.m.
· GordoNation – Fans can enjoy being a part of GordoNation, a special seating section in left field that will be reserved for die-hard Alex Gordon fans on Thursday home games throughout the season. The first 100 GordoNation fans will also receive an Alex Gordon big head. Tickets cost $35 and come with a gold GordoNation t-shirt. (photo attached) For details, visit www.royals.com/gordonation.
· All You Can Eat Seats – Fans can purchase All You Can Eat Seats located in the Loge Level (Sec. 318 – 325), which include unlimited ballpark fare. All the hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, pretzels and Pepsi products you can handle for $40 per seat! Individual and group discount tickets are available. For details, visit www.royals.com/allyoucaneat.

Fans may purchase tickets online at royals.com, by calling 1-800-6ROYALS, at area Hy-Vee stores or at the Kauffman Stadium Box Office.
For more information, members of the media may contact the Royals Publicity Department at (816) 921-8000

CHICAGO (AP) — About the only pitch that Chris Sale wouldn’t make Monday night was his case for the American League’s Cy Young Award.

Then again, if he keeps pitching like he has so far this season, he won’t have to say much.

Sale pitched seven effective innings in his first outing since the All-Star break and Adam Dunn had two RBIs and scored a run to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 3-1 victory over the slumping Kansas City Royals on Monday night.

Sale (9-1) wasn’t at his best, allowing seven hits and a walk in seven innings, but he worked out of jams in the fourth and sixth innings. He struck out eight and now has allowed three runs or less in 14 of his 15 starts this season.

Those certainly appear to be Cy Young-worthy numbers, right?

“Like I’ve always said, I don’t pay too much attention to that,” Sale said. “I have a job to do and I have to focus on doing that and playing games. We’re right in the hunt right now, so these are the dog days and you have to bear down now. Now’s not the time to be thinking about yourself or some trophy or whatever.”

Chicago manager Robin Ventura, though, didn’t hesitate to respond when asked if Sale was a legitimate candidate for the award despite missing a month earlier in the season.

“Oh, yeah, absolutely,” Ventura said. “There’s no reason why he shouldn’t be in the discussion. I don’t care if he missed a month or not. He’s good.”

Dunn went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks as the White Sox for the third time in four games since the break.

Danny Valencia went 1-for-2 with a RBI for Kansas City, which has dropped four straight and seven of eight. The Royals had a team meeting before the game, but couldn’t turn around their fortunes as they dropped two games below .500 (48-50).

Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie (5-9) gave up three runs on five hits in six innings to get the loss. He had been 4-0 against the White Sox with the Royals before Monday.

“I thought Guthrie threw the ball all right,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. “The first inning they had some well-placed groundballs. He was a little off command-wise in the first inning. Ended up hitting two guys by mistake but still kind of limited the damage there.”

The White Sox took a 2-0 lead in the first inning as the first four batters reached base and then Dunn singled up the middle against the shift — essentially hitting the ball to the normal shortstop position — to score both Adam Eaton and Alexei Ramirez.

The Royals trimmed the lead in half in the fourth. Alex Gordon singled with one out, stole second and then scored on a two-out single by Valencia. The next batter, Alcides Escobar, doubled down the left-field line, but Valencia was nailed at the plate as left-fielder Alejandro De Aza and Ramirez got the ball to catcher Tyler Flowers for the putout to end the inning.

“That’s huge,” Sale said of the play at the plate. “That’s a game-changer, a game saver, just gives us momentum. It was awesome.”

The White Sox regained the two-run edge in the sixth as Dunn scored on a sacrifice fly by Gordon Beckham to make it 3-1.

That was plenty of a cushion for Sale, who has allowed a total of three runs in 23 ? innings in his last three starts.

Ronald Belisario pitched and eighth and Jake Petricka worked the ninth for his fourth save.

“I think I’m just trying to get better day in and day out,” Sale said.

— Associated Press —

We’re not sure which we enjoyed more, this ball girl’s impressive fielding skills on a fair ball…
…or the face she made afterward.

BOSTON (AP) — Jon Lester just wants to put up impressive numbers on the mound. He will worry about the figures on his next contract later.

Red Sox fans showed appreciation for his latest brilliant outing with loud applause as he walked to the dugout after his eighth and final inning Sunday.

“I hope people are more pleased with how I’m pitching and not how I’m handling contract stuff,” the All-Star left-hander said after a 6-0 win that gave Boston a three-game sweep over the Kansas City Royals.

Lester, who can become a free agent after the season, allowed no earned runs for the third time in four starts. He struck out eight and gave up two walks and four hits. Only one Royals player reached third base.

Clearly, he hasn’t let the uncertainty over where he will be pitching next season hurt his pitching this season.

“He’s been a model for others to witness as players get to that stage of their career,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “He’s been able to handle it, I think, in a professional manner.”

Lester (10-7) is 4-0 with a 0.85 ERA over his last seven starts with 47 strikeouts and eight walks in a span of 52 2/3 innings. He has yielded just one earned run in 31 innings.

“You’ve got to take each one as an individual,” Lester said. “If I’m out there thinking about what I did last time, I’m not worried about the right things.”

Lester extended his scoreless streak to 14 innings before Junichi Tazawa got the first out of the ninth. Edward Mujica retired the next two batters.

“We matched up against an All-Star pitcher today and he was on top of his game,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Yordano Ventura (7-8) gave up all six runs.

The first scored on Dustin Pedroia’s forceout at second base in the first, Daniel Nava hit a two-run double in the third, and Boston added three in the fourth on David Ross’ two-run homer and Nava’s sacrifice fly.

That was more than enough support for Lester as he keeps building a case for a lucrative contract.

“If these guys are happy with the way I’m throwing and how I’m going about my business, then that’s all I care about,” he said. “The other stuff will take care of itself when the right time comes.”

Boston entered the game in last place in the AL East, percentage points behind Tampa Bay, but won for the seventh time in eight games.

Kansas City went scoreless after losing 2-1 Saturday night. The Royals have lost nine of 12, are 9-17 since a 10-game winning streak, and have scored less than two runs in four of their last six games. They open a three-game series at the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.

“You basically just shake it off and get right back out there,” designated hitter Billy Butler said. “We faced a tough left-hander today and it doesn’t get any easier. We face Chris Sale tomorrow.”

The Royals put runners at first and second in the first when Eric Hosmer was hit by a pitch with two outs, and Danny Valencia singled. But Alex Gordon flied to left.

Alcides Escobar was left on base after a one-out single in the second, and Lester retired eight consecutive batters before Escobar led off the fifth with a double. He reached third on a one-out groundout, but the threat ended when Lorenzo Cain flied out, leaving him hitless in 22 at bats.

Hosmer singled with one out in the sixth to extend his hitting streak to 16 games. After Valencia struck out, Gordon drew a walk, the first issued by Lester in three starts. But Butler grounded out.

Cain walked leading off the eighth, but Lester finished his outing by getting Omar Infante to ground into a double play before fanning Hosmer.

“Jon Lester did a really nice job of holding us down,” Yost said, “mixed in his curveball effectively, spotted his fastball well and used his cutter really well.”

Brock Holt scored Boston’s first run after he and Nava singled. Nava’s double in the third came after a walk to Ross and a single by Jackie Bradley Jr. In the fourth, Shane Victorino doubled and scored on Ross’ sixth homer. Nava’s sacrifice fly drove in Bradley, who had singled.

— Associated Press —