KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The last time Jason Vargas pitched against the Texas Rangers, it seemed like every runner that reached scoring position somehow managed to cross home plate.

The exact opposite happened Wednesday night.

Vargas pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning, Alex Gordon hit a two-run homer and the Kansas City Royals held on for a 4-1 victory that finished off a three-game sweep.

“I felt I was effective,” Vargas said. “They had some opportunities and we were able to make some plays and get out of them.”

Vargas (11-7) stranded four runners in scoring position before turning over a two-on, two-out mess to Kelvin Herrera, who escaped the jam. Louis Coleman gave up a run in the eighth before Wade Davis finished off the inning, and Greg Holland worked a perfect ninth for his 42nd save.

The victory along with Detroit’s 7-0 loss to Cleveland allowed the Royals to extend their lead to 1 1/2 games over the Tigers in the AL Central. They are off Thursday before a crucial trip that takes them through the wild card-chasing Yankees and into a three-game set in Detroit.

“I guess momentum is nice,” Royals manager Ned Yost said, “but I don’t believe in that stuff too much. You know we have to go play good baseball. We have to do what we do.”

Nick Tepesch (4-9) allowed all four runs over 6 2/3 innings for Texas.

The Royals grabbed the lead off him in the fourth when Omar Infante led off with a single and Gordon homered to deep center. In the seventh, Salvador Perez and Billy Butler doubled to provide a bit of cushion, and pinch runner Terrance Gore scored on a stolen base and a throwing error.

That was more than enough to doom Texas to its fifth straight loss.

The biggest problem for the injury plagued Rangers lately has been situational hitting, and it manifested itself again in three close losses to Kansas City. They were 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position Wednesday night, making them 3 for 28 over the course of the series.

The sweep of Texas was the first at home for the Royals in seven seasons.

Tepesch, who grew up in nearby Blue Springs, Missouri, kept giving the Rangers a chance. He retired his first eight batters and then bounced back from Gordon’s homer to retire eight of nine.

Vargas proved to be just a little bit better.

The veteran left-hander, winless in his last six starts against Texas left runners on the corners in the first inning, and somehow navigated leadoff doubles in the third, fourth and sixth.

“We put ourselves in position,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “It wasn’t just one part of the lineup. It was up and down. It was almost everybody had an opportunity.”

By the time Vargas trudged off the mound on a humid night at Kauffman Stadium, a small but festive crowd of 15,771 had risen to its feet to give him a parting ovation.

“He pitched great,” Yost said. “He was sharp tonight. Had his good command, spotted his fastball well. His changeup was really working for him. He just pitched a good game.”

ROYALS C-RISP-Y

While the Rangers had all kinds of problems with runners in scoring position, the Royals were a bit better — 1 for 4. They only left one on base, the fewest they’ve stranded since June 21.

BIG HOME RUNS

Gordon has hit 19 homers this season, 10 of which have given the Royals the lead. “I just think Alex Gordon is a phenomenal player,” Yost said. “He’s an MVP in book.”

BELTRE IN BEAST MODE

Adrian Beltre went 1 for 4, extending his hit streak to 20 games against Kansas City. Ivan Rodriguez holds the club record with a hit in 23 straight games against the Royals.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: RHP Scott Baker has been scratched from his start Thursday against Seattle with a stiff neck. Washington hopes he’ll be able to go Friday. … RHP Yu Darvish (elbow inflammation) will be examined Thursday in Texas. It remains unlikely he’ll return his season.

Royals: INF Christian Colon broke the middle finger of his right hand Tuesday night. Yost said he could still be called upon to bunt or pinch run.

UP NEXT

Rangers: LHP Robbie Ross (2-5, 5.63) will move up one day to start in Baker’s place. Ross tossed five shutout innings against Houston his last time out.

Royals: RHP James Shields (12-7) starts the Royals’ series opener in the Bronx.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals had the go-ahead run on second base with nobody out in the eighth inning. Jarrod Dyson got the sign to bunt and failed miserably on two strikes, then chopped a grounder to first base that got his teammate thrown out.

“I was real frustrated,” Dyson said later, shaking his head.

So he did something about it.

The speedster swiped second base and then third, getting into position for Salvador Perez to drive him in with a scorching liner off the glove of third baseman Adrian Beltre for a single. The run proved to be the decider in a 2-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night that kept Kansas City atop the AL Central by a half-game over Detroit.

“When I got to first, I knew I had to make up for it. I had to steal a couple of bags,” Dyson said. “Then Salvy did a great job. Good piece of hitting to get me in.”

Jason Frasor (4-1) left runners on the corners in the eighth against his former team, and Aaron Crow worked around a two-out single in the ninth for his third save of the season.

All-Star closer Greg Holland was unavailable after pitching three consecutive days.

“Phenomenal job,” Royals manager Ned Yost said of Crow, who had just been recalled from Double-A Northwest Arkansas. “I knew if we got to the ninth with the lead, it’d be Aaron.”

The Rangers’ Derek Holland and counterpart Jeremy Guthrie pitched to a stalemate through seven innings before the Royals broke through against Michael Kirkman (0-1) in the eighth.

The Royals’ Nori Aoki and the Rangers’ Daniel Robertson drove in the game’s other runs.

Holland looked unhindered by the knee surgery that had kept him out all season, working around a double in the first and breezing through the middle innings.

“It’s my first game back. It’s in the big leagues, a big time-atmosphere, especially with a playoff team over here,” Holland said. “I wanted to make sure I stayed calm.”

His only trouble was hardly of his own doing. Alcides Escobar doubled leading off the third, a fly ball that left fielder Ryan Rua should have caught near the wall. Two batters later, Aoki hit a fly ball to shallow left field that Rua whiffed on with an awkward slide for an RBI double.

“People make mistakes,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said.

Meanwhile, Guthrie kept dodging trouble until the fifth, when Roughned Odor tripled to start the inning. Robertson drove him in with a groundout to tie the game.

Guthrie proceeded to battle through two more innings on a night when the Royals were short on bullpen help. Top relievers Kelvin Herrera had also pitched three straight nights.

Francisley Bueno recorded one out for Kansas City. Frasor and Crow handled the rest.

RANGERS RECORDS

The Rangers have used 61 players after Holland and Kirkman made their season debuts, setting a new major league record. The club has also used a record 38 pitchers.

LACK OF RISP-ECT

The Royals were just 2 for 15 with runners in scoring position, and are batting .140 in such situations the last five games. Texas was worse, going 0 for 7 with runners on second or third.

MAKING MOVES

The Royals also recalled INF Christian Colon, OF Terrance Gore and RHP Liam Hendriks from Northwest Arkansas before the game. … The Rangers recalled RHPs Nick Tepesch and Lisalverto Bonilla and INF Luis Sardinas while promoting Kirkman from Triple-A Round Rock. Kirkman took the loss while Sardinas made the final out as a pinch-hitter.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: RHP Miles Mikolas, who is not making his scheduled start Thursday, will likely miss at least one more start with shoulder fatigue, manager Ron Washington said.

Royals: DH Josh Willingham (sore back) took batting practice and was available to pinch hit.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Tepesch (4-8), who grew up in nearby Blue Springs, Missouri, will make his first start at Kauffman Stadium. He is 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA in two starts against the Royals.

Royals: LHP Jason Vargas has been feast or famine during his first season with the Royals. He has a 1.24 ERA in his 10 wins, a 6.25 ERA in his seven losses.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tough to catch the Kansas City Royals when they are leading after six innings. Greg Holland leads one of the majors’ best bullpens.

Ventura pitched into the seventh inning and three relievers shut the door in a 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Monday night.

“With Ventura throwing the ball so well, it allowed to get us into the seventh inning with our big three spot with a lead,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “We were in good shape from that point.”

The Big Three — Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Holland — combined for 2 2/3 hitless innings after Ventura departed. The Royals are 54-3 when taking a lead into the seventh.

“We had a chance until they brought in Herrera, Davis and Holland, three outstanding arms,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “They might be three of the best arms in baseball.”

Ventura (11-9) allowed three runs, two earned, and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. The right-hander, who was skipped on his previous turn in the rotation due to a sore back, struck out seven and walked four.

Salvador Perez homered and drove in three runs for Kansas City, which finished with 10 hits.

Holland struck out two in a perfect ninth, earning his 41st save in 43 chances. It was Holland’s third straight day of work.

“It’s kind of a double-edged sword for me,” he said. “We’re in a playoff race and you never know when you’re going to get another chance to go to the playoffs. Kansas City hasn’t been there in a while, a long time exactly.

“You want to do everything you can, but you also want to be smart about it. If I go out there at 40 or 50 percent and don’t get the job done because of it, that’s me being selfish for wanting to pitch. You’ve got to understand the situation that if you need a day, you’ve got to express that to the coaching staff.”

Perez, who had three hits, went deep in the third with Alex Gordon aboard. His two-out double in the first scored Gordon, who had singled and swiped second.

Colby Lewis (9-12) pitched seven innings for Texas, yielding four runs and nine hits. The right-hander had thrown a complete game in winning each of his previous two road starts.

“I missed with a couple of pitches early in the game but I sharpened up later,” Lewis said.

Carlos Peguero, who was just brought up from Triple-A Omaha, doubled in the fifth and scored on Mike Moustakas’ single to give the Royals a 4-0 advantage.

Texas responded with a run in the sixth on Adrian Beltre’s groundout. Tomas Telis and Michael Choice each had an RBI single in the seventh, cutting the Royals’ lead to one run.

TWO CHALLENGES

The Rangers lost a replay challenge and won another one. With runners on the corners in the second, Rangers catcher Tomas Telis grounded into a double play to end the inning. Washington wanted a review, believing Telis was safe, but the ruling on the field was upheld. In the seventh, Jarrod Dyson doubled for the Royals, but went over the bag. Umpire Fieldin Culbreth said Dyson got back safely. A review overruled him and Dyson was out.

UP NEXT:

Rangers: LHP Derek Holland will make his first start of the season after having knee surgery on Jan. 10. He went 2-1 with a 4.43 ERA in six rehab starts in the minors.

Royals: RHP Jeremy Guthrie (10-10) goes for Kansas City. Guthrie is 2-0 with a 4.29 ERA in his last three starts.

TRAINER’S ROOM:

Rangers: RHP Miles Mikolas, who was skipped his previous start with shoulder fatigue, has not progressed and may not pitch Thursday in his next scheduled start.

Royals: DH Josh Willingham has not played since Friday because of a bad back. He will try to swing the bat Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — It’s getting very crowded at the top of the AL Central. The surging Cleveland Indians have turned the division into one of baseball’s best playoff races.

Michael Brantley and Carlos Santana each had an RBI single in the 11th inning, leading the Indians to a 3-2 victory over the sliding Kansas City Royals on Saturday night.

Kansas City has lost three in a row to fall into a first-place tie with Detroit, which split a doubleheader at Chicago. Cleveland, which has won six of seven, is just 3 1/2 back.

“It’s extremely agonizing,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “It’s frustrating.”

The Royals got a run back in the bottom of the 11th when Salvador Perez’s two-out double scored Jarrod Dyson. But Erik Kratz struck out to end the game.

Jose Ramirez sparked Cleveland’s winning rally with a leadoff triple. Brantley followed with a base hit against Scott Downs (0-4).

“It was a hustle triple,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “I about swallowed my tobacco when he went around second. Instead of Brantley trying to get the runner over they have to bring the infield in and he hit a chopper over the infield.”

Brantley then stole second and went to third on Perez’s throwing error before Santana singled into center field.

The Royals loaded the bases with one out in the 10th, but failed to score off Josh Tomlin (6-8). The reliever got Alcides Escobar to hit a grounder to third, forcing Perez at the plate. He then struck Jayson Nix, who was making his Royals debut.

The Royals went 2 for 18 with runners in scoring position and stranded 16 runners, twice leaving the bases loaded.

“We weren’t getting any hits with runners in scoring position, it was plain and simple,” Yost said. “One was an infield hit and didn’t score a run. We had a multitude of opportunities starting in the first inning. We just couldn’t take advantage of it.”

Cleveland grabbed a 1-0 lead when Yan Gomes doubled in Jason Kipnis in the fourth.

The Royals tied it in the eighth without the benefit of a hit. Alex Gordon led off with a walk. Billy Butler then hit a comebacker that should have been a double play, but reliever Scott Atchison threw the ball into center field, putting Gordon on third. With the bases loaded, Lorenzo Cain’s grounder scored Gordon for an unearned run.

“That’s tough, leaving that many runners on base,” Cain said. “We should have definitely beat these kids. We had a few chances to walk it off. I did myself. We just didn’t get the job done. We’ve got to come through in those tight situations if we want to get to the playoffs.”

Indians rookie Trevor Bauer pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings despite issuing five walks. He allowed four hits and struck out six. The Royals loaded the bases with none out in the first, but Bauer escaped the jam.

“I was fortunate to get out of it,” Bauer said. “With the way the game turned out it was important to get out of it with no runs. Usually in that situation you try to keep it to one or two, but that was big with no runs.”

James Shields tossed seven innings of one-run ball for Kansas City. He gave up five hits, struck out four and walked one.

“It’s disappointing,” Shields said. “We had the game right in our grasp, right in our hands and we didn’t come out of it.”

Wade Davis replaced Shields and struck out the side in the eighth to run his scoreless streak to 25 2/3 innings, the longest active streak in the majors. He has allowed just one run in his 49 innings, lowering his ERA to 0.76.

INDIANS WINNING WAYS

The Indians have won five straight series and are a season-best six games above .500. They have won eight of their past 10 road games. They are 17-9 in August for their fourth straight winning month.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Indians: DH Jason Giambi (left knee inflammation) and OF Ryan Raburn (right wrist soreness) are on a rehab assignment with Double-A Akron. Giambi is eligible to come off the disabled list Monday and Raburn on Tuesday.

Royals: DH-OF Josh Willingham was unavailable with a stiff back. .1B Eric Hosmer (fractured right hand) went 2 for 6 with two RBIs and struck out twice in his first rehab game with Triple-A Omaha. … 2B Omar Infante (right shoulder inflammation) started after missing four games.

UP NEXT

Indians: Rookie LHP T.J. House, who won his first big league July 5 over the Royals, is coming off a rocky outing, giving up five runs Tuesday in a no-decision against the White Sox.

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy’s 2.47 ERA ranks third in the American League, but he has a losing record at 8-11.

— Associated Press —