The vast rebuilding job that Ned Yost inherited as the manager of the Kansas City Royals was strikingly similar to the one he took on when he was hired by the Milwaukee Brewers.

The difference this time is that Yost will have a chance to stick around.

The Royals and Yost agreed to a two-year contract extension Tuesday after wrapping up an 86-76 season, the best finish for the franchise in 24 years. Yost’s contract was set to expire after the season, though both sides had expressed a desire for the manager to remain on board.

“Our main goal is to win the World Series, but we took a major step this year,” Yost said. “We finished 10 games over .500. That was huge for us. That was a big step.”

The next big step is to make the playoffs, something that Yost had the Brewers on the verge of when he was fired in 2008. He eventually landed in Kansas City and became the interim manager in 2010, and then lost more than 90 games each of his first two full seasons in charge.

His biggest task then was to help develop one of the youngest rosters in baseball, and the work began to pay off this year. The Royals rebounded from a disastrous 8-20 May to go 43-27 after the All-Star break, and weren’t eliminated from wild-card contention until their penultimate series.

“Milwaukee was a great experience for me, like May was a good experience for our team,” Yost said. “I’m thankful for that opportunity because it made me stronger. It made me a better manager. The May we went through, it made us better, it made us stronger, because we endured it, and we were better for it the rest of the year.”

Yost, who is 741-831 in 10 seasons as a manager, held off on discussing a new contract until after the season. It came together quickly on Monday.

“When you have something good you need to stick with it,” outfielder Alex Gordon said after the final game, “and I think that’s what we have. We have a good manager that gels well with the guys on this team and we all have a good relationship.”

Yost’s two-year deal creates a strange situation in the organization in that general manager Dayton Moore is only under contract through next season. Moore declined to discuss whether he will also seek an extension this offseason, saying only that he’s “secure” with his situation.

“I’m at peace about where I am and what we’ve done,” Moore said. “There’s an emotion and an expectation and excitement around this group of players, and in a small way, I feel like we’ve won the World Series, because we have a fan base that’s excited.”

Now that Yost is under contract, Moore will soon turn his attention to putting together a roster for next season. Most of the lineup will return intact, led by promising young players such as first baseman Eric Hosmer and catcher Salvy Perez. But plenty of questions remain, starting with right field and what was one of the best starting rotations in the big leagues.

The Royals cobbled together right field when Jeff Francoeur fizzled out, and David Lough and Justin Maxwell were platooning there late in the season. But Yost and Moore both have indicated they would like to add a bat with power to the lineup, and right field is the natural fit.

In the rotation, Ervin Santana and Bruce Chen are both eligible for free agency. Santana may have priced himself out of the Royals with the best season of his career, but Moore said that he anticipates having the resources necessary to make a competitive bid to keep both pitchers.

If that doesn’t happen, Moore said that youngsters Yordano Ventura, Danny Duffy and Kyle Zimmer are prepared to compete for a starting job in spring training.

“Every team has holes. We certainly are not immune to that,” Moore said. “We’ll look at the areas where we can improve, but you can only improve with talent and opportunities available to you, and I have no idea what opportunities are going to be available going forward.”

Moore did say that he expects the Royals’ payroll, which was a franchise-record $81,241,725 on opening day, to remain the same or perhaps even increase next season.

“You have a deep-pitted feeling in your stomach every year you’re not in the playoffs,” Moore said. “We want that for our fan base. We want that for our players in the worst way. So we’re going to continue to work to press the right buttons.”

— Associated Press —

The Kansas City Royals think this is only the beginning. Wait until next year comes around.

Bruce Chen pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning and Kansas City beat the Chicago White Sox 4-1 on Sunday in the finale of the Royals’ best season in 24 years.

”It’s a good start. I think we’re making progress as an organization,” said manager Ned Yost, who completed the final season of his contract but is expected to return next year. ”Ten games over .500, it’s a significant first step and we need to continue to build on it.”

Kansas City won three of four in Chicago and went 17-10 in September for its most successful month of the season. The Royals’ 86-76 record was their best mark since they went 92-70 in 1989.

”This team came out every game and expected to win every game regardless of what happened the night before,” said Greg Holland, who got three outs for his 47th save. ”We got to grind it out that way; that’s how you get in the playoffs. We came up short but I think going into next spring we’re going to be pretty happy with where we’re at.”

Chen’s sharp outing put a damper on what might have been the last major league game for White Sox captain Paul Konerko, who is eligible for free agency and isn’t sure if he will play again next year. The veteran first baseman is second in franchise history with 427 homers and 1,361 RBIs, and third with 2,249 hits.

Konerko was greeted with loud cheers when he was introduced with the starting lineup, and the crowd of 22,633 saluted the slugger with a standing ovation when he came to the plate in the first. He was replaced by Conor Gillaspie with one out in the top of the second, and he stopped to shake pitcher Jose Quintana’s hand as he left the field to more cheers.

”It always feels good. The fans here have treated me great over the years,” said Konerko, who tweaked his back during Saturday night’s 6-5 victory, leading to the quick hook in the finale. ”In a year like this, they treated me better than probably I deserved, really the whole team when you think about it.”

Konerko waved his hat to the crowd as he made his way to the dugout. With the Royals also standing and clapping on the other side, the six-time All-Star acknowledged the long ovation with a brief curtain call.

”We’ll see how I feel in a month or a month and a half from now,” Konerko said about his future, ”and try to come to grips with what’s what.”

Chen (9-4) allowed one run, struck out four and walked three in 6 2-3 innings. The crafty left-hander went 6-4 with a 3.61 ERA in 15 starts after he joined the rotation in July.

”I feel like I helped the team in the second half,” Chen said. ”I feel like I was a major contributor on a team making a run on the playoffs and it was fun.”

Alexei Ramirez homered for the White Sox, who left seven runners on base. Konerko fouled out to first with two on in his only plate appearance.

Chicago loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, but Holland struck out Gordon Beckham and Marcus Semien to end the game.

It was a fitting end for Chicago (63-99), which had one of the majors’ worst offenses this year. Hitting coach Jeff Manto was let go on Saturday, and the White Sox finished with their most losses since they had a franchise-record 106 in 1970.

”Nobody is happy with losing,” Quintana said. ”We obviously didn’t get to the goal as a team, but the positive thing is to learn from it and come back the very next year and see what we can do.”

Quintana (9-7) pitched seven innings to reach 200 for the season. He was charged with four runs and six hits.

The lefty issued two walks, and each of them was costly. Johnny Giavotella got one before Salvador Perez hit his 13th homer in the fourth, and Justin Maxwell got the other before Brett Hayes’ first homer of the year in the seventh.

Perez misplayed a popup in his first career start at first base, but finished with three hits. The usual catcher went 6 for 12 with two homers and four RBIs in the series.

”What a day he had offensively,” Yost said. ”Salvy’s going to be a producer all the way around, defensively, offensively.”

— Associated Press —

Adam Dunn and Conor Gillaspie each hit two-run homers and the Chicago White Sox earned a 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday.

After the game, the Chicago White Sox announced they had fired hitting coach Jeff Manto.

Marcus Semien and Jordan Danks added solo homers for the White Sox, while Mike Moustakas, Billy Butler and Salvador Perez went deep for the Royals.

All 11 runs in the game came via the home run.

The White Sox (63-98) avoided a 100-loss season with one game remaining.

”Nobody wants that, the 100 losses,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said before the game. ”But it’s not gonna make me feel any better to have 99 instead of 100 going into next year.”

It was an unseasonably warm night and the ball was flying out as if it was the middle of summer.

The White Sox opened the scoring with back-to-back homers from Semien and Danks in the bottom of the second inning for a 2-0 lead. It’s the fourth time this season the White Sox have hit back-to-back homers.

The advantage grew to 4-0 when Dunn smashed a two-run shot in the third. It was Dunn’s 34th homer on the season.

Those homers were surrendered by Royals starter Yordano Ventura (0-1), who allowed four runs and six hits in four innings.

White Sox starter Erik Johnson (3-2) didn’t allow a hit through the first 4 1-3 innings.

Moustakas then homered to right field with one out in the fifth inning. Then in the top of the sixth, Butler hit a two-run shot to make it 4-3.

The home runs continued in the bottom of the seventh when Gillaspie smacked the first pitch from left-handed reliever Tim Collins just over the right-field fence for a two-run homer and a 6-3 cushion. Perez got the runs right back with a two-run shot in the eighth.

White Sox closer Addison Reed worked a scoreless ninth for his 40th save.

— Associated Press —

It was a night of individual achievements for the Kansas City Royals and another step closer to a dubious distinction for the Chicago White Sox on Friday.

Royals pitcher James Shields struck out 10 and scattered four hits over seven innings for his 100th career win, and the Royals beat Chicago 6-1 to ensure the White Sox of their worst record since 1970.

Shields (13-9) gave up just one run and walked one as Chicago lost its fourth straight.

”I’m really excited I got my 100th win today,” Shields said. ”I’m just proud of my season this year. A hundred wins in the big leagues is a pretty special moment.”

Also receiving accolades was Royals third baseman Jamey Carroll, whose fourth-inning double was the 1,000th hit of his major league career.

”It’s something one day you can look back and have a lot of pride in, when your kids are asking what that ball’s for or what that jersey is all about,” Carroll said, adding with a laugh, ”only 22 more years to 3,000.”

Carroll’s teammates put a bottle of 1,000 Island salad dressing in his locker as a memento of his achievement.

The mood in the White Sox locker room was more somber.

At 62-98 and with two games remaining, the White Sox will finish with the second-most losses in franchise history, ahead of only the team that went 56-106 more than four decades ago.

”Nobody wants that,” manager Robin Ventura said before the game of reaching 100 losses. ”Is it going to be the big difference going into next year? Probably not, but nobody wants that.”

The White Sox will finish last in their division for the first time since 1989 (69-92), and will end the season with a losing record against every team in the American League.

Billy Butler led the Royals with three hits and two RBIs, while Emilio Bonifacio drove in two runs with two hits.

The Royals’ 85th win is their most since 1989 when they were 92-70.

The Royals took a 3-0 lead in the first off White Sox starter Chris Sale (11-14).

Bonifacio walked and stole second, moved to third on Eric Hosmer’s single, and both scored on Butler’s double. Butler scored on Lorenzo Cain’s single.

”To give Shields a 3-0 lead in the first, it’s quite comforting,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”He’s given us not only No. 1 starter stuff, he’s provided great leadership, has been a great example for our guys. He’s a big part of our season and why we’re at 85 wins now.”

Kansas City, which has won 21 of its last 31, made it 4-0 in the fourth on Carroll’s milestone double and scored on Bonifacio’s single.

Sale was lifted with one out in the top of the sixth. He gave up four runs and nine hits, walked one and struck out five. He also hit a batter.

”I think that’s a reoccurring theme every year: My last (start is) always a bad one,” Sale said. ”Hopefully, I can fix that next year. I just didn’t have it tonight.”

Sale’s replacement, Jacob Petricka, promptly gave up two runs. Alcides Escobar singled and scored on Alex Gordon’s double. Gordon scored on another single by Bonifacio.

Chicago’s run came on Gordon Beckham’s fifth home run of the season in the sixth. The following batter, Alexei Ramirez, appeared to follow with another homer, but Gordon grabbed the ball at the fence in left field.

— Associated Press —

Jeremy Guthrie pitched seven strong innings, and David Lough hit a two-run homer to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.

One day after being eliminated from the postseason, the Royals earned their 84th win, their most since 1993.

The Royals’ 6-0 loss to Seattle on Wednesday, combined with victories from all three teams ahead of them in the AL wild-card standings, officially eliminated them from playoff contention.

Guthrie (15-12) became the Royals’ third 15-game winner since 1997. He gave up two runs and four hits, striking out four and allowing one walk. Guthrie already surpassed his career best win total when he won his 12th on Aug. 5 against the Twins.

Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn hit solo homers for the White Sox, who have lost 21 of their 27. The White Sox are 35 games under .500 (62-97) for the first time since ending the 1970 season 56-106 and must win once in this series to avoid finishing with 100 losses, which would be the fourth-most in franchise history.

White Sox starter Andre Rienzo (2-3) pitched six-plus innings and allowed three runs, two earned, and four hits.

Royals closer Greg Holland pitched a scoreless ninth for his 46th save in 49 chances as the Royals ended a two-game losing streak. Holland set a franchise record in saves, surpassing Dan Quisenberry (1983) and Jeff Montgomery (1993).

Trailing 1-0 in the fourth inning, Lough hit a two-run homer, snapping a streak of 21 scoreless innings for the Royals. The last time the Royals scored was in the 12th inning of a 6-5 victory at Seattle on Monday.

Dunn tied the game in the sixth with a long home run to right. It was his 33rd of the season and it was measured at 442 feet.

In the seventh inning, Justin Maxwell led off with a single and advanced to second on Lough’s bunt, then he came around to score after catcher Bryan Anderson fielded George Kottaras’ sacrifice bunt and threw it down the right-field line to give the Royals a 3-2 lead.

Konerko, who missed Wednesday’s game at Cleveland after fouling a pitch off his knee on Tuesday, homered in the first inning. It was his 12th of the season. Konerko is possibly playing his last series with the White Sox. He is a free agent after the season and has been a member of the club for the last 15 seasons.

— Associated Press —

Needing wins in Seattle to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, the Kansas City Royals’ offense went into a slump.

Hisashi Iwakuma pitched eight scoreless innings in Seattle’s 6-0 win against Kansas City on Wednesday, eliminating the Royals from the playoff hunt.

It was the second straight night the Mariners shut out Kansas City as the teams ahead of the Royals in the wild-card race – Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Texas – won. The Royals haven’t scored since the 12th inning of Monday’s 6-5 win.

”Back-to-back shutouts, you’re not going to win any games scoring zero runs,” Alex Gordon said. ”It’s kind of a tough way to go out.”

Mariners catcher Mike Zunino homered twice, Michael Saunders also homered and Kyle Seager hit a two-run double for Seattle, which has won three of four.

Zunino and Saunders hit back-to-back homers with two outs in the eighth inning, the 14th time this season Mariners have hit consecutive home runs.

The Royals entered Wednesday four games behind Cleveland for the second wild-card berth with five games to play and needed a victory.

Iwakuma made sure they didn’t get one.

”We put ourselves in the situation to maybe find a way to sneak in, but we just came up a little short,” Gordon said. ”It’s unfortunate, but we’ve got four more games and we’re going to try to finish the season strong.”

Iwakuma (14-6) finished his season without allowing a run in three straight starts, a streak of 23 scoreless innings.

Against the Royals, he gave up four hits and never allowed more than one base runner in an inning. He didn’t walk anyone until the eighth. He had nine strikeouts, the 13th time in 33 starts he struck out at least seven.

”He handcuffed us, we couldn’t do anything,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Iwakuma’s 2.66 ERA is third-best in the American League, and he finishes the season 4-0 in his final eight starts.

”It sort of caps off the year he had,” Zunino said. ”He just keeps getting stronger. Every start is getting better and better.”

Ervin Santana (9-10) matched Iwakuma and kept the Mariners scoreless for the first four innings before Seattle broke through. Santana went six innings, allowing four runs and five hits with two strikeouts and four walks.

Zunino broke the scoreless tie leading off the fifth inning, taking Santana’s first pitch deep to left field.

The blast sparked more scoring for the Mariners. With one out, Brad Miller doubled and Nick Franklin walked. With Seager at the plate, Santana’s pickoff attempt to second ended up in center field, putting runners on second and third. Seager then laced a double down the right field line to give Seattle a 3-0 lead.

The Mariners added a run in the seventh. Dustin Ackley led off the inning with a double, and Yost walked out to the mound to signal Santana’s night was done.

”I just told him, ‘You know Erv, you had a great year. Real proud of you.’ That was it,” Yost said.

Miller pushed a bunt up the first base line and reliever Will Smith’s throw to first baseman Eric Hosmer was wide, allowing Ackley to score.

The Royals’ best offensive chance came in the fifth, when Mike Moustakas doubled with one out and took off running when Jarrod Dyson hit a line drive which looked as if it might reach the outfield.

Instead, Miller at shortstop timed his jump and snared the ball, then jogged to second to double off Moustakas and end the inning.

The Royals, who were six games below .500 at the All-Star break, head to Chicago to finish up the season with a four-game series against the White Sox.

Even without a shot at the playoffs, Kansas City (83-75) is assured of its first winning season in a decade, and one more win will give them their best record since they finished 84-78 in 1993.

”We’ve had a real good second half,” Billy Butler said. ”We have one more series and we get to build on this for next year. We had a good run, and the guys in here played hard.”

Yost said he’ll have a chance to give some young players an opportunity over the final four games, but doesn’t expect any letdown despite no longer having a shot at the postseason.

”I think we’ve made a lot of progress as an organization,” Yost said. ”It was a giant step forward for us, and it was a step we definitely needed to take this year.”

— Associated Press —

Justin Smoak hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning and the Seattle Mariners beat Kansas City 4-0 on Tuesday night, putting the Royals’ postseason hopes in serious jeopardy.

Mariners rookie left-hander James Paxton (3-0), making just his fourth major league start, worked a career-high seven innings, allowing four hits, walking none and striking out a career-high 10.

The playoff picture looks as bleak as it can be for the Royals (83-74). They are four games behind Cleveland for the second wild-card berth with five games to play.

The Royals’ three competitors for the two wild-card spots – Tampa Bay, Texas and Cleveland – all won Tuesday. The Royals need to win every game and have both the Indians and Rangers completely collapse.

It was the 13th shutout for the Mariners and the ninth time the Royals have been shut out.

Seattle touched Bruce Chen (8-4) for a run in the first when Brad Miller reached on an infield single followed by Abraham Almonte’s single to center. Almonte has reached base in all his 18 games to start his career, 16 with a hit.

With one out, Kendrys Morales singled to left, driving in Miller.

Chen worked five innings, allowing seven hits and four runs. He walked three and struck out five.

The Royals could not respond against Paxton. They put together two singles in the first inning but a double play eased him out of trouble. He didn’t allow more than one baserunner in any inning after that and at one point he retired 12 straight.

The Mariners blew the game open in the fifth with three runs – all with two outs. Morales, who had three hits, doubled to deep center. Franklin Gutierrez walked and Smoak hit a 0-2 fastball over the wall in left field.

Smoak has 19 home runs but it was just his second right-handed. The other was Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels.

— Associated Press —

Greg Holland got the save. Alex Gordon deserved one, too.

Gordon threw out a runner at the plate in extra innings and scored on Salvador Perez’s two-out double in the 12th to lift the Kansas City Royals over the Seattle Mariners 6-5 on Monday night.

Kansas City moved within three games of idle Cleveland for the second AL wild card with six remaining – all on the road. Texas is a game behind the Indians.

Gordon saved the Royals in the 10th inning, when his one-hop throw to Perez from left field cut down Kyle Seager for an inning-ending double play.

”Alex Gordon’s golden arm, and great tag play by Salvy,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Holland walked the first two batters in the 12th, then retired three straight to end it.

”I’d like to tell you we did that on purpose,” he said, ”but we didn’t. This team has been resilient all year and people are starting to see that now. It’s one great defensive play after another. It’s clutch hits. When we’re not hitting early, the pitching keeps us in games.”

Gordon drew a leadoff walk from Lucas Luetge (1-3) in the top of the 12th and Emilio Bonifacio sacrificed. Eric Hosmer popped out before Johnny Giavotella walked.

Perez, who had three hits, sent the next pitch into the left-field corner. Gordon scored and Giavotella was thrown out at the plate.

Wade Davis (8-11) pitched two hitless innings for the win. Holland earned his 45th save in 48 chances to tie Dan Quisenberry (1983) and Jeff Montgomery (1993) for the club record.

Holland said that achievement ”maybe will sink in later sitting at home during the offseason. But right now I’m just thinking of helping us win.”

Franklin Gutierrez and Michael Saunders hit consecutive homers in the eighth for Seattle off Luke Hochevar to tie it at 5.

”They did a good job of picking me up tonight,” Hochevar said. ”You want to be a little smoother. We could have done without the back-to-back home runs, but at this point of year winning is the bottom line.”

Seager opened the 10th with a double off Francisley Bueno and went to third when right fielder Justin Maxwell bobbled the ball for an error. Kendrys Morales was intentionally walked before Davis took over and struck out Gutierrez.

Saunders was intentionally walked, loading the bases. Pinch-hitter Endy Chavez lifted a fly ball to left and Seager tagged up, but Gordon’s throw to the plate was barely in time.

”Gordon took a couple steps back and I went for it and it didn’t go our way, I guess,” Seager said. ”I thought we had done enough to win, but they battled back.”

Perez said his first priority was to catch the ball.

”He put down a pretty good slide,” Perez said. ”I just put my glove on home plate and he touched my glove. The umpire was in a good position.”

With their 21st extra-inning game, the Mariners matched the 1982 team record. They have lost 15, three more than the previous mark of 12 set in 1982. Seattle has dropped eight straight in extra innings, equaling last year’s club.

The Royals opened the scoring with two runs in the fourth off Brandon Maurer. Billy Butler had an RBI single and Hosmer scored when right fielder Abraham Almonte’s throw to third sailed into the stands for an error.

Yordano Ventura, making his second big league start for the Royals, allowed one run and two hits in 5 2-3 innings. The hard-throwing right-hander struck out six, but three walks hastened his departure.

Kansas City rallied for three in the eighth to take a 5-3 lead.

Bonifacio tied it with an RBI single, and Gordon scored when Hosmer grounded into a fielder’s choice. Seattle tried to turn an inning-ending double play, but a throwing error by second baseman Nick Franklin allowed Hosmer to reach second. Perez added an RBI single.

”Every game from now to the last game of the season is important to us,” Perez said. ”We can’t think about the other teams, what happened. We just need a win. We can’t control other teams. The only thing we can control is our game.”

— Associated Press —

If this was the last swing of the season at Kauffman Stadium, it was one to savor.

Justin Maxwell ended the Kansas City Royals’ home season with a two-out grand slam in the 10th inning Sunday for a 4-0 win over the Texas Rangers in a matchup of AL playoff contenders.

”I kind of blacked out after I looked at Gordo (Alex Gordon) over there going crazy,” Maxwell said. ”I just saw the excitement in all my teammates’ eyes. I couldn’t wait to get around the bases and to home plate.”

The Oakland Athletics clinched the AL West with the Rangers’ loss.

Texas dropped 1 1/2 games behind Cleveland for the second wild-card spot. Kansas City is 3 1/2 back.

Maxwell connected off former Royals All-Star closer Joakim Soria.

”I’ve never faced him before,” Maxwell said. ”With a 3-2 count, bases loaded, two out, I was just looking for a fastball strike and I got one. I didn’t try to do really do too much. Paralysis by analysis. I try to dumb it down and try to hit the ball hard.”

Soria knew he couldn’t afford to throw a borderline pitch and have the winning run score on a walk.

”I had to throw a strike in that situation, and it couldn’t be close,” Soria said.

Royals starter James Shields gave up six hits in eight innings, walking one and striking out two.

Texas starter Alexi Ogando pitched two-hit ball for seven innings, striking out five and walking one.

Eric Hosmer led off the Royals 10th by punching a double with two strikes down the left-field line off Neal Cotts (5-3). Soria relieved and intentionally walked Billy Butler, and an infield single by Salvador Perez loaded the bases.

Mike Moustakas popped up and pinch-hitter George Kottaras grounded into a force play at the plate before Maxwell’s grand slam.

Tim Collins (3-6) worked a perfect 10th to pick up the victory.

Ogando, who had three stints on the disabled list this season, excelled in just his eighth start since May 15. He left after 77 pitches.

”I thought overall it went very well,” Ogando said through a translator. ”I was really able to locate my pitches and able to

throw them for strikes. You know what’s going to happen if you can throw strikes where you want and be able to be aggressive with your pitches.”

Maxwell hit a leadoff single in the third and moved up on a sacrifice, making him the lone Royals runner to get past first base off Ogando.

Shields, who was 4-1 in his previous five starts, lowered his ERA to 3.21. He was struck in the right elbow by David Murphy’s liner in the second, but remained in the game after making some warmup tosses as manager Ned Yost watched from the mound.

”You can probably see the big bump in my elbow,” Shields said. ”I had a hard time feeling the baseball the whole rest of the game. It’s just one of those games, one of those moments where I wasn’t coming out of the game. I told Skip I wasn’t hurting. I wasn’t necessarily feeling good, but I felt fine to go back out. It was kind of tightening up between every inning.

”Ogando pitched his heart out and it was just fortunate we got the win. The fans were unbelievable. It was electric in the stadium as I’ve ever seen it. They were into every single pitch,” he said.

Shields allowed two-out singles to Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus before getting out of the inning.

Royals closer Greg Holland took over in the ninth. Alex Rios made it to first when he struck out on a wild pitch to lead off the inning and stole second. But Rios was thrown out trying to take third on Adrian Beltre’s fly to left, with Gordon getting his AL-leading 16th outfield assist.

”Rios was trying to make something happen, which you can’t blame him,” Gordon said. ”I was just trying to make the play, keep the score zero-zero and help Greg out. Alex Rios is a long strider, very fast, so I had to make a good throw. That’s what I planned to do. I didn’t do much all day, but that was key.”

Perez helped out Shields by throwing would-be basestealers Andrus at third base in the first and Leonys Martin at second in the fifth.

”Stealing third is easier than stealing second for me,” Andrus said. ”He throws well. I took my chances. That kid Perez is amazing. It’s pretty tough the way they play defense. You have to tip your cap.”

— Associated Press —