Matt Garza decided it was time to stop thinking and start doing.

Garza pitched eight impressive innings for his first victory in six starts and the Texas Rangers kept close in the playoff race, beating the Kansas City Royals 3-1 Saturday night.

The Rangers won for only the fifth time in 19 September games to remain a half-game behind Cleveland for the second AL wild-card berth.

The Royals, out of the playoffs since winning the 1985 World Series, dropped 3 1/2 games in back of the Indians.

Adrian Beltre got two hits and drove in a run for Texas.

Garza (10-6) was 0-3 with an 8.22 ERA in his first three September starts. He pitched four-hit ball before giving up Eric Hosmer’s leadoff home run in the ninth and getting pulled.

”You’re the only one who can do it,” Garza said. ”You’re the one who has to wake up in the morning and look at yourself in the mirror. I wasn’t happy with what I saw. I just got back to being comfortable, back to being who was I was. It’s a lot funnier this way. I can enjoy it a little more.”

The plan Garza and catcher A.J. Pierzynski had was to keep it unsophisticated.

”He tried to keep it simpler,” Pierzynski said after Garza gave up nine runs on 13 hits and six walks in 8 1-3 innings in his previous two starts. ”He talked about an overload of information. We do a great job here of scouting reports. Matt is a simple guy. He wants to know the basics. I think sometimes when you give him too much, I think he overthinks himself.

”I think he tried to keep it simple today and be as aggressive as he can. We talked between starts and he executed to perfection except for obviously that home run.”

The simple method worked for Garza.

”I was trying to do too much,” Garza said. ”I’ve just got to keep it simple. That’s kind of been my whole thing and it’s kind of who I am. I just went out there with a game-plan of attack, trust my stuff and let’s go. It’s no time to work on anything anymore. Let’s go and it felt good.”

Garza struck out five and walked one. He is 4-5 in 12 starts since the Rangers acquired him on July 22 in a trade with the Chicago Cubs.

”We were a little more than off-balance,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”He was really good. He was really pounding the strike zone. He threw, I think, 70 strikes and 27 balls. He had a good fastball, a really good slider and a good chase pitch. He was ahead all night. He pitched a really good game.”

After Hosmer’s 17th homer, Joe Nathan relieved. The Texas closer struck out two for his 40th save in 43 chances. Nathan posted his 41st career save against the Royals.

Jeremy Guthrie (14-12) allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings. He has permitted six runs and 20 hits in 14 innings in losing his past two starts.

Beltre’s .374 career batting average at Kauffman Stadium is the highest for an opposing batter with at least 150 plate appearances.

Guthrie gave up a triple to Ian Kinsler to lead off the game. Kinsler scored on Elvis Andrus’ groundout.

In the third, Guthrie’s control betrayed him when he walked Andrus and Alex Rios on eight pitches, and both scored.

Beltre bounced an RBI single up the middle and Pierzynski had a sacrifice fly.

”If I get that ball (Beltre’s single) maybe we get that double play and we’re still playing,” Royals second baseman Emilio Bonifacio said.

The Royals had only one batter get past second base before Hosmer’s homer. Jarrod Dyson tripled with two out in the fifth, but was stranded when Alcides Escobar looked at a called third strike.

— Associated Press —

Alcides Escobar was going to take the first pitch that Neftali Feliz threw him, no matter what. After that, the Royals shortstop decided to keep taking pitches until he saw a strike.

Turns out he never got to see one.

Escobar walked on four pitches with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning Friday night, giving Kansas City a 2-1 victory over the Texas Rangers in the opener of an important three-game series between teams in the playoff race.

”We had the utmost confidence he was going to get it done right there and he had a great at-bat,” said Royals manager Ned Yost, who chose to stick with Escobar despite his .238 batting average and the fact that he had walked just 18 times in more than 600 plate appearances.

Make that 19 times.

”I’m frustrated that I wasn’t able to locate where I wanted to, but I understand that’s part of the game,” Feliz said. ”I need to keep my head up and try it again tomorrow.”

The Rangers dropped a half-game behind the Indians, which beat Houston 2-1 in a rain-shortened game, for the second AL wild-card spot. The Royals were three games behind the leading Rays, who were locked in an extra-inning game with the Orioles.

”These games are all going to be like this,” said Yost, whose Royals (81-72) are already assured of their first non-losing season since 2003. ”They’re all going to be nail-biters. They’re all going to be close.”

This one was so close the Rangers and Royals scored matching runs in the second inning, and then started tossing up zeros the rest of the way.

The Royals finally broke through when Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas hit consecutive two-out singles off the Rangers’ Jason Frasor (4-3) in the eighth. Pinch-hitter David Lough drew a walk on a full-count pitch, and Rangers manager Ron Washington brought in Feliz.

He promptly walked Escobar as a crowd of 30,000 roared.

Luke Hochevar (5-2) earned the win in relief of Ervin Santana, who allowed one run on five hits in 7 1-3 innings. Greg Holland worked the ninth for his 44th save.

”It stinks when you get taken out and you’ve got to rely on someone else. It’s hard to sit there and watch,” Frasor said. ”It’s a tough spot for Neftali.”

The Rangers actually jumped out to an early lead when Adrian Beltre, whose .374 average coming into the game was the best of any current player at Kauffman Stadium, roped a single to lead off the second. It was followed by a double by A.J. Pierzynski for a 1-0 advantage.

The Royals answered in the bottom half when Salvador Perez led off with a double and Justin Maxwell, getting the start in right field, hit a two-out double to tie the game.

Kansas City kept wasting chances in the early innings, though.

Billy Butler grounded into a double play to end the first, and Moustakas grounded into another in the second. The Royals worked back-to-back walks in the fourth before Escobar flied out to center field to end yet another scoring threat.

The most egregious mistake came in the sixth, when Maxwell walked and Escobar was hit by a pitch from Rangers starter Martin Perez. Maxwell took off for third base with Alex Gordon at the plate, and he was easily thrown out by catcher Geovany Soto to end the inning.

Asked whether he was running on his own, Yost replied: ”Yeah.” Good idea? ”Nope.”

None of those jams was as tight as the one Santana worked out of in the fifth.

After retiring the first two batters, David Murphy doubled, Leonys Martin singled and Ian Kinsler drew a walk to load the bases. Santana recovered to strike out Elvis Andrus.

The Rangers had another opportunity in the eighth, but Hochever got Andrus to fly out to left and Alex Rios to ground out to first to leave Kinsler standing on first base.

”Every game is so big, and that’s what makes it fun,” Hochevar said. ”The intensity, the electricity in the ballpark that we’ve had during this push, it’s been awesome.”

— Associated Press —

Manager Ned Yost’s faith in Bruce Chen paid off for the Kansas City Royals.

Chen worked five innings and Salvador Perez doubled home two runs and the Royals beat the Cleveland Indians 7-2 on Wednesday night.

The Royals, who have not made the playoffs since 1985, are 2½ games back in the wild-card standings, while the Indians are a half-game behind.

“I felt really good about Bruce being on the hill for us,” Yost said. “I just felt his veteran experience was going to be crucial in a big game like this. My mindset was to get him through the lineup twice and if we had any lead at all, to do some maneuvering.

“A game of this magnitude, you don’t play around. We’ve got 10 games left. You don’t play (around) with 10 games left especially when they are this big. You get it out of the way and then you worry about tomorrow tomorrow.”

Yost did some bullpen maneuvering to keep the lead.

“Every single game is a must-win,” Chen said. “We’re behind. We’re trying to catch up. The bullpen did an outstanding job. We have the best bullpen in the American League.”

Chen was pulled in the sixth after giving up a single to Michael Bourn and walking Nick Swisher to lead off the inning.

“He does what he does,” Indians manager Terry Francona said of Chen. “He’s up, down, in, out. Nothing the same speed. He takes the sting out of your bat. He really knows how to pitch.”

Francisley Bueno replaced Chen and recorded two outs with three pitches.

After Jason Kipnis advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt, Bueno kept the runners put when Carlos Santana grounded out to third baseman Mike Moustakas. Louis Coleman came in and retired Ryan Raburn on a fly to right to strand the runners.

Royals relievers Tim Collins, Will Smith and Greg Holland preserved the lead, allowing just one hit, to keep the team’s playoff chances alive.

The Royals broke the game open with three runs off four Indians pitchers in the eighth. Alcides Escobar had a two-run single on a full count off Carlos Carrasco, while Jarrod Dyson walked with the bases loaded.

“The last at-bat, that’s one of my best at-bats of the year,” Escobar said. “I was just trying to put ball in play, ground ball, fly ball, anywhere. I was really concentrating. I was trying to put the ball in play and got the base hit.”

Rookie Danny Salazar (1-3), who had allowed just one run in 13 2/3 innings in his first three September starts, took the loss, giving up four runs and six hits in six innings.

The Royals jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first with Perez’s two-out double, scoring Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler. Perez went to third on the throw home and scored on a Salazar wild pitch.

The Indians scored a pair of runs in the third. Yan Gomes came home after center fielder Dyson had trouble picking up Michael Brantley’s double. Brantley wound up scoring on Bourn’s sacrifice fly.

The Royals used a double steal in the fifth for their fourth run. Escobar avoided the tag of catcher Gomes to steal home, while Alex Gordon, who was initially caught in a rundown, stole second. Escobar became the first Royal to steal home since Jeff Francoeur on Aug. 11, 2012, at Baltimore.

“I was kind of looking to take him back to third base and peaked (at the other runner) and when I did that he kind of dropped and went under my tag,” Gomes said.

— Associated Press —

Terry Francona likened the atmosphere at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday to a playoff game in October. The crowd was into it. Every pitch mattered.

The Indians manager is hopeful the outcome will propel his team into the actual playoffs.

Asdrubal Cabrera drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, and Cleveland rallied off the stingy Kansas City Royals bullpen for a 5-3 victory Tuesday night that evened their series.

The win allowed the Indians to remain a half-game back of Texas and Tampa Bay in the AL wild-card race. The Royals are 3 1/2 games adrift after the Rangers beat the Rays earlier in the night.

”That was a fun game to be part of, two teams that really want to win bad were competing a lot,” Francona said. ”We did enough to win.”

The Indians were shut out until the sixth by Yordano Ventura, who made an electric major league debut. They tied the game 3-all in the seventh off reliever Kelvin Herrera, and Cabrera’s double off Wade Davis (7-11) in the eighth scored Drew Stubbs and gave Cleveland the lead.

Michael Bourn added a homer in the ninth to provide a cushion.

”It’s not always going to be pretty but we have to find a way to get it done,” said Nick Swisher, whose sacrifice fly in the seventh tied it. ”We have a scrappy group in here, and we’re not done. We’re going to keep pushing because we want this. We want it bad.”

Cody Allen (6-1) was among six Indians relievers who kept Kansas City off the scoreboard the final 4 1-3 innings. Chris Perez handled a perfect ninth for his 25th save.

”It happens sometimes,” Royals catcher Salvador Perez said of the collapse. ”We have to keep going, keep playing hard through the last day of the season.”

Ventura had already been saddled with the nickname ”Ace” before Monday night, but in the first inning he looked more like a different film character: Rick ”Wild Thing” Vaughn.

He erratically walked Bourn on four pitches to lead off the game, and earned a roar when he finally threw a strike to Nick Swisher. The roar grew when Ventura got him to ground into a double play, and reached a crescendo when he struck out Jason Kipnis to end the inning.

The 22-year-old flame-thrower settled in after that, mixing his curveball and changeup with straight gas that touched 101 mph on the radar gun at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals gave him a lead on Hosmer’s double in the first inning. They added two more in the third, thanks in large part to Emilio Bonifacio getting into the head of starter Corey Kluber.

After a single, Bonifacio swiped second even as Kluber tried to pick him off. Bonifacio kept dancing around second base, and the Indians right-hander proceeded to walk Hosmer and Billy Butler to load up the bases. Salvador Perez’s sacrifice fly and Mike Moustakas’s double made it 3-0.

The Indians finally started to rally in the sixth. Swisher’s single and a pair of two-out singles by Carlos Santana and Michael Brantley made it 3-1 and drove Ventura from the game – he received a standing ovation. Cabrera walked to load the bases before Ryan Raburn struck out.

It may have been a wasted opportunity, but Cleveland atoned for it the next inning.

Yan Gomes was plunked in the back by Herrera, and then Bourn ripped an RBI triple into the gap. Swisher followed with a sacrifice fly to left field that knotted the game 3-all.

”The hit batsman was crucial at that point with Bourn coming up and hitting a triple right behind it,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”Those are things late in the season in games of this magnitude you really want to try to stay away from.”

Those are the things that set the stage for Cabrera to finish off the comeback.

”Tonight was one of the more gratifying wins,” Francona said. ”We kept fighting, and that’s a good feeling to be part of that, and watch those guys do that.”

— Associated Press —

Royals ace James Shields peered in at the Indians’ Yan Gomes, who had stepped to the plate with two runners aboard in the fourth inning of a nip-and-tuck game between playoff contenders.

When Gomes swung and missed at strike three, Shields roared like a lion as he stalked off the mound, the intensity of meaningful September baseball etched across his face.

Shields wound up going six innings Monday night, and Salvador Perez led a scrappy Kansas City offense that eventually pulled away for a 7-1 victory in the opener of a pivotal three-game series.

Shields struck out a season-high 10 for the Royals (79-71), who moved within 2 1/2 games of the AL’s second wild-card berth. The Indians (81-69) remained a half-game back of Texas, which lost to Tampa Bay earlier in the night in a matchup of teams leading the wild-card race.

”Every game is important,” Shields said. ”This is what we live for, this is what we play for, September baseball, and hopefully we have a chance to go to the playoffs.”

Shields (12-9) allowed only Lonnie Chisenhall’s solo homer before turning the game over to his stingy bullpen. Wade Davis, Luke Hochevar and Tim Collins did the rest in a steady drizzle.

Perez finished with three hits and was among six different players to drive in a run for Kansas City, which is chasing its first postseason berth since winning the 1985 World Series.

”We have the talent to compete each and every night,” said Lorenzo Cain, who drove in one of the runs. ”You need a little luck every now and then, but we have the talent to compete.

Scott Kazmir (8-9) gave up four runs in 5-plus innings for the Indians. He didn’t get a whole lot of help from his offense, which racked up a season-high 17 strikeouts.

”I did everything I could,” Kazmir said. ”I battled my butt off to get where I was.”

Accustomed to pitching in important games, Shields kept the Indians guessing all night. He fanned three in the fifth after Chisenhall went deep, and the only other time he was in trouble was the first, when Shields stranded runners on second and third.

”He knows how to handle his emotions and channel it to his benefit, but he also knows how to transfer it to his teammates,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”He knows what’s at stake and he’s getting after it. He’s into it.”

Billy Butler started the scoring by driving in Emilio Bonifacio with a two-out single in the first, and then Kansas City tacked on another run in the third thanks to some hustle.

Alex Gordon struck out swinging but raced to first base when Kazmir’s wild pitch went to the backstop. He reached third on Eric Hosmer’s single and scored on Perez’s two-out base knock.

”When Scott left the game, we’re still in striking distance,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. ”We didn’t finish a couple of plays and it got away from us.”

That happened in the sixth, when Perez and Cain opened the inning with back-to-back triples for a 3-1 lead, and David Lough added a pinch-hit single to provide the Royals with another run.

Alcides Escobar reached base when shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera fielded his grounder and threw wide of first for an error, and then Bonifacio hit a dribbler toward Chisenhall at third that he mishandled for another error. The second in a span of three batters resulted in a 5-1 game.

The Royals added a pair of runs in the seventh inning to put it away.

”They put it on us tonight,” said the Indians’ Jason Giambi, who was 0 for 3 with a pair of strikeouts. ”They played great baseball. They just out played us tonight.”

— Associated Press —

Max Scherzer could only watch as the lead – and another shot at his 20th win – slipped away.

The Detroit right-hander didn’t mind, especially once Alex Avila’s homer put the Tigers ahead again moments later.

Avila homered twice, including a tiebreaking solo shot in the eighth inning that lifted Detroit over the Kansas City Royals 3-2 Sunday. Scherzer was in line for his 20th win when reliever Drew Smyly allowed the Royals to tie it in the top of the eighth, but Avila answered with a drive to right-center for his 11th home run this season.

”We’re just looking to win the game,” Scherzer said. ”I don’t care if I win another game, if we win our division, that’s all that matters.”

The AL Central-leading Tigers remained five games ahead of second-place Cleveland, which beat the Chicago White Sox.

Scherzer has two losses and two no-decisions since a 19-1 start but was terrific Sunday. He allowed a run and five hits with 12 strikeouts and one walk in seven innings. He was on track to become baseball’s first 20-game winner this year when he pitched out of a second-and-third, one-out jam in the seventh to preserve a one-run lead.

But Smyly (6-0) allowed a leadoff double to Alcides Escobar in the eighth. After a flyout by Alex Gordon, Emilio Bonifacio struck out – with Escobar stealing third on the third strike.

With Eric Hosmer batting, Smyly bounced a wild pitch that didn’t skip too far away from Avila. Hosmer, who hits left-handed, stood and motioned to Escobar, who gambled by trying to score. Avila jumped up to retrieve the ball, which had bounced up the first-base line – but the Detroit catcher plowed right into Hosmer, who had moved slightly to his right in an apparent effort to get out of the way.

That collision cost the Tigers any chance to catch Escobar. Tigers manager Jim Leyland came out to discuss the play with plate umpire James Hoye, but the run stood.

”It wasn’t interference,” Avila said. ”It was the right call. It was just a weird situation.”

Avila’s homer in the bottom half put the Tigers back on top. After a poor start at the plate, Avila is hitting .313 since the All-Star break.

”Just trying to hit the ball hard. There’s nothing that I changed, there’s no magic or secret to it,” Avila said. ”I’m just having some luck, some good swings and hitting the ball hard, really.”

Joaquin Benoit got three outs for his 20th save in 20 chances.

Jeremy Guthrie (14-11) pitched all eight innings for the Royals, who remained 3 1-2 games back in the AL wild-card race.

”I thought he could get us to the end. In hindsight, I pushed him too far, but I thought he could get us through the bottom of the order and maybe get the win or turn it over to the pen with a tie game,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. ”He did a lot of bending, but he didn’t break.”

Guthrie allowed three runs and 13 hits. He struck out four and walked one.

Avila’s first homer was a two-run drive in the second. Gordon hit a solo homer for Kansas City in the fourth.

Detroit left 10 men on base. In the fifth, Miguel Cabrera led off with a single and Prince Fielder followed with a double. They were stranded when Guthrie retired Victor Martinez, Andy Dirks and Omar Infante on consecutive groundouts.

Gordon’s solo homer down the line in right field to lead off the fourth made it 2-1, and Bonifacio followed with a single. Scherzer found a groove after that, retiring 10 of 11 with nine strikeouts before a one-out single by Salvador Perez in the seventh.

— Associated Press —

September is almost halfway over. The Kansas City Royals are nowhere near finished.

They won’t go away.

Jeremy Guthrie got a major assist from his defense in pitching six innings, Alcides Escobar hit a rare home run and the Royals snapped a six-game losing streak in Cleveland, 6-3 on Tuesday night to close on the Indians and two others in the AL’s cramped wild-card scramble.

Guthrie (14-10) allowed just one run and nine hits, but was helped by three double plays as the Royals, coupled with Tampa Bay’s loss to Boston, pulled within three games of a wild-card spot.

”We’re excited,” Guthrie said. ”We know there’s teams ahead of us. If we win games, we have a chance. If we don’t, we don’t. The scoreboard watching makes it fun. We know we have to win a lot of games. We have to win series to give ourselves a chance.”

Mike Moustakas hit a two-run double in the sixth off Zach McAllister (7-9) and the hanging-tough Royals won for the 12th time in 17 games.

Kansas City had lost seven in a row before this stretch and was on the verge of falling from the race. But the Royals are still in the thick of the wide-open playoff chase, and could still have a say in the AL Central with three games later this week at first-place Detroit.

”I don’t even remember the seven straight,” Moustakas said of the Royals’ slide last month. ”That’s the key – just forget it. We go out there every night with the same mindset, to win a ballgame at all costs. We stick with that. ”

Royals reliever Luke Hochevar struck out all five batters he faced, and closer Greg Holland worked a perfect ninth for his 41st save.

Guthrie wasn’t overpowering, but he didn’t allow a walk and let his defense get him out of trouble. Kansas City’s infield turned double plays in the third, fourth and sixth innings to back the right-hander, who won for just the second time in seven starts.

Michael Bourn had two RBIs for Cleveland. The Indians had several chances early on against Guthrie, but squandered their opportunities.

”We rolled into a couple double plays,” manager Terry Francona said. ”We didn’t do damage. We gave ourselves a chance in a lot of innings, but couldn’t get the big hit to get the ball rolling.”

Of the six current teams in the wild-card chase, the Indians have the most favorable schedule. Kansas City is the only team with a winning record that Cleveland will face the rest of the way.

Moustakas’ two-run double highlighted a three-run sixth, when the Royals chased McAllister and opened a 4-1 lead.

Eric Hosmer walked and Billy Butler doubled into the left-field corner. Moustakas then snapped an 0-for-16 slide by pulling his double to right. Salvador Perez followed with an RBI single to give the Royals a three-run lead and finish McAllister, who allowed four runs and six hits in five-plus innings.

Butler’s sacrifice fly made it 5-1 in the seventh before the Indians rallied with two in their half on Bourn’s two-run double. However, Hochevar came on and fanned Nick Swisher looking and whiffed All-Star Jason Kipnis to preserve the two-run lead. He struck out the side in the eighth.

Escobar’s RBI single in the eighth put Kansas City up 6-3.

Following the game, the Royals’ clubhouse was filled with loud music. These guys are having a ball.

”Playing meaningful baseball this late in the season, it’s awesome,” said Moustakas, who has 21 RBIs since the All-Star break after getting just 17 in the first half. ”It’s a lot of fun.”

The Royals hit several long flies that were caught for outs through the first four innings before Escobar ended a long homerless drought to tie it 1-all in the fifth.

With one out, Escobar connected on a full-count pitch from McAllister, driving it onto the pedestrian patio in left for his fourth homer and first since April 28, a span of 467 at-bats. Escobar’s previous homer also came against the Indians, a shot off right-hander Justin Masterson.

With left-handed hitters batting .328 this season against Guthrie, Francona loaded his lineup with eight lefties.

Cleveland strung together three two-out hits in the first off Guthrie to take a 1-0 lead.

Kipnis and Santana singled to right before Brantley, who came in batting just .125 (2 for 16) in his career against Kansas City’s starter, grounded an RBI hit to center.

Guthrie got out of the third with a double play and again in the fourth, when he also got a nice play by right fielder David Lough, who raced back and robbed Jason Kubel before crashing into the padded wall for the final out.

— Associated Press —

The Cleveland Indians were rewarded nicely for making it out of a harrowing ninth inning: They gained ground in the AL wild-card chase.

Chris Perez retired Alex Gordon on a fly ball with the bases loaded to end the game and preserve Cleveland’s 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night.

The Indians, who won despite having only five hits, moved a half-game closer to idle Tampa Bay, 1 1/2 games back for the second wild-card spot. The Royals dropped to four games behind the Rays.

Ubaldo Jimenez struck out 10 in seven innings and Asdrubal Cabrera, Yan Gomes and Carlos Santana each hit solo homers, as Cleveland built a 4-1 lead. It appeared as if the Indians were safe but Alex Gordon hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Cody Allen and Perez needed 27 pitches to get through the ninth.

Even Indians manager Terry Francona, who led Boston to two World Series titles, admitted he was on edge.

”I had a stomachache,” he said. ”That’s about as nail baiting as you can get.”

Jimenez (11-9) wasn’t sure he wanted to watch.

”I was praying a little,” he said.

Francona has stressed to his players to take their season one game at a time and not worry about the previous day or the following one. With 19 games remaining and the Indians in the middle of the chase for the postseason, they have obviously listened.

”You try to be one run better,” he said. ”Tonight, I feel like we were a tenth of a run better.”

A crowd of only 9,794 attended the game, despite the matchup of two contenders. Several hundred dogs were also in attendance with a ”Puppypalooza” promotion. The Indians were 14th in the league in attendance entering Monday, but Francona was diplomatic when asked about the small crowds.

”Everybody would love to play in front of a packed house, but my view of it is we have a responsibility to play as well as we can and hope that the people that come enjoy it and are proud of us,” he said. ”I think that’s the best we can do. That’s how I feel.”

Salvador Perez led off the ninth with a single and Mike Moustakas walked on four pitches. Pinch-hitter David Lough’s sacrifice moved the runners to second and third. Carlos Pena, another pinch hitter, struck out looking on a full-count pitch. George Kottaras, the third straight pinch hitter, battled back from an 0-2 count and walked to load the bases.

Gordon flied out to center fielder Michael Bourn and Chris Perez recorded his 23rd save.

”I liked the matchups with Pena, Kottaras and Alex (Gordon),” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”We just couldn’t get it done.”

Royals starter Ervin Santana (8-9) made three mistakes, but they cost him the game. Cabrera homered in the second and Gomes hit his in the fifth. Santana led off the seventh with a line drive down the right field line that landed in the seats. First base umpire Dana DeMuth ruled the ball foul, bringing Francona out of the dugout.

The umpires huddled briefly and left the field to view a replay, which clearly showed the ball hit the foul pole. The umps returned to the field, DeMuth gave the home run signal and Santana rounded the bases.

The Indians also got a boost from rookie infielder Jose Ramirez, who got his first major league hit and used his speed to score a run in his first start since being called up from Double-A Akron on Sept. 1.

Francona said before the game he started Ramirez because he thought the rookie could do something to help the team score. Ramirez made his manager look good in the third when he started the inning with a single, moved to third on a groundout and scored on Hosmer’s throwing error.

Ramirez’s throwing error led to Kansas City’s run in the sixth and he was picked off first in the eighth.

”He was all over the ballpark tonight,” Francona said.

— Associated Press —

Bruce Chen put a stop to a bad string of starts for the Kansas City Royals.

Chen picked up the Royals’ beleaguered rotation with seven solid innings, pitching Kansas City past the Detroit Tigers 5-2 Sunday.

Chen (7-2), who moved into the rotation on July 12 after 19 relief appearances, limited the AL Central leaders to five hits and two runs. He earned the first victory for a Royals starter on their seven-game homestand.

”I was pounding the strike zone, mixing in all my pitches, throwing different angles,” Chen said.

Eric Hosmer had three hits, including a three-run homer in the fifth inning.

The Royals stayed close in the wild-card chase, taking the final two games of the series after losing 16-2 Friday.

”After that game, it was a bad feeling,” Hosmer said. ”They just flat out beat us that day. Just to forget it as a team and bounce back like that shows a lot about the character on the team and pitching staff.”

The Kansas City starters had an 8.00 ERA in the first six games of the homestand, allowing 24 runs on 41 hits and 16 walks in 27 innings. The other four starters had a 9.43 ERA in that span and had failed to make it beyond 4 1-3 innings in four starts.

Hosmer homered off Doug Fister after Alex Gordon and Emilio Bonifacio singled with two outs.

Fister (12-8) allowed five runs on eight hits in 6 1-3 innings.

Chen kept the Tigers hitters off-balance all afternoon.

”We hit a lot of lazy fly balls,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. ”The credit goes to Chen. He changes speeds and got us out in front a lot. You know what you’re going to get with him. He changed speeds and got us out in front and mixed his pitches. He was very effective.”

Greg Holland allowed Prince Fielder’s double with two out in the ninth, but collected his 40th save in 43 chances. Joakim Soria, Jeff Montgomery and Dan Quisenberry are the only other Royals relievers to earn 40 saves in a season.

Jose Iglesias, who had not played since leaving the game Wednesday with shin splints, homered in the third inning after Alex Avila had singled, giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

”Chen pitched how he always pitches,” Avila said. ”You can look back at any game he’s pitched and it’s always the same. He mixes a lot of pitches, works in and out, changes speeds, and never gives in.

”After he gets you out, you go back to the dugout saying, ‘Man, how did I get out?”’

Iglesias hit his second home run since the Tigers acquired him in a July 30 trade with Boston.

”After that pitch, Chen was locked in the entire day,” Hosmer said. ”We knew if could get a lead and hand it off to the bullpen, we’d be in a good spot.”

The Royals got a run in the fourth when Billy Butler grounded a single.

Jarrod Dyson led off the Royals’ seventh with a triple into the left-field corner and scored when Gordon dunked a fly ball into shallow right over a drawn-in Tigers infield for a single.

Chen pitched out of trouble in the sixth. Austin Jackson led off with a double and Miguel Cabrera came up – he had five career home runs off Chen in 36 at-bats.

This time Cabrera hit a comebacker and Chen threw out Jackson at third. Chen fell behind 3-0 to Fielder, who then looked at the next three pitches – all strikes.

”It was a huge play with Miguel,” Chen said. ”We have a two-run lead and the first pitch, he hits a groundball to me.”

— Associated Press —