season. The addition of Taylor Hall from the Edmonton Oilers was meant to address the lack of goal s

CLEVELAND -- As the days in September dwindle, the Kansas City Royals understand that this October will be very different for them.Their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, the Royals were beaten 5-2 on Thursday night by the Cleveland Indians, who swept the three-game series and pushed the defending World Series champions nearer to elimination.Dylan Gee (7-9) gave up a three-run homer to Carlos Santana in the sixth inning as the Indians moved closer to their first AL Central title since 2007. Kansas City was eliminated from the division race on Wednesday and began the night trailing six teams in the wild-card race.Youre not going to live a charmed life forever, and we did last year by not really suffering any major injuries, manager Ned Yost said. This year we did.With the loss, the Royals went 1-9 in Cleveland this season.Alcides Escobar hit a two-run homer for Kansas City (77-76), which cant afford many more losses to have any chance of returning to the playoffs.At this point, finishing above .500 is a more attainable goal.Gee hit Jason Kipnis to start the sixth and Francisco Lindor walked. One out later, Santana drove his 34th homer into the right-field seats. After he crossed home plate, Santana pointed at NBA free agent swingman J.R. Smith, who helped the Cavaliers win the NBA title this year and end Clevelands 52-year championship drought.It wasnt an awful pitch, he made the adjustment and got enough of it to get it out, Gee said. Hitting a guy and walking a guy makes it tough to pitch.Santana went 7 for 12 with five RBI in the Indians series sweep.Its been that kind of year for the Royals, who have endured a number of injuries to key players. Catcher Salvador Perez, third baseman Mike Moustakas, outfielders Alex Gordon and Lorenzo Cain, and closer Wade Davis all missed extended time.Ive been very proud of the way this team continues to battle through all adversity, Yost said. They dont quit. Theyre every bit into these games as they were at this time last year. Thats a good trait to have.Royals left-hander Jason Vargas made just his second start since coming back from Tommy John surgery last year. He allowed a homer to Kipnis and an RBI double to Santana in the first and went four innings.Im just happy to go out there and be healthy and not have any issues when I come out of the game, said Vargas.With Cleveland starters Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar dealing with injuries and likely out for the playoffs, Mike Clevinger could hold a pivotal role for the Indians in October. The rookie showed poise in working out of potential trouble as the Royals put the leadoff man on in three straight innings.It was a solid postseason audition for Clevinger, who allowed four hits in five innings before giving way to Clevelands solid bullpen.The Indians jumped on Vargas for two runs in the first.Kipnis made it 1-0 with his 23rd homer. Once he was back in the dugout, the second baseman was carried through a lineup of welcoming teammates by catcher Chris Gimenez and outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall, a celebratory ride that has become a staple this season.NO SURPRISERoyals designated hitter Kendrys Morales is finishing the season strong after struggling the first two months. Morales leads the majors with 26 RBI in September and has hit 29 homers, the second-highest total of his career.You knew it would be a matter of time until he turned it around, Yost said. Theres too much talent not to. You dont see him losing his skills. He was going through a tough period.Escobars shot to center tied it 2-2 in the second. It was Escobars sixth homer in his last 149 at-bats, quite a power surge for the shortstop who had homered just once in his previous 600 at-bats.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals: OF Lorenzo Cain (inflammation in left wrist) hasnt played since Sept. 9 and could miss the rest of the season.UP NEXTRoyals: LHP Danny Duffy (12-2) will match a career high by making his 25th start this season as Kansas City begins a three-game set in Detroit. With a win, Duffy will have the most wins by a Royals left-hander since Charlie Leibrandt won 13 in 1988. Adidas Ultra Boost Discount . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. Adidas Ultra Boost Wholesale . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. http://www.cheapauthenticultraboost.com/ . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. Adidas Ultra Boost China Wholesale . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Adidas Ultra Boost Clearance . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. The San Jose Sharks are glad to be back home for an extended period. Perhaps it will get their struggling offense going.San Jose opens a five-game homestand and a stretch of seven of eight at SAP Center on Monday night against the New Jersey Devils, who are dealing with their own problems trying to generate offense.The Sharks are coming off a 3-3-0 road trip -- their longest of the season. Things started well with 10 goals scored in wins over the Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. They followed by tallying only four goals in losses to the Carolina Hurricanes, St. Louis Blues and Arizona Coyotes.Joe Pavelski, who had two goals and two assists on the trip, said playing at home for the first time since Nov. 5 and for a long period will be good for the team.(Well) spend a little bit of time (at home) and try to create that home-ice advantage, he told the CSN Bay Area website. We havent had much time there. Theres a little bit of disconnect from the fans just because weve been gone.We want to get back there, we want to get the crowd going where we score a goal and the place erupts on your side. Those are good feelings.That was certainly the case early in the season when San Jose won four in a row, but open this homestand trying to avoid a third consecutive loss in northern California.San Jose (9-8-1) is near the top of the Pacific Division despite having one of the more lackluster offensive units in the league. San Jose has scored just 41 goals so far, one more than New Jersey.Pavelski is tied with Brent Burns for the team lead with six goals, but Burns has failed to score in four straight. Joe Thornton has only two goals and none in his last five games, and Patrick Marleau has scored four goals with one coming in his past eight games. Thornton and Marleau have combined for 16 goals, including five game-winners, and 18 assists versus the Devils.I think all the guys in here have high expectations as far as how we want to play. I think guys put a lot of pressure on themselves, Sharks defenseman Paul Martin told CSN Bay Area.ddddddddddddAnother player whos struggled is Tomas Hertl, who set career highs with 21 goals and 25 assists last season, but has only four goals and five assists through 17 games. Hertl suffered an injury against the Blues, and may need knee surgery.The Devils are 1-2-0 on their four-game road trip and will be trying to leave California with a win. After defeating the Dallas Stars in overtime on Tuesday, New Jersey dropped a one-goal decision to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday before falling 4-2 to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.New Jersey (9-5-3) has failed to score more than 197 goals in each of the last four seasons and is on pace for about 172 this season. The addition of Taylor Hall from the Edmonton Oilers was meant to address the lack of goal scoring, but a knee injury is expected to sideline him until mid-December. Michael Cammalleri (three goals) remains day-to-day for personal reasons.With Hall and Cammalleri out, that leaves journeyman P.A. Parenteau as the teams leading goal scorer with five. Defenseman Damon Severson also leads the Devils with nine assists and 12 points.We need more performances from the players who are here, Devils coach John Hynes said after the loss to the Kings.One player Hynes could be targeting with that statement is Kyle Palmieri. Playing in his first season with the Devils in 2015-16, Palmieri had career bests with 30 goals and 27 assists in 82 games. Hes slumped to three goals and four assists in 17 games, and played just 15 shifts against Los Angeles -- his fewest this season.New Jersey also has failed to score a power-play goal in its last eight games, going 0-for-26 in that stretch.On the bright side, New Jersey has won two straight at SAP Center by a combined 8-2 score. That includes a 30-save shutout by Keith Kinkaid in the Devils 3-0 win on March 10.Kinkaid, who has not played since Nov. 11, is 2-0-1 with a 1.65 goals-against average as Cory Schneiders backup. ' ' '