Abstimmungen » out.Houston counters with Mariner-killer Collin

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Joakim Soria blew another save and the Kansas City Royals chances to return to the postseason took another hit.Pinch hitter Yonder Alonso delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning and the Oakland Athletics rallied past Kansas City 5-4 Tuesday night.The defending World Series champion Royals dropped five games out of the wild-card race with only 18 games left.Thats a really hard situation to come in to, Alonso said. I think early on, I knew I was going to have an opportunity, a meaningful opportunity obviously, with the game on the line to come up with a big at-bat.Soria blew his seventh save chance in eight opportunities. He was summoned with two outs in the eighth and the Royals clinging to a 3-2 lead.On his second pitch, Soria gave up a double to Alonso over the head of center fielder Jarrod Dyson, scoring Brett Eibner and pinch runner Joey Wendle.Soria then yielded an RBI single to Marcus Semien.Its a difficult position when youre not used to that, said Soria, who has 203 career saves. This season has been really, really different to me. I guess in 10 years it can happen sometimes.Unfortunately for me and my team, it happened this year. They need me the most and Ive been having poor results, he said.Rookie Matthew Strahm (2-1), who gave up an infield single to Chad Pinder before Soria replaced him, took the loss.Royals manager Ned Yost said he did not to use Kelvin Herrera for a four-out save and Wade Davis was unavailable after throwing nearly 50 pitches in back-to-back saves Saturday and Sunday.I had confidence in Jack, Yost said. I thought it was a good situation for him. I didnt mind the matchup with Alonso. Jacks had two days off.Ultimately, its my plan. Im responsible for my plan. And that was my plan and it didnt work, he said.Will he continue to use Soria in those pressure situations?I dont make decisions after games like this, Yost said. I havent even thought about. Im not even going to speculate on what Im going to do, without thinking about it and sleeping on it.Jacks that guy right now that everybody is on. Jacks had some really good outings this year and hes had some poor outings. How do you determine from one day to the next if I put him out there if its going to be a good outing or a bad outing? It very easily could have been a good outing. It wasnt, he said.John Axford (6-4) pitched one inning. Ryan Madson balked home Dyson with two outs in the ninth before closing for his 30th save in 36 tries.Royals starter Danny Duffy, who has not won since Aug. 21, limited the As to three hits, but two were home runs, in 7 1/3 innings.Duffy gave up a home run to Khris Davis on his first pitch in the fifth. Davis has homered in back-to-back games and hiked his season total to 37, which is the most by an Athletics player since Frank Thomas hit 39 in 2006.Ryon Healy homered to lead off the eighth. After Duffy walked Eibner with one out, he was replaced by Strahm.Paulo Orlando hit a two-run single in the fourth to score Cheslor Cuthbert, who had doubled, and Alcides Escobar, who reached on Semiens error.Semien has committed 11 errors in the past 53 games and tops major league shortstops with 19 fielding miscues.Escobars two-out single in the sixth scored Salvador Perez and chased Jharel Cotton, who was making his second big league start since being acquired in an Aug. 1 trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.Cotton allowed three runs, only one earned, in 5 2/3 innings, while walking one and striking out two.Im just going out there and pitching the way I know how to pitch, Cotton said. Im not trying to do anything special, just go out there and give my team a chance to win every time I get the ball.ROOKIES GALOREThe As started five rookies -- 2B Pinder, RF Eibner, 3B Healy, DH Renato Nunez and RHP Cotton -- matching a season high.FOOTBALL VISITAs manager Bob Melvin stopped by the Chiefs practice Tuesday. He is a friend of Chiefs coach Andy Reed. The managers cousin, Tom Melvin, coaches the Chiefs tight ends.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (right biceps tendinitis) is eligible to come off the disabled list Wednesday. I dont think it will be tomorrow, but hes definitely making progress, Yost said. ... Perez returned to the lineup after missing the game Tuesday for the birth of his second son, Johan Salvador.UP NEXTAthletics: LHP Sean Manaea will make his first start since Aug. 29 when he left after 3 1/3 innings with strained left rhomboid muscles in the shoulder blade.Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura gave up a season-high 10 hits over seven innings in a loss Friday to the White Sox. Harrison Butker Youth Jersey . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. Marcus Allen Chiefs Jersey . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. http://www.thechiefsshoponline.com/Youth-Larry-Johnson-Chiefs-Jersey/ . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Derrick Thomas Youth Jersey . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Patrick Mahomes Youth Jersey . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. SEATTLE -- The red-hot Seattle Mariners are making a final push in the American League wild-card race as they begin a three-game series with the undermanned Houston Astros on Friday night.Six of Seattles final 16 games come against Houston (76-70), which is two games behind the Mariners (78-68). Seattle is tied with Detroit, two games behind Toronto for the final wild-card spot, with the New York Yankees three back.The Astros will likely be without MVP candidate Jose Altuve, who left Wednesdays 8-4 victory over Texas with an oblique injury. Also, rookie Alex Bregman (hamstring) is expected to be out of Fridays lineup.Theyre getting looked at, getting all the tests (from) doctors, Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. Theyre going to have a full evaluation before were going to know anything, but Im not optimistic about Friday for either of them.Altuve leads the AL in batting average (.341) and hits (196) while his 24 home runs and 94 RBI are career highs. Bregman is hitting .260 with eight homers and 32 RBI in 47 games.Seattle is coming off back-to-back sweeps of AL West doormats Oakland and Los Angeles after it appeared out of the race when it hit the road nine days ago.Outstanding trip, manager Scott Servais told reporters Wednesday night. Guys are really confident. The energy is up. It should be a really fun homestand coming up.The streak coincides with a return to form by the Mariners starting rotation, which had fallen on hard times before getting well against some of the leagues worst offeenses.dddddddddddd Hisashi Iwakuma and Taijuan Walker put together solid back-to-back starts heading into Thursdays off day, and Seattle looks to ace Felix Hernandez to continue that trend Friday night.Hernandez (11-5) recovered from back-to-back tough outings to throw six scoreless innings in Oakland his last time out.Houston counters with Mariner-killer Collin McHugh, who is 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA in three starts against Seattle this season. McHugh (10-10) is one of the few Astros starters who have stayed healthy during an injury-plagued month. Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers have succumbed to injuries, putting pressure on pitchers such as McHugh to step up and keep Houston in the playoff race.Wednesday starter Joe Musgrove did his part by throwing 6 1/3 solid innings as the Astros etched out an 8-4 victory over Texas to close out that series.I want to see them again, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said of the Rangers. If we see them again, it means were meeting in October, so bring it. I hope were there.Before the Astros can think about a second consecutive postseason appearance, theyll have to hurdle four teams. Unless they can take at least two of three this weekend, thats probably not going to happen.Every game matters right now, Astros infielder Marwin Gonzalez told reporters after Wednesdays victory. Were going to try to win as much as we can, and thats it. ' ' '