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CLEVELAND -- Indians first baseman Nick Swisher hit off a tee and survived batting practice without feeling stabbing pain in his left shoulder. Hes ready to test it in a game. Swisher moved closer to returning to Clevelands lineup on Friday after missing nearly a week with an injury that has been bothering him most of this season. Swisher had hoped to be available as a pinch hitter for the Indians series opener against Minnesota, but manager Terry Francona said its more likely that he wont play until Saturday. Also, Indians closer Chris Perez threw a bullpen session that Francona said went "very well" as the right-hander tries to come back from a strained right rotator cuff. Perez has been on the disabled list since May 27, and the two-time All-Star had a rough outing earlier this week for Double-A Akron. Indians All-Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera took grounders and did some agility drills as he recovers from a leg injury that landed him on the DL on June 4. Cabrera will travel with the team to Baltimore next week, and as long as he doesnt have any setbacks, hell be activated while the Indians are on the road. Francona said Perez will throw a simulated game on Sunday in Akron and will likely make another rehab appearance before the Indians consider activating him. Perez gave up five runs -- three homers -- in one inning earlier this week for the Aeros. Francona said it was Perezs idea to pitch the simulated game. Earlier this week, Perez said "everything" felt wrong when he faced Trenton and was clobbered during his brief outing. As for Swisher, he will have to manage his shoulder injury for the remainder of this season. He had been dealing with some pain for several weeks and then aggravated the injury when he took a big swing trying to hit a home run last Saturday against Washington. He has missed Clevelands past four games. Swisher received a cortisone shot on Monday and has been getting treatment. He came to the ballpark and hit off a tee on Thursday, an off day for the Indians. He had typical soreness, but nothing like what hes been feeling. "You can deal with the soreness and all that stuff, but the sharp pain is what were trying to get rid of," he said. "And knock on wood, man, whatever they did it really feels good right now." Swisher, who signed a four-year, $56 million deal with the Indians in December, has only been on the disabled list once in his career -- in 2005 for Oakland-- but now that hes gotten older, the 32-year-old knows he has to take better care of himself. "I try to take a lot of pride in being on the field," he said. "This isnt one of those things thats kind of going to go away. The biggest thing is to take accountability for it. Those days of showing up at 11:30 (for a day game) and getting ready to play are gone. I need to strengthen my shoulders up a little more." Francona intends to be careful with Swisher, but he said its vital his first baseman monitor himself. "Hes going to have to manage it all year and I think he understands that," Francona said. "This is going to have to be part of his routine."Discount Old Skool . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Wholesale Old Skool . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. http://www.cheapoldskoolchina.com/ . 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. Old Skool Clearance . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Cheap Old Skool From China . Schenn scored the game-winning goal and added two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday.CHICAGO -- The Kansas City Royals will try to preserve their slim hopes for the postseason when they open a three-game series against the host Chicago White Sox on Friday night.The defending World Series champion Royals (72-67) have lost five of their past eight contests and trail the Baltimore Orioles by four games for the American Leagues second wild-card spot. Three other contenders -- the Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros and New York Yankees -- are ahead of the Royals in the wild-card pursuit.A matchup against the underwhelming White Sox (67-72) could help Kansas City gain ground in the standings. The Royals are 9-3 against Chicago this season after winning 12 of 19 games against the South Siders in 2015.Right-hander Yordano Ventura (10-9, 4.22 ERA) will start the series opener for the Royals. The hard-throwing, hot-tempered 25-year-old started the season poorly but has proved to be much better in recent weeks. In his previous six starts, he is 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA.Ventura ignited a bench-clearing incident with the White Sox last season after he exchanged words with outfielder Adam Eaton. However, he showed no signs of losing his composure in his most recent meeting against Chicago on June 12 as he struck out a season-high 10 batters in seven innings to earn the victory. He is 3-3 with a 4.33 ERA in nine career starts against the White Sox.Opposing Ventura will be White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon (6-8, 3.90 ERA), who also has been on a hot streak. The 23-year-old is 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA in his past six outings. He has walked eight and struck out 31 in that span.Rodon has fared well against Kansas City durinng his brief career.dddddddddddd In three starts, he is 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA.Kansas City hopes to have one of its best players back in the lineup to face the White Sox. Catcher Salvador Perez could return after missing a game because of a bruised right wrist. Perez was hit by a fastball Tuesday and sat out Wednesdays series finale against the Minnesota Twins.The four-time All-Star is hitting .254 with 20 home runs and 59 RBI in 122 games this season.Im hoping that hes ready to play, Royals manager Ned Yost told the Kansas City Star before the team traveled to Chicago. Most of the time, you get hit by a pitch and it hurts. But if you get that ball-on-bone sound -- that crunching sound -- its not a good sound.For the White Sox, first baseman Jose Abreu will look to continue his torrid hitting. The Cuban slugger is hitting .447 (17-for-38) with five home runs and 15 RBI during his past eight games. He has boosted his season totals to a .298 average with 23 home runs and 88 RBI in 136 games.Ive been having some ups and downs during this season, Abreu said. I think everybody knows that. But I think fighting through all those stretches (has helped). ... Right now, Im having my best moment in this whole season, and thats part of all my work and all the advice that Ive been getting from different people, especially from the hitting coach.This is a long season. No matter what, how good or bad your first half was, you still have the second half to do better. Thats what Ive been trying to do. ' ' '