to the storyline of Bryans real-life situation of a forced retirement, with Miz te

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Rangers manager Jeff Banister was reasonably happy with what Yu Darvish showed him in his third start since coming off the disabled list from a shoulder ailment.If only Danny Duffy didnt show off a little bit more.Darvish allowed three runs, two earned, over six sharp innings Friday night, but Duffy trumped him by allowing only Rougned Odors homer in the Kansas City Royals 3-1 victory over Texas.Duffys got a big fastball with a quality changeup and breaking ball. He was really tough on us, Banister said. A quality start, a quality starter, hes been doing that all year long.Darvish (2-2) is only now getting back to doing it -- he missed the start of the year as he returned from Tommy John surgery, then got shelved with the shoulder problem.But he nearly matched Duffy (6-1), allowing single runs in each of the first three innings. Darvish struck out 11 and made only one big mistake -- Cheslor Cuthberts homer in the third.I had a really good bullpen session in between (starts), Darvish said. Early in the game, it was a little different feeling, but toward the end I was able to make an adjustment and I felt better.Still, it wasnt good enough to keep the AL West-leading Rangers from losing for the eighth time in nine games. The slide has been marked by poor pitching, inconsistent hitting and a series of devastating injuries -- sluggers Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo went on the DL earlier this week.Without them, the Rangers certainly struggled to create scoring chances Friday night.Duffy carved through the lineup without allowing a hit the first time through, the only baserunner a walk to Elvis Andrus. He went on to load the bases on a single and hit batter in the third inning, but Duffy calmly struck out Ian Desmond on three pitches to leave them stranded.His only other trouble came when he put runners on the corners with two outs in the seventh, forcing Luke Hochevar in from the bullpen. He got pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland on a liner to preserve a 3-1 lead.They built it in typical Royals fashion: They scored a run in the first on a single, stolen base, error and groundout then scored again in the second on a walk, stolen base and consecutive singles.It wasnt until Cuthbert went deep leading off the third that they made Darvish look fallible.Darvish is a really good pitcher, Royals manager Ned Yost said. To scratch out two runs early is perfect situational baseball, to give us that lead early.The Rangers had one more scoring opportunity in the seventh, when Duffy put runners on the corners with two outs. Hochevar wiggled out of that jam, though, and Kelvin Herrera breezed through a perfect eighth before Wade Davis worked around a single in the ninth for his 21st save.The victory, which came one day after the Royals (48-47) visited the White House to celebrate their World Series championship, kept them from dropping below .500 for the first time since May 17.I think being around the guys on an off day was a positive, said Duffy, who was part of the troupe that visited President Barack Obama in the midst of a long homestand. We got to do something not a lot of people get to do.ROSTER MOVESThe Rangers reinstated LHP Jake Diekman (cut left index finger) from the DL and designated LHP Cesar Ramos for assignment. Diekman last pitched July 5 at Boston.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: Fielder will see neck specialist Dr. Drew Dossett on Monday. The DH/1B is facing the prospect of season-ending neck surgery after an MRI earlier this week revealed a herniated disk near an area that was repaired two years ago. Dossett also performed that procedure.Royals: CF Lorenzo Cain (left hamstring strain) hoped to begin a rehab assignment his weekend, but it has been pushed back to early next week. Hes been on the DL since June 29. He was pushing it too hard two days ago and just kind of fatigued his leg, Yost said. Not a setback by any stretch.UP NEXTRangers LHP Cole Hamels, who tossed eight sharp innings in a win over the Cubs his last time out, makes his first career start at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday. He faces Royals RHP Yordano Ventura.NKeal Harry Jersey Large . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. NKeal Harry Jersey Large . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. http://www.custompatriotsjersey.com/ .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. Custom Patriots Jerseys . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said. Cheap Patriots Jerseys . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League.Theres a simplistic beauty to the way SmackDown Live can pack so much action and storyline developments into two hours of television each week.The matches are short and crisp, with the creative turns well defined. And theres typically a cliffhanger element leaving you wanting more, providing enough incentive to watch the postgame show, Talking Smack.The shows foundation and execution have been so strong in recent months, you get the feeling that just about any storyline could get over. So its probably no surprise that SmackDown continues to thrive with indie wrestler James Ellsworth -- someone who pulls off the role of simpleton so well -- as a central figure in its main event feud.SmackDown rolled out the latest chapter Tuesday, as Ellsworths involvement dominated the opening and closing segments of the show (along with interspersing backstage conversations in between). And just as improbably as Ellsworth himself being thrust into this position, the formula continues to work.Ellsworths single-minded quest to win Dean Ambroses forgiveness for costing him a match last week led to the man with two hands and a fighting chance getting banned from ringside for the main event. But Ellsworth evaded ringside security long enough to make an impact, ultimately distracting WWE world champion AJ Styles and helping Ambrose get the win.The victory secured Ambrose another title shot, which commissioner Shane McMahon announced on Talking Smack will come on Dec. 4 at the SmackDown-exclusive TLC pay-per-view. The subtle smile from Ellsworth as he was dragged up the ramp by security after the match was the perfect ending.Ellsworth, who originally debuted on a July 25 episode of Raw as a squash match opponent for Braun Strowman, has provided SmackDown with the perfect foil for its top two stars to play off of thanks to his almost extreme everyman vibe.It has allowed Ambrose to rely on the strength of his comedic muscles while embracing the softer side of his edgy babyface persona, which was evident when he hugged Ellsworth just before the credits rolled. And it has provided Styles someone to pick on, further stamping home his current role as heel, which he executed well Tuesday by twice assaulting Ellsworth out of sheer annoyance.While WWE has given Ellsworth room to stretch his wings both in the ring and on the microphone, they have toed the line well in avoiding overexposure or setting him up to fail. And Ellsworth has been able to build a connection with the audience because of the duality of his current role as equal parts buffoon and underdog.The highlight of Tuesdays show may have come in Ambrose shoving Ellsworth out of the back door of the arena and saying, You got your cellphone on you? Good, because any man with two hands can call an Uber and get a ride out of here.But you dont get the feeling like Ellsworths run is looking like it will end anytime soon, nor should it.While its hard to know exactly where that point of oversaturation begins for Ellsworths character or whether he will last through TLC (let alone find himself spot at the Royal Rumble in January), right now its working.More Ellsworth is a welcome thing in a Styles-Ambrose rivalry that likely doesnt reach a level this compelling without his presence.Sometimes trying to understand and figure out why an angle works so well is less important than just sitting back and enjoying it.Hits and missesIts creepy, its gimmicky and it has me completely hooked. Randy Ortons full turn to the dark side and acceptance that Bray Wyatt is a god, tthus completing his membership in the Wyatt Family, was the right turn needed for the Orton-Wyatt angle to start making sense.dddddddddddd It was also handled with legitimate care and attention to detail, as Orton said he was born with the devil whispering in his ear and hes done trying to fight it. For as talented as Orton is, his character isnt necessarily going anywhere at the moment making a development of this kind a welcome one, especially if the Wyatt Family can once again become the type of vicious and menacing heel faction that WWEs main roster currently lacks.Ellsworth acted as the butt of several one-liners on Tuesday, including Styles telling him to crawl back into that bargain bin that he came out of. The announce team took its shots on multiple occasions as well, including John Bradshaw Layfield saying that Ellsworth is a generation away from walking on all fours. Hes not a mistake, hes a freak that doesnt belong.Credit SmackDown Live for the use of a brief black and white video promo on Baron Corbin that perfectly encapsulated his character. With scenes of Corbin riding a motorcycle and complaining about the demanding nature of fans while standing behind a chain-link fence, the promo nailed home Corbins self-obsessed loner persona and lack of patience for anything that gets in his way. It has been a slow road for Corbin after being selected by SDL with such a high pick in the July 19 brand extension draft. But the overall package appears like its starting to come together.Its not clear exactly where this is headed, but SmackDown once again teased at the supposed real-life tension between The Miz and general manager Daniel Bryan with an entertaining argument during Miz TV. The payoff was the creation of an Intercontinental title open challenge, with Dolph Ziggler defeating Curt Hawkins in a squash match which lasted mere seconds (to the chagrin of an angry Miz at ringside). The use of Bryan was meant to add more spice into the ongoing feud between Miz and Ziggler. But the reintroduction into the storyline of Bryans real-life situation of a forced retirement, with Miz telling him that hes scared to fight, makes you wonder whether this was just another step in the slow play toward Bryans eventual return (provided he gets cleared).Is the personality of Natalya, who was named as the coach of SmackDowns womens team at Survivor Series, slowly evolving into that of a crazy cat lady with no self-awareness of her own issues? Im not saying it isnt working, but just wanted to clarify.SmackDown also deserves credit for its pacing, allowing a large number of superstars to get over despite a small amount of camera time provided. Tag-team victories for American Alpha and The Usos likely didnt combine for five full minutes of ring action, yet both matches were able to get across the storyline message that was intended heading into Survivor Series.Bryan had several rants on Talking Smack against Raw, saying it was likely to fill out the fifth member of their Survivor Series team with a member of the Attitude Era, mentioning Gillberg and Road Dogg Jesse James. For as much as Bryan had a point in making the joke, as Raw currently features Goldberg in its marquee feud, it was SmackDown which featured a tag-team match on Tuesday involving a washed-up version of The Headbangers (not to mention The Spirit Squad). So pot, I would like to introduce you to kettle. ' ' '