ra scoring history to total 60 assists in a single match. Daile

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- With two runners aboard in the sixth inning, the Royals Alcides Escobar was just trying to put the pitch from Yankees reliever Blake Parker in play Monday night.He wound up slapping it right over the wall.The three-run homer broke open a nip-and-tuck game, and backed by a strong pitching performance by Dillon Gee, Kansas City went on to beat New York 8-5 to open their three-game series.I knew I hit it good, Escobar said, but I wasnt 100 percent sure it was gone.Everybody else was sure, the way things have been going for Kansas City lately.The reigning World Series champions won for the 18th time in 22 games, closing within two games of the second AL wild card. The Royals (69-62) were seven games below .500 as recently as Aug. 6, nearly left for dead 11 games behind the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.Gee (6-7) allowed four hits and a run over six sharp innings.The results just werent coming but Ive been throwing the ball well, said the Royals fifth starter, but tonight I got an early lead and just tried to stick to it.Lorenzo Cain, Kendrys Morales and Alex Gordon drove in runs off Michael Pineda (6-11) during a five-hit salvo in the first inning. Pineda then retired 15 straight before getting into a two-on, no-outs jam in the seventh that led to Escobars homer.It really broke the game open for us, Royals manager Ned Yost said.Starlin Castro drove in two runs for the Yankees, the second in a four-run eighth inning that forced Yost to summon fill-in closer Kelvin Herrera to make a four-out save.He retired Mark Teixeira to get out of his initial jam, then put runners on the corners in the ninth. Herrera calmly struck out Castro for his 11th save.It was a frustrating night for the Yankees, who had elbowed their own way back in the playoff chase. They were a half-game behind Kansas City at the start of the night, but their second straight loss on the heels of a four-game winning streak was costly against a fellow contender.Yankees manager Joe Girardis frustration was evident when he was tossed by plate umpire Brian ONora for arguing balls and strikes with the bases loaded and no outs in the eighth inning.Didi Gregorius proceeded to deliver a two-run double, and the Yankees tacked on two more runs against the Kansas City bullpen before Herrera put a stop to their rally.Two different strike zones. Its unfortunate, Girardi said of his ejection. Even the broadcasters were talking about it in the eighth and ninth inning. I dont know why. Im frustrated by it. I dont know if you give the catchers credit. I know the last inning and the inning before that Im watching on TV and I see it. Oh-1 is a lot different than 1-and-oh a lot of times.STATS AND STREAKSThe Royals have cut 7 1/2 games from their wild-card deficit in 22 games. ... All nine players in the Royals starting lineup had a hit. ... Pineda lost for the first time since July 31 at Tampa Bay, snapping a four-start winning streak. ... Yankees CF Jacoby Ellsbury reached base on catchers interference for the 11th time this season, extending his major league record.AWARD WINNERSYankees C Gary Sanchez won his second straight AL player of the week award. He hit .522 with three doubles, five homers and nine RBI while walking five times in six games. ... Royals 1B Eric Hosmer and Yankees SS Gregorius were chosen from their teams for the Heart and Hustle Award from the Major League Baseball Players Association.ROYALS TRADEThe Royals acquired INF/OF Daniel Nava from the Angels for a player to be named or cash considerations. He is not on the Angels 40-man roster and will be assigned to Triple-A Omaha.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals RHP Luke Hochevar said he experienced instant relief after surgery for symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome. The reliever will begin rehab with hopes of being ready for spring. The swelling, the coldness is gone, he said. I havent had any of that happen since surgery.UP NEXTYankees RHP Masahiro Tanaka has tossed 14 2/3 scoreless innings over his last two starts. He takes on Royals RHP Edinson Volquez, who has won his last two decisions. Air Max Plus Shoes Wholesale China . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta. Cheap Air Max Plus China . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. http://www.wholesaleairmaxplus.com/ . Team physician Dr. Steve Traina performed the surgery Friday. Robinson was injured in a spill underneath the Nuggets basket during the first quarter of Wednesday nights loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. Wholesale Air Max Plus . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. Cheap Air Max Plus Wholesale . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. SEC Volleyball Week 13 Player of the Week:Leah Edmond ? Kentucky Freshman ? OH ? 6-0 ? Lexington, Ky.Offensive Player of the Week:Melanie Crow ? Missouri Redshirt Junior ? OH ? 6-1 ? Wildwood, Mo.Over the two wins for Missouri this past weekend, Crow contributed 5.33 points, 4.67 kills and 1.67 digs per set. She tallied 20-plus kills in both matches while hitting .340 or better in each match. Following the five-set win over No. 5 Florida, Crow set single-season career highs in total kills (372) and points (445.0). She now has recorded double-digit kills in 20 matches this season, with 11 of those in conference play.Defensive Player of the Week:Alyssa Munlyn ? Missouri Sophomore ? MB ? 6-2 ? Suwanee, Ga.Munlyn helped the Tigers improve to 14-2 in league play after averaging 1.44 blocks per set over two victories. She began the week with four total blocks in the four-set win over Auburn. Munlyn then registered nine total blocks in Missouris five-set win over No. 5 Florida. She now has 139 total blocks to her credit this season, the second most in a single season in program history.Setter of the Week:Olivia Dailey ? Kentucky Sophomore ? 5-10 ? Trussville, Ala.Dailey had 98 assists over the weekend,, including a career-high 60 helpers in Sundays win over Texas A&M.ddddddddddddShe joined an elite club as one of four setters in UKs 25-point rally era scoring history to total 60 assists in a single match. Dailey, who was already in fourth in the country in the assists, averaged 14.0 assists per game over the weekend, well over her season average of 11.90. In the Friday match against LSU, she helped UK hit at .339 at in a three-set win over LSU with 38 assists.Freshman of the Week:Leah Edmond ? Kentucky Freshman ? OH ? 6-0 ? Lexington, Ky.In a 2-0 week for the Wildcats, Edmond recorded 39 kills during the wins, including a career-best 25 in the four-set win over Texas A&M. She became the fourth player at UK in the 25-point rally scoring era to amass 25 or more kills in a match, joining current senior Anni Thomasson and former All-Americans Whitney Billings and Sarah Mendoza to achieve the feat. Edmond was also solid on defense, racking up 10 digs and five total blocks during the two victories. On the week, she averaged 6.14 points, 5.57 kills and 1.43 digs per set. ' ' '