DETROIT -- Omar Infante showed the Detroit Tigers what theyre missing.
[b]Patriots Jerseys[/b] . Infante hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning and had an RBI single in a four-run fifth against former teammate Justin Verlander, helping the Kansas City Royals beat the Tigers 11-8 Monday night. Infante became expendable in Detroit last November when the franchise traded first baseman Prince Fielder to Texas for second baseman Ian Kinsler. The next month, Infante signed a $30.25 million, four-year contract with the Royals, and their manager is glad he did. "I didnt really think much about Omar last year with the lineup that they had," Royals skipper Ned Yost acknowledged. "I would try to pitch around this guy and pitch around this guy to get to Omar, and Omar constantly just beat our brains in offensively. At about the midway point, I started realizing how really good he was." With 90-plus games left this season, the Tigers are finding out how vulnerable they are and how good Kansas City is in the tightly contested AL Central. The Royals have won a season-high eight straight to pull within a half-game of Detroit atop the division. Kansas City has won 11 of 13 since trailing the Tigers by 6 1/2 games at the start of the month. "We got on a nice little run here and weve made up some ground," Yost said. Detroit scored six runs in the ninth inning and pulled within three on J.D. Martinezs two-out grand slam off Donnie Joseph. Michael Mariot struck out Austin Jackson looking for the final out. Jason Vargas (7-2) gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks to win his third straight. Verlander (6-7) allowed seven earned runs in consecutive starts for the first time in his career, giving up a season-high 12 hits and striking out two over six innings. He got off to a good start, retiring the Royals in order on 10 pitches in the first inning, and pitched four scoreless innings before getting roughed up. The Royals took a 4-2 lead in the fifth inning when Billy Butler followed Infantes RBI single with a three-run double off Verlander. "Our confidence level is as high as it can get," Butler said. "I dont think it is as much him as it is were going really good right now." Infante cleared the left-field fences with his third homer this year with two on to make it 7-2 in the sixth, leading fans to boo Verlander, who is in the second season of his seven-year, $180 million deal. "I dont blame the fans for booing," Verlander said. "They are frustrated with me, just like Im frustrated with myself. I would have probably booed myself tonight. Theyve cheered me a lot of times, and they will cheer me again." The jeers kept coming in the next inning when Kansas City scored four runs -- one earned -- on four hits and two errors off Evan Reed, who failed to retire any Royals as their lead grew to 11-2. The Royals finished with a season high in runs and hits (17) on a steamy night in the Motor City. Detroit hurt its chances of winning the opener of the four-game series early in the game. Both teams lost a player to cramps. Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter left the game in the fourth with a cramp in his right hamstring. "Its not a strain," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus insisted. Royals catcher Salvador Perez was replaced in the seventh because of cramps in both calves. "Hes fine," Yost said. "They made him drink a bunch of fluids and gave him an IV." NOTES: Kansas City RHP Yordano Ventura (4-5) will start against Detroit RHP Max Scherzer (8-2) on Tuesday night, when the Royals will have a chance to move into first place and push the Tigers to second in the division for the first time this season. ... Kansas Citys winning streak is the longest active streak in the majors and its best since winning nine in a row from July 22 to Aug. 1 last year.
[b]Jordan Matthews Patriots Jersey[/b] .A. Happs hold on a spot in the Blue Jays starting rotation is in question.
[b]Troy Niklas Jersey[/b] . -- Stacy Lewis shot 7-under 65 to lead the LPGA Tour team to the championship of the 3Tour Challenge on Tuesday.Arsenal made a late foray in the January transfer window to sign Sweden midfielder Kim Kallstrom on loan, the only major move by a top club on Friday on a deadline day dominated by struggling Premier League sides scrambling around to strengthen their squads. Kallstrom left Spartak Moscow to join Arsenal for the rest of the season in what was the title challengers only recruit of the January window. Chelseas only signing was 19-year-old Saint-Etienne defender Kurt Zouma, who was immediately loaned him back to the French club until this summer, while Liverpool failed in its bid to sign Ukraine winger Yevhen Konoplyanka from Dnipro. Otherwise, the late deals were exclusively being done by clubs battling to avoid relegation from the worlds richest league. Next-to-last Fulham was very active, bringing in Germany midfielder Lewis Holtby on loan from Tottenham, Netherlands defender Johnny Heitinga on a free transfer from Everton and Greece striker Kostas Mitroglou from Olympiakos on a 4 1/2-year deal. Out of Craven Cottage went Dimitar Berbatov to French team Monaco -- ending his eight-year stint in English football -- Adel Taarabt to AC Milan and Philippe Senderos to Valencia. Crystal Palace, which has just climbed out of the bottom three, was even busier, signing five players including winger Jason Puncheon on a permanent basis from Southampton and midfielder Joe Ledley from Celtic. Cardiff manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer used his connections at former club Manchester United to sign winger Wilfried Zaha on loan and full back Fabio on a permanent deal, taking the number of signings by the bottom-place Welsh club this month to seven. Third-bottom West Ham turned to Serie A for the third time this window to sign Napoli left back Pablo Armero on loan until the end of the sseason, mirroring the deals that have already seen Italy internationals Marco Borriello and Antonio Nocerino move to Upton Park.
[b]Trent Brown Jersey[/b]. Boosted by a huge three-year television deal taking effect at the start of the season, Premier League clubs spent more than 600 million pounds (then $932 million) in the summer transfer window. Before Friday, they had splashed out 95 million pounds ($156 million) on acquiring new players in January, according to football finance experts Deloitte. It ensures English top-flight teams set a record for transfer spending this season, breaking the 700-million pounds ($1.15 billion) mark for the first time. Having shattered Man Uniteds transfer record to sign Juan Mata for 37.1 million pounds ($61.2 million) from Chelsea, manager David Moyes spent deadline day offloading players. As well as Fabio and Zaha, Italian forward Federico Macheda was loaned out to second-tier Birmingham. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger turned to the 31-year-old Kallstrom, a veteran of 108 caps for Sweden, after seeing his teams midfield options hit by injury and suspension. Aaron Ramsey will be sidelined for up to six weeks following a setback in his recovery from a thigh problem, Jack Wilshere is also currently out injured and Mathieu Flamini is suspended for the next three matches. "Kim Kallstrom is a hugely experienced player," said Wenger, whose second-place side is a point behind Manchester City in the standings. "He is a midfielder with proven quality at both club and international level." Kallstrom, who is eligible to play in the Champions League, joined Spartak in 2012 after six years at French club Lyon. Liverpool, Tottenham and Premier League leader Manchester City all failed to add to their squads in January.
Cheap Hawks Jerseys Cheap Celtics Jerseys Cheap Nets Jerseys Cheap Hornets Jerseys Cheap Bulls Jerseys Cheap Cavaliers Jerseys Cheap Mavericks Jerseys Cheap Nuggets Jerseys Cheap Pistons Jerseys Cheap Warriors Jerseys Cheap Rockets Jerseys Cheap Pacers Jerseys Cheap Clippers Jerseys Cheap Lakers Jerseys Cheap Grizzlies Jerseys ' ' '
Find in Directory
Find in Events
Find in Marketplace