CHICAGO (AP) — A share of the AL Central was up for grabs. The Kansas City Royals couldn’t quite reach it.

The Royals squandered a chance to move into a tie for the division lead, losing to Jose Abreu and the Chicago White Sox, 5-4 on Saturday night.

“We definitely let one get away,” Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer said. “We had a lot of opportunities, guys on base to start innings. But we just didn’t get it done.”

The Detroit Tigers, who lost 12-3 at Minnesota on Saturday, remained one game ahead of the Royals entering the final day of the regular season. Kansas City clinched at least an AL wild card on Friday.

By virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Oakland Athletics, if the Royals are in the wild card game it will be played in Kansas City.

“We’re going to be excited that we got home field advantage,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “But again, it’s all going to come down to (Sunday). We’ll see what happens. Minnesota is doing a great job playing Detroit.”

Danny Duffy (9-12) lasted only two innings for the Royals. He allowed four runs, five hits and one walk. The White Sox jumped on him, scoring three runs in the first inning. Abreu capped the rally with his 36th home run.

“I didn’t have any command,” Duffy said. “I didn’t have my best stuff is the best way to put it.”

Abreu broke a 31-year-old franchise record for the most homers in a season by a rookie, previously held by Ron Kittle. They are the most by a rookie since St. Louis’ Albert Pujols hit 37 in 2001.

White Sox catcher Josh Phegley homered in the second and seventh innings for his first career multihomer game.

John Danks (11-11) pitched seven solid innings to earn his first home win since June 17. He allowed two runs, five hits and two walks, and struck out three.

“Every time we face him, we really struggle offensively,” Yost said of Danks. “He’s got our number right now, that dirty rat.”

The Royals mounted a rally in the eighth inning against Chicago’s bullpen. After the first two batters reached, Lorenzo Cain singled home Alcides Escobar to cut the deficit to 5-3. But Hosmer hit into a double play, and Billy Butler grounded out to end the threat.

Kansas City threatened again in the ninth. Mike Moustakas singled in Alex Gordon with two outs, but the Royals fell one run short.

Javy Guerra escaped the jam for his first save of the season.

Salvador Perez hit a solo shot in the seventh inning for his 17th homer.

Paul Konerko, who will retire at season’s end, was honored by the White Sox during a pregame ceremony. The White Sox unveiled a statue of Konerko, gave him several gifts, and displayed a series of video tributes from ex-teammates and players around the big leagues, including one from retiring New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

“I have to apologize for the game,” Konerko said. “To go out and try to play a game after that … I’m pretty good about distractions, but that day, no way. I was a mess out there.”

Konerko went 0-for-3 and exited in the seventh inning to a standing ovation. He then returned to the field for a curtain call.

TRAINER’S ROOM:

White Sox: RHP Jake Petricka left in the ninth inning due to a stiff lower back. He was attempting to earn his 15th save of the season.

Royals: INF Christian Colon, who is recovering from a broken middle finger on his right hand, hasn’t been activated from the disabled list. He was eligible to return on Sept. 22.

UP NEXT:

Royals RHP Yordano Ventura (14-10, 3.07) will face White Sox RHP Chris Bassitt (1-1, 3.65) on Sunday in the final game of the regular season.

POWER OUTAGE:

Salvador Perez’s home run was the 95th for the Royals this season. They are the only team in the majors under 100.

— Associated Press —

 

LAWRENCE, Kansas – Tyrone Swoopes passed for one touchdown and ran for another and Texas picked off four Kansas passes, leading the Longhorns to a 23-0 victory Saturday in the Big 12 opener.

Swoopes, in his first start in a conference game, was 19 for 34 for 218 yards and two TDs as Texas (2-2, 1-0) beat Kansas for the 12th straight time. A stifling Texas defense limited Kansas sophomore Montell Cozart to 12 for 31 for 140 yards and the four picks. CornerbackDuke Thomas had two of the interceptions and also broke up a short pass in the end zone on fourth down. Texas also sacked Cozart four times while holding the Jayhawks to 313 total yards.

All week long, Kansas (2-2, 0-1) kept the Texas fight song blaring across the practice field and filled the locker room with reminders that the Jayhawks had not beaten Texas in 76 years.

But Texas, despite crippling injuries and nine player dismissals, never trailed the team that has now lost 30 of its last 31 Big 12 games.

Thomas’ first interception and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty set up the touchdown that gave Texas a 13-0 halftime lead. Thomas intercepted Cozart’s pass and raced 24 yards to the 26, then the half-the-distance penalty gave the Longhorns a first down on the 13. Two plays later from the 7, Swoopes went around left end and squeezed into the corner of the end zone for the TD.

Kansas, failing to get a first down when linebacker Ben Heeney recovered a Texas fumble at the Kansas 2, punted to Jaxon Shipley, who sped 41 yards with the return and set up the Longhorns on the 18. On third-and-3, Swoopes hit Malcolm Brown for 10 yards to the 1. Next play, Swoopes spotted M.J. McFarland wide open in the back of the end zone. The extra-point attempt failed.

After taking over on downs late in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns made it 23-0 when Swoopes connected with John Harris on a 16-yard scoring pass. In the third quarter, Nick Rose, who missed the extra point after Texas’ first touchdown, kicked a 42-yard field goal.

Kansas, following a 35-yard pass play from Cozart to Jimmay Mundine, had a second-and-8 from the 18. But Cozart’s pass was tipped high into the air at the line and floated into the arms of Texas defender Quandre Diggs in the end zone. The Longhorns then marched all the way to the 5, aided by Armanti Foreman’s 30-yard gain on a reverse. But Heeney fell on what was described as a team fumble and turned the ball back to the Jayhawks on their own 2.

With their second possession of the second half, the Jayhawks marched all the way from their own 16 to the Texas 5. On fourth down, Cozart lofted a fade pass to Nigel King. But with Thomas defending, the ball fell incomplete.

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Charles Jones ran for three touchdowns, Tyler Lockett returned a punt for another score and No. 25 Kansas State romped to a 58-28 victory over UTEP on Saturday.

DeMarcus Robinson and Jake Waters also had touchdown runs, and Waters threw for 209 yards and another score as the Wildcats (3-1) finished non-conference play by taking out their frustrations from a close loss to fifth-ranked Auburn on the hapless Miners.

UTEP (2-2) managed one first down and 23 yards of offense in the first half, when Kansas State raced to a 31-0 lead. Running back Aaron Jones, the nation’s second-leading rusher, was held to 47 yards — all but nine of them after halftime.

Jameil Showers threw four TD passes for the Miners, all with the game well out of reach.

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CHICAGO (AP) — The mob arrived as soon as Salvador Perez squeezed that final foul popup, officially bringing Kansas City’s playoff drought to an end.

Yes, the Royals are going back to the postseason.

Kansas City clinched a playoff spot Friday night for the first time in 29 years, beating the Chicago White Sox 3-1 behind seven scoreless innings from Jeremy Guthrie.

The Royals ended the longest active postseason drought in the four top North American leagues, and they did so with a unique offensive profile. Story

Kansas City secured at least a wild card spot and ended the longest active postseason drought among the major North American sports leagues. The last time the Royals made it to the playoffs, George Brett led Kansas City to a World Series victory over St. Louis in 1985.

“It feels better than expected,” said Billy Butler, a 2004 draft pick and eight-year veteran. “It’s a great thing. I’m proud to bring this organization something they envisioned when they drafted me.”

Small-market Kansas City endured more than its share of losing in recent years. But it contended into September last season and kicked down the playoff door on Friday.

The Royals crowded around Perez near the plate after he caught Michael Taylor’s foulout.

A large contingent of Kansas City fans crowded near the visitors dugout, watching the party, and players tossed black and white playoff caps to them before walking off the field.

The clubhouse was as chaotic as expected, with players dousing each other with bubbly and snapping pictures, whooping it up as the franchise’s years of losing gave way to pure joy.

As the scene unfolded, Brett stood nearby with a bottle in one hand and a cup in the other, doing his best not to get drenched.

“I got tired of the people criticizing the players on this team because they hadn’t won a World Series since 1985,” he said. “Ninety-five percent of these … guys weren’t even born in ’85. It’s not their fault. These guys played their [butts] off all year.”

And look where they are now.

With Detroit losing to Minnesota, Kansas City trails the Tigers by a game in the AL Central with two to play. If they are tied after Sunday, the teams will play game No. 163 at Detroit on Monday to determine the division winner.

Kansas City also maintained a one-game lead in the wild-card standings over Oakland, which won 6-2 at Texas.

The postgame celebration eventually returned to the field, where there was more spraying alcohol, more jumping up and down and more pictures, all to the delight of their supporters. Fans chanted “Let’s go Royals!” and some derogatory comments toward Detroit.

They held up signs that read “My playoff beard starts growing today,” and “Finally.”

That probably summed it up best for Kansas City. Yes, finally, the Royals are back.

“We know it’s been emotional, not only for us but for the city itself, which has supported us all along the way,” closer Greg Holland said.

Guthrie (13-11) could not have been much better, pitching four-hit ball while winning his third straight start. He struck out six and walked one. After the game, Guthrie tweeted this celebratory photo:

The White Sox scored in the eighth against Wade Davis. Adam Eaton tripled with one out and came around on Alexei Ramirez’s single. But Jose Abreu and Conor Gillaspie struck out to end the inning.

Holland worked the ninth for his 46th save in 48 chances.

Alcides Escobar had two hits, including a leadoff single in Kansas City’s three-run first against Hector Noesi, and the Royals won for the fifth time in six games.

Noesi (8-12) allowed six hits in six innings after it looked as if he might get knocked out early.

The first three batters each got a hit, starting with Escobar’s single. Nori AokiNori Aoki lined a run-scoring triple to right, and Lorenzo Cain had an RBI single for his 14th hit in 30 at-bats. Cain came around from second on Butler’s one-out single to make it 3-0.

Chicago’s Paul Konerko began his farewell weekend by going 0-for-4. The retiring slugger, back in the lineup after sitting out Thursday’s game, received loud cheers every time he stepped to the plate, starting with a standing ovation in the second inning.

In the Royals, Konerko sees some similarities to Chicago’s 2005 championship team, with its pitching and timely hitting.

“I think they have a real good shot to go a long ways,” he said. “Good for them. Enjoy it. I’m happy for those guys.”

TRAINER’S ROOM:

Royals: There was no further update on INF Christian Colon, who is recovering from a broken middle finger on his right hand. It’s not clear if he will be on the postseason roster.

White Sox: Reliever Nate Jones is confident he will make a full recovery after having Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in July. Jones expects to start throwing a week before Thanksgiving. Jones also had back surgery in May. … The White Sox held OF Avisail Garcia out of the lineup for precautionary reasons after he left Thursday’s game because of a stiff lower back. Manager Robin Ventura expects him to be ready to play Saturday.

UP NEXT:

LHP Danny Duffy (9-11, 2.32 ERA) starts Saturday for Kansas City, with LHP John Danks (10-11, 4.82 ERA) pitching for Chicago.

— Associated Press —

 

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Courtesy of MLB.com. Dick Kaegel

CHICAGO — There was no clinching of a postseason berth, no end to a 28-year drought, no clubhouse party for the Kansas City Royals.

But the Royals did move closer to that happy moment with a 6-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night at U.S. Cellular Field.

The Royals’ magic number is one, meaning they can reach the playoffs with a victory on Friday night.

“We are getting close to our dream,” said winning pitcherKelvin Herrera.

The Royals also took over sole possession of the American League’s first Wild Card spot from Oakland as the A’s lost at Texas.

And by winning, the Royals also assured themselves of at least a tie for a Wild Card berth with Seattle. It’s an unlikely scenario, but it’s possible that the Royals and the Mariners could wind up with the same record and have to settle the tie in a 163rd regular-season game on Monday at Seattle.

Manager Ned Yost, though, is just eager to get back to the ballpark on Friday and win that game.

“I’m anxious,” Yost said. “I was really excited today. It’s the most excited I’ve been in a long, long time with the possibility of doing it tonight. But Seattle won that game [at Toronto] so we took care of our business. Oakland lost, so that puts us one up on them. Home-field advantage is real important for us and we’re going to come out and take care of business tomorrow.”

The Royals pounded out 14 hits with Lorenzo Cain going 4-for-5, Eric Hosmer smacking a home run and even Salvador Perez legging out a triple.

They broke a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning when the White Sox mishandled what appeared to be an inning-ending double play ball by Billy Butler.

There was one out when Cain and Hosmer each singled, ending the outing of White Sox starter Jose Quintana. Reliever Jake Petricka‘s first pitch was grounded by Butler to shortstop Alexei Ramirez.

In the dugout, Yost figured the inning was over.

“I was already like flushing it,” Yost said. “Like, ‘OK, we’re going to have to get ’em next inning.’ Hoz did a great job of busting it down the line [to second base] and we just got lucky right there.”

Ramirez’s toss forced out Hosmer, but he slid in hard and second baseman Marcus Semien bounced his relay to first base and it couldn’t be handled by Jose Abreu, allowing Cain to score.

“I tried to put my head down and run. I made ’em rush and Hoz made a great slide,” Butler said. “My job there was to get the ball in the air, but we got in done in an unconventional way.”

Terrance Gore ran for Butler, stole second and scored on Alex Gordon‘s single for a 5-3 lead.

“All game long, we had ’em on the ropes,” said Royals starting pitcher James Shields. “We were hitting the ball real well all game long and it was just a matter of time. One thing we’ve done in the second half is we grind from the first inning to the last inning. We’ve done a good job of that.”

The Royals trailed, 3-2, until Hosmer’s home run over the right-field fence against Quintana brought the Royals even in the sixth inning. It was Hosmer’s ninth this season and the Royals’ first homer in more than a week.

They hadn’t gone deep since Cain and Alcides Escobar connected against White Sox ace Chris Saleon Sept. 17 in a 6-2 win at Kansas City.

Shields, who didn’t have his best stuff, ran up his pitch count and left after six innings. But the Royals’ backend bullpen trio of Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland each worked a scoreless inning. Holland got his 45th save.

“So far, we’re three out of four on the road trip and we’re going to try to keep it going,” Shields said. “We’re going to try to create this postseason atmosphere in this clubhouse.”

Now, the focus centers on Friday night and, perhaps, a celebration.

“These guys are on fire right now,” Yost said. “They know what’s going on. They’re going to be ready to go.”

CLEVELAND (AP) — They’re alive, barely, but it beats the alternative. The Indians’ playoff hopes are fragile, and they’re doing all they can to keep them from shattering.

Yan Gomes hit a three-run homer, Michael Brantley got three more hits and Cleveland stayed in the AL wild-card chase for at least one more day with a 6-4 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.

A loss would have eliminated the Indians, but after blowing a 3-0 lead, they rallied and moved within 3 1/2 games of Kansas City and Oakland in the wild-card standings. There are four days left in the regular season.

“We said all year long as long as we have life, we’re going to keep battling and that’s exactly what we did tonight,” outfielder David Murphy said. “We’ve had some good moments. We’ve had some bad moments this season, but hopefully we’re going to be going into the last series of the season still alive.”

The Royals, who haven’t made the playoffs since 1985, fell two games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central.

Zach McAllister (4-7) pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings and Cody Allen worked the ninth for his 23rd save as the Indians kept their season relevant.

They’re off on Thursday, but the Indians will closely monitor Kansas City’s game in Chicago and Oakland’s visit to Texas.

“It has all to do whether or not we have life coming into Friday,” Murphy said, “so regardless we’re going to come ready to play, but hopefully we’re going to be playing for something.”

Brantley has hit safely in 15 straight games and needs one more hit to be the first Indians player with 200 in a season since Kenny Lofton in 1996.

The Indians took the lead in the fifth off rookie Brandon Finnegan (0-1) on Carlos Santana’s RBI groundout. Cleveland added a run in the sixth on Murphy’s pinch sacrifice fly.

Cleveland entered the unusual series — the teams completed a suspended game on Monday — 3 1/2 games behind the Royals and the Indians ended in the same place. Unfortunately for them, they wasted a chance to pull closer and now have to win their final three games and hope for help from other teams to play in the postseason.

Billy Butler had three RBIs for Kansas City, which can lock up one of the two wild cards by winning one of four games in Chicago against the White Sox starting Thursday.

“I know things are close, we’re close,” Butler said. “We’ve got four games left. If we could do it right now, we’d be in a playoff spot. You can’t help but realize that it’s right around the corner, but you have to keep grinding and keep your head down.”

Their flimsy playoff hopes fading, the Indians scored twice in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead.

Jason Vargas hit Michael Bourn with a pitch to open the inning and Royals manager Ned Yost pulled the left-hander, who has just one win in his last seven starts.

Jose Ramirez doubled off the wall and the speedy Bourn, waved around by third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh, scored the tying run on a headfirst dive into the plate, reaching in with his left hand to avoid catcher Salvador Perez’s tag.

“When you see a guy dive into home like that you realize nobody’s playing out the string,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “He was pretty fired up.”

Gomes’ two-out shot, his 21st homer, to straightaway center gave the Indians a 3-0 lead in the first.

WALK THIS WAY

Santana walked three times, giving him 112 this season, the sixth most in club history. Santana has walked more than any major league switch-hitter since Lance Berkman (127) for Houston in 2002.

NO RELIEF

Indians reliever Bryan Shaw tied the club record with his 79th appearance, matching the mark set by Bobby Howry in 2005.

K KINGS

Cleveland’s pitchers have combined for 1,419 strikeouts, nine shy of the major league record set by Detroit in 2013.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Indians: Nick Swisher rejoined his teammates after undergoing surgery on both knees last month. Swisher tried to play through pain for several months before deciding to have his knees “cleaned out.” He expects to be ready for the start of spring training.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP James Shields (14-8) makes his team-leading 34th start as Kansas City tries to clinch a playoff spot in Chicago. Shields is 20-5 with a 2.48 ERA on the road since the start of 2013.

Indians: The Indians end a stretch of 30 games in 30 days with their final off day of 2014. They open a three-game series vs. Tampa Bay on Friday as Corey Kluber (17-9) tries to strengthen his case for the Cy Young.

— Associated Press —

CLEVELAND (AP) — Danny Duffy pushed the Royals a little closer to the top in the AL Central and nearer their first playoff appearance in 29 years.

Duffy pitched six shutout innings for his first win in more than a month as Kansas City moved within one game of first-place Detroit and kept some distance over Cleveland in the wild-card race, beating the Indians 2-0 on Monday night.

Duffy (9-11), who had thrown just one pitch in September before the start, escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first and held the Indians to six hits. The left-hander had been sidelined since Sept. 6 with a sore shoulder.

“I wasn’t feeling any pressure,” Duffy said. “I tried to simplify things and not think about the race we’re in.”

More from ESPN.com

When the Indians loaded the bases with nobody out in the first, Royals fans could be forgiven for thinking a few dark thoughts before Danny Duffy saved K.C.’s season, David Schoenfield writes. Story

Greg Holland worked the ninth for his 44th save as the Royals, seeking their first postseason appearance since 1985, earned an unusual split and moved within one game of the Tigers, who lost 2-0 at home to the White Sox.

Earlier, the Royals lost 4-3 in 10 innings in a game suspended Aug. 31 in Kansas City.

“It was a good day for us,” manager Ned Yost said. “We wanted to get that suspended game behind us. We knew that was looming over our heads. It’s like we’ve been saying, nobody knows what’s going to happen.”

Carlos Carrasco (8-6) couldn’t keep the momentum going for the Indians, who remain 3 1/2 games out in the wild card and are quickly running out of time.

“It’s not very often you don’t score and come away with a split,” manager Terry Francona said. “There’s not a lot of season left. Every time you lose a game, you’re disappointed, and now we’ll show up tomorrow, and it’s kind of simple. Just show up and try to win.”

Duffy survived a shaky first inning in which he threw 24 pitches. He gave up three hits in the first two innings but just three more over the next four. His previous start against Cleveland was the game that wound up being suspended.

Duffy’s performance — he was removed after throwing one pitch at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 6 — took a little pressure off the Royals, who entered the day holding one of the two wild-card spots. Kansas City picked up one-half game on Seattle and stayed comfortably ahead of Cleveland.

“The teams we needed to lose, lost tonight,” said first baseman Eric Hosmer, who hit an RBI single in the first. “We gained some ground, especially playing these guys. They’re a tough team. If we get a chance to put these guys away, we need to make the most of it.”

Kansas City took a 2-0 lead in the fifth on Alcides Escobar’s RBI single that easily could have been ruled an error on Indians shortstop Jose Ramirez.

Cleveland’s first three hitters reached in the first, but the Indians came up empty as Duffy retired cleanup hitter Carlos Santana on a popup, struck out Yan Gomes looking and got Mike Aviles on a lazy fly to right.

Carrasco gave the Indians another solid outing, allowing two runs and seven hits with nine strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. The right-hander tossed a two-hitter last week in Houston for his first complete-game shutout.

After waiting 23 days, the Indians needed nine minutes to finish off the Royals in the first game and temporarily pulled within 2 1/2 games in a wild, wild-card race entering its last days.

Scott Atchison gave up a two-out RBI single to Nori Aoki in the bottom of the 10th — Kansas City was the home team on the road — before getting Omar Infante to pop out for his second save with the tying run at second.

SOFT SCHEDULE: After finishing their series in Cleveland, the Royals will conclude the regular season with four games in Chicago. Kansas City is 10-5 against the White Sox and 5-1 at U.S. Cellular Field.

BLANKED: The shutout was Kansas City’s first in Cleveland since July 29, 2011.

STRIKEOUT KING: Wade Davis recorded his 104th strikeout, setting a single-season club record for a Royals reliever. The previous mark was shared by Jim York (1971) and Greg Holland (2013).

TRAINER’S ROOM

Indians: Second baseman Jason Kipnis continues to be slowed by a sore right hamstring. He missed three games last week, and Francona wants to monitor him closely. Kipnis pinch hit in the eighth of the regularly scheduled game and grounded to short.

UP NEXT

Rookie RHP Yordano Ventura (13-10) makes his biggest start to date for the Royals. He leads all MLB rookies in wins. RHP Danny Salazar (6-7) pitches on four days’ rest for Cleveland after working 7 1/3 innings in his last start, against Houston.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Each win moves the Royals one step closer to the end of their long playoff drought, and Sunday was a big one.

Nori Aoki hit a two-run triple, and Kansas City beat the Detroit Tigers 5-2 to avoid a sweep in the weekend series between the AL Central’s top teams.

“Today’s game shows that we’re not going away,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “They have that feeling. They had that feeling this morning that they knew this was going to be a big game. They had a lot of confidence in themselves when they hit the field.”

Kansas City pulled within 1 1/2 games of Detroit for the top spot in the division. The Royals, looking for their first playoff appearance since they won the World Series in 1985, also stayed in position for a wild card.

The Tigers finish the season at home with seven games against Chicago and Minnesota.

“Hopefully we’ll come home and it’ll get loud,” Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter said. “It’s going to be fun. It shouldn’t be hard to get pumped up. If you don’t have that adrenaline now you’re not human. You should check your pulse.”

Aoki’s tiebreaking triple in the fourth scored Omar Infante and Mike Moustakas, making it 4-2 and chasing Rick Porcello from the game.

“It would have been nice to get two or three wins (against Detroit), but one win means we’re still in good position,” Aoki said. “We’re going to play our best and leave it all out on the road.”

Porcello (15-12) is 0-4 in his past five starts. He yielded nine hits and walked two in 3 1/3 innings.

Kansas City’s Jeremy Guthrie (12-11) pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the second and was pulled after 81 pitches and 5 1/3 innings, yielding one earned run.

The Royals’ dominant bullpen trio of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland held the Tigers scoreless after Guthrie exited.

Davis struck out two, bringing his total to 103, tying a Royals record for a reliever. Holland threw a perfect ninth for his 43rd save in 45 chances, and his first since Sept. 3.

“We really needed that victory,” Holland said.

Alex Gordon added an RBI double in the seventh for Kansas City, snapping an 0-for-14 slump.

“It was a big game, but this team’s not going anywhere,” Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer said. “We’ve been fighting all season, we’re not going to take one bad series at the end and fold.”

Ian Kinsler hit his 16th homer in the third for the Tigers.

J.D. Martinez scored in the fourth on an error by Moustakas at third base. Moustakas has committed six errors in the past 12 games.

“It’s hard to sweep and it’s difficult in their ballpark,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. “I’m happy with two of three and now we’ll go home.”

FANS SHOW UP

All three games with the Tigers drew 37,000-plus, bringing the Royals’ home attendance to 1,915,482 for 81 dates. That’s the most fans the Royals have drawn since 1991.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: RHP Anibal Sanchez (right pectoral strain) pitched a three-inning simulated game. If he feels good Monday, he likely would be activated this week with a role to be determined.

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy, who has missed his previous two starts with a sore shoulder, will return to the rotation Monday, starting at Cleveland.

UP NEXT

Tigers: Rookie LHP Kyle Lobstein, who has walked 11 and struck out 18 in 27 2/3 innings, will start the series opener at home against the White Sox on Monday night.

Royals: Kansas City will need to rally quickly when it plays in Cleveland on Monday. The teams will resume their game that was suspended by rain Aug. 31 in Kansas City, with the Indians leading 4-2 going to the bottom of the 10th. The Royals and Cleveland will then play their regularly scheduled game.

— Associated Press —