KANSAS CITY, Mo. Curtis Martin Jersey . -- Alex Gordon hit a two-run homer, Jason Vargas pitched into the seventh inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 on Wednesday night to finish off a three-game sweep. Vargas (11-7) stranded four runners in scoring position before turning over a two-on, two-out mess to Kelvin Herrera, who escaped the jam. Louis Coleman gave up a run in the eighth before Wade Davis finished off the inning, and Greg Holland worked a perfect ninth for his 42nd save. The victory along with Detroits 7-0 loss to Cleveland allowed the Royals to extend their lead to 1 1/2 games over the Tigers in the AL Central. They are off Thursday before a crucial trip that takes them through the wild card-chasing Yankees and into a three-game set in Detroit. Nick Tepesch (4-9) allowed all four runs over 6 2-3 innings for Texas. The Royals grabbed the lead in the fourth when Omar Infante led off with a single and Gordon homered to deep centre. In the seventh, Salvador Perez and Billy Butler doubled to provide a bit of cushion, and pinch runner Terrance Gore scored on a stolen base and a throwing error. That was more than enough to doom Texas to its fifth straight loss. The biggest problem for the injury plagued Rangers lately has been situational hitting, and it manifested itself again in three close losses to Kansas City. They were 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position Wednesday night, making them 3 for 28 over the course of the series. The sweep of Texas was the first at home for the Royals in seven seasons. Tepesch, who grew up in nearby Blue Springs, Missouri, kept giving the Rangers a chance. He retired his first eight batters and then bounced back from Gordons homer to retire eight of nine. Vargas proved to be just a little bit better. The veteran left-hander, winless in his last six starts against Texas left runners on the corners in the first inning, and somehow navigated leadoff doubles in the third, fourth and sixth. By the time he trudged off the mound on a humid night at Kauffman Stadium, a small but festive crowd of 15,771 had risen to its feet to give him a parting ovation. TRAINERS ROOM Rangers: RHP Scott Baker has been scratched from his start Thursday against Seattle with a stiff neck. Manager Ron Washington hopes hell be able to go Friday. ... RHP Yu Darvish (elbow inflammation) will be examined Thursday in Texas. It remains unlikely hell return his season. Royals: INF Christian Colon broke the middle finger of his right hand Tuesday night. Manager Ned Yost said he could still be called upon to bunt or pinch run. UP NEXT Rangers: LHP Robbie Ross (2-5, 5.63) will move up one day to start in Bakers place. Ross tossed five shutout innings against Houston his last time out. Royals: RHP James Shields (12-7) starts the Royals series opener in the Bronx. Custom New York Jets Jerseys . Messier, who had been a special assistant to Rangers general manager Glen Sather, announced Thursday in a statement that he is resigning in order to "expand the game of hockey in the New York area by developing the Kingsbridge National Ice Center. Leonard Williams Jersey .S. military base for UFC: Fight for the Troops 3. This fight card, which takes place in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, has had a number of changes, including headliner Lyoto Machida replaced by fellow Brazilian Rafael Natal. http://www.thejetsjerseysshoponline.com/Youth-Joe-Namath-Jets-Jersey/ . PAUL, Minn.MINNEAPOLIS – There are 750 active player jobs in Major League Baseball at any one time. Of those, 68, or nine-percent, were on the active rosters for the 85th edition of the All-Star Game on Tuesday night at Target Field. Blue Jays rightfielder Jose Bautista participated in his fifth Midsummer Classic and fifth in a row. While some players look for ways to excuse themselves from the festivities, choosing instead to take a four-day break from the daily grind of the six-month season, Bautista relishes the opportunity to be front and centre on one of the sports biggest stages. "Nothing gets old, everythings the same, you get to enjoy everything every single time," said Bautista. "Theres always different stuff going on and new and different, exciting players. Im excited to see those new names like Jose Abreu and Mike Trout. I know (Trouts) been here before but hes one of the younger guys that are part of this event so theres always great stuff to see and enjoy so I dont complain whatsoever. Always proud and humbled to be chosen." Bautista, for the second time, was the leading vote-getter, netting almost six million votes. He doesnt take the responsibility lightly. His itinerary in Minneapolis was jam-packed. If he was weary, he wasnt letting on but regardless, there would be hardly any rest. Bautista arrived via private jet on Sunday night, flying in from Tampa Bay, where his Blue Jays had just finished a series with the Rays. He went to his hotel, checked in, took enough time to drop off his belongings in his room and then, in a manner of speaking, went to work. First up was a Sunday night MLB.com party for which Bautista played host. He eventually made it to bed and estimated that he got five hours of sleep. There was more to do – much, much more to do – on Monday. Bautista had breakfast on Monday morning. Then, a charitable endeavour; he went to the Boys and Girls Club of the Twin Cities to meet some of the programs children and donate shoes. By one oclock in the afternoon central daylight time, Monday, Bautista had arrived at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Minneapolis. It was media time, including indulging reporters for 45 minutes during the American League players availability, followed by the Home Run Derby press conference. "Basically stressful, Im going to lose a couple of more hairs in this next 48 houurs," Bautista told TSN. Julian Howsare Jersey. .ca during the availability. "It goes by fast. It feels like right when you get here youre doing one thing after the other. You dont get enough sleep. You always have something to do but you cant help but enjoy it when youre out on the field and playing with stars. I cant complain about it but it is busy." Bautista participated in the Home Run Derby. He was the American Leagues captain. He hit 10 home runs in the first round, received a bye to the semifinals and hit four more. He was defeated by eventual winner, Oaklands Yoenis Cespedes. The Derby behind him, it was back out on the town for a party thrown by Marucci Sports, which has become one of baseballs premier suppliers of equipment like bats, batting gloves, gloves, you name it. Bautista sits on the companys board of directors. The party ended. Bautista estimated he got about six hours of sleep before waking up on Tuesday morning. It was right off to the All-Star parade through downtown Minneapolis and the red carpet which followed. Bautista was in rightfield for five innings, going hitless in two at-bats. He was to fly to Toronto, on a private jet, over the lunch hour on Wednesday. Blue Jays fans concerned Bautista kept too busy in advance of what will be the most important second half of his tenure in Toronto, neednt worry. "I still get two days on Wednesday and Thursday," said Bautista. "Id rather be here then at home relaxing. Its a good signal when you get picked and selected to come here and Im not going to keep complaining. Im going to keep trying to be a contributor to my team and hopefully play good enough to keep getting selected." After all, it wasnt obvious in his early years that Bautista would become the elite player you see today. Hell keep coming to the All-Star Game as long as hes invited. "Maybe if I was somebody like Mike Trout, whos been here since his first year and this would be my 17th year, maybe I wouldnt care about it so much but thats not the case," said Bautista. "I work very hard and somehow manage to be good enough to get selected. I dont think it means that much more but it means about as much as it probably means to every other guy thats here. We value it a lot and its always great to be recognized among the best so Im always humbled and honoured to be here." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '