Kansas City wwas favored to repeat as division cham

Kevin Harvick wasnt in much of a mood to talk about his back-against-the-wall, clutch-race-winning ability on Sunday afternoon. Hed just completed a frustrating 500 laps -- make that 498 laps, two laps down -- at Martinsville Speedway, where he finished 20th.He has had worse finishes in Chase for the Sprint Cup races this year, but this marked the first time Harvick probably finished where he deserved. He had a speeding penalty early in the race, but that didnt impact his finish.The rare just-missed-it kind of day has put Harvick in a 16-point hole from the current Chase cutoff. Sure, Harvick has faced must-win situations and moved on in the past and Phoenix (where he has won five of the last six and six of the last eight) follows this weekends race at Texas, but how many times can he snatch wins and save his season?Harvick was asked about the challenge Sunday, how he views his chances of making up the points or earning the win necessary to be one of the four drivers with a shot to win the championship in a couple of weeks at Homestead-Miami Speedway.I havent really looked at it, Harvick said. We will see.And then he walked away.Now heres what makes Harvicks challenge possibly even greater: He might not get much help from his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates. None of them comes off Martinsville feeling all that well and none has any momentum that Harvick can feed off of this weekend at Texas.Kurt Busch, who also is still alive in the Chase, finished 22nd and sits 18 points behind the current Chase cutoff.Tony Stewart finished 26th at Martinsville -- after appearing fairly stout in practice -- and remains 14th in the standings in his final season.Danica Patrick was 24th, and sits 23rd in the standings.We were slow all weekend, Harvick said about Martinsville. We could just never get the handle on it.If there is any good news for Harvick and Busch, its that nothing from the short-track Martinsville correlates for the next couple of tracks.Harvick said he will try to focus himself and not the other Chase competitors.Its really about being intense in our own little bubble, he said in a news release. I know, for us, it seems like there is more to navigate than there was last year just for the fact that weve had so many things go wrong up to this point.Weve been fortunate to win a couple of races, but it seems like every other week weve had to navigate something or work through something to get the best finish we can. Hopefully, we can clean all those things up and do a little better over the final couple weeks.Busch sounds a little less optimistic.I have no idea [how we bounce back], but we will figure something out, Busch said. We came all this way, we wont give up now.Harvick already has won two Chase races this year after round-opening frustrating events. He won at New Hampshire the week after losing a lap early at Chicagoland. And he won at Kansas after a Charlotte race where an oil pump seal came apart.Hell have to dig deep again now at Texas, where he started 22nd and finished 10th earlier this year. Busch was ninth.They most likely need top-5 finishes or other drivers to have trouble to enter Phoenix with a shot to advance by points instead of facing a must-win situation.They at least have the solace of knowing theyre not the worst off among the Chase finalists. Carl Edwards had a tire issue at Martinsville that relegated him to a 36th-place finish, and he sits 32 points behind the Chase cutoff.Were going to continue to give it our best and go after it, Busch said. A win would be wonderful. But still, at the same time, guys like Carl Edwards [also] had trouble last weekendMy teammate Kevin Harvick, we all struggled at SHR. But you never know whats going to happen when you go into the next race. You go business as usual, but [with] not too much stress. Denis Menke Jersey . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. Doug Rader Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. https://www.cheapastros.com/1773o-jeff-bagwell-jersey-astros.html . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. George Springer Jersey .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. Gerrit Cole Jersey . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. CLEVELAND -- Corey Kluber moved the Cleveland Indians one step closer to the AL Central title while eliminating the reigning World Series champions from the race.Kluber allowed two runs and struck out nine in 6 1/3 innings, and the Indians defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Wednesday night.The Indians, who lead Detroit by 7 1/2 games, reduced their magic number for clinching the Central to five.Its what we work for all offseason, spring training play games early on to have this chance come September, Kluber said. We know were in a good spot, but were not looking ahead. We have a lot of work to do.Carlos Santana was 4 for 5 with an RBI single in the eighth. Jose Ramirez drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth with his third double of the game.Kluber (18-9) matched his career high in wins and is 10-1 in his last 14 starts, strengthening his case to win his second AL Cy Young Award in three years.Cody Allen allowed Salvador Perezs leadoff homer in the ninth, but recorded his 28th save in 31 opportunities. Catcher Roberto Perez threw out pinch-runner Terrance Gore trying to steal second for the first out and Allen retired the final two batters.Perez pumped his fist after throwing out Gore, who was successful on all 17 of his career regular season stolen base attempts going into the game.I was excited, said Perez, who credited Allen for making a quick delivery to the plate. You know nobody has thrown him out.That was huge, Allen said. He bailed me out. That changes the whole dynamic of the inning. That was a big-time play.Ian Kennedy (11-10) allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings and lost for the first time since July 25.The Royals reached the World Series in each of the last two years and defeated the Mets in five games to win their first title since 1985 last season.Kansas City wwas favored to repeat as division champions, but dealt with injuries to key players all season.dddddddddddde cant do anything about it now, Salvador Perez said. Were going to continue to play hard until the end, no matter what happens.Lonnie Chisenhalls RBI single put Cleveland ahead in the second. Run-scoring singles by Kendrys Morales and Perez gave Kansas City the lead in the third when the Royals strung together four straight two-out hits.Santana doubled to start the fifth and scored the tying run on Jason Kipnis double. Ramirezs double to center broke the tie.Klubers hot stretch has come at an opportune time for Clevelands rotation, which is without Carlos Carrasco (broken right hand) and Danny Salazar (strained right forearm).Hes so consistent that hes the same guy every five days, Indians manager Terry Francona said. I mean that as the biggest compliment you can give somebody.ROAD BACK?Salazar, who hasnt pitched in a game since Sept. 9, played catch at 75 feet Tuesday. He could be used in the bullpen if the Indians make the postseason.Im feeling better -- way better, he said. It feels good just to be able to throw a little bit. Im really positive about it.TRAINERS ROOMIndians: Carrasco has been fitted with a soft cast. He was struck by Ian Kinslers line drive Saturday.UP NEXTRoyals: LHP Jason Vargas returned from Tommy John surgery and pitched three innings Saturday against the White Sox -- his first appearance since July 21, 2015 -- allowing one run.Indians: RHP Mike Clevinger, who will be in the rotation down the stretch, starts the series finale. The rookie is 2-1 with a 3.52 ERA in seven games, including four starts, at Progressive Field. ' ' '