[September 04, 2014]KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Left-hander
Jason Vargas provided the good arm, left fielder Alex Gordon provided
the biceps power swing, and spare part Terrance Gore provided the fast
feet.
Vargas threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings, and Gordon hit a two-run
homer as the Kansas City Royals defeated the last-place Texas
Rangers 4-1 Wednesday night to sweep the three-game series.
The victory, coupled with Detroit's loss at Cleveland, pushed the
Royals 1 1/2 games in front of the Tigers in the American League
Central.
Vargas, who gave up 21 hits and seven runs in 12 innings while
losing his previous two starts, limited the Rangers to six hits. He
walked none and struck out five before leaving after 102 pitches.
"He was sharp tonight, had his good command, spotted his fastball
well, his changeup was really working for him, off-speed stuff was
good," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Just pitched a great game."
Vargas (11-7) has a 2.66 ERA since missing nearly a month after an
appendectomy in early July.
"I'm glad about the arm strength I was able to retain," Vargas said.
"We've had some good success since we've come back. It can go either
way, so I definitely like the position we're in right now."
Gordon homered with second baseman Omar Infante aboard in the fourth
to take a 2-0 lead.
The Royals added two more in the seventh and chased Rangers
right-hander Nick Tepesch, a local product.
Designated hitter Billy Butler doubled home catcher Salvador Perez
with the first run of the inning.
Gore, who might be the fastest man in baseball and was just called
up from the minors, ran for Butler and stole third, then scampered
home on catcher Tomas Telis' throwing error. It was Gore's first
major league steal.
"That's what I'm here for -- to cause havoc," Gore said.
The Rangers got their lone run in the eighth when first baseman Ryan
Rua's two-out single scored shortstop Elvis Andrus, who led off the
inning with a walk.
Greg Holland worked a 1-2-3 ninth to collect his American
League-best 42nd save in 44 opportunities.
Tepesch (4-9), who has only one victory in 11 starts since June 27,
was charged with four runs, three earned, on six hits in 6 2/3
innings.
The Rangers stranded nine runners and went 1-for-15 with runners in
scoring position.
"They scored four. We had a chance to score seven or eight. We got
one run," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "We put ourselves in
position but just couldn't get the hit. It wasn't just one part of
the lineup. It was up and down. It was almost everybody had an
opportunity. Rua finally came through.
"It looked like a lot of the pitches we swung at we actually didn't give
ourselves a chance to drive in runs. If we had been a little more
patient and had gotten better pitches to do something with, we would
have had better results. They can pitch, but we still created
opportunities for ourselves. We just didn't cash them in."
The Royals jumped on top in the fourth inning when Gordon drove a 3-1
Tepesch pitch over the center field fence for his team-leading 19th home
run of the season. Infante singled just before Gordon's blast.
"I've been doing a couple extra (biceps) curls here and there in the
weight room, and that might be it, but other than that, no," Gordon said
of his home run spree, which included nine in August. "Sometimes they
come and sometimes they don't."
Yost said, "He's an MVP in my book."
Tepesch, who led Blue Springs High in suburban Kansas City to the
Missouri state championship in 2007 with a 9-0 record, was making his
first pro start at Kauffman Stadium. The Rangers drafted Tepesch in the
14th round in 2010 out of the University of Missouri.
"I played here a few times in college and high school but never got to
pitch here," Tepesch said. "It's nice having family so close that they
can come and watch. I'd come to maybe two, three or four games a year as
a kid. But once I started playing baseball a lot, that kind of took away
from that. I definitely grew up a Royals fan, but now it's just another
team to beat."
NOTES: Rangers RHP Yu Darvish, who is on the disabled list due to elbow
inflammation, will be re-examined Thursday when the club returns home.
... Rangers RHP Scott Baker will not start Thursday against the
Mariners. He was pushed back to Friday because of a stiff neck. LHP
Robbie Ross will start the series opener. ... Royals INF Christian
Colon, who broke his right middle finger Tuesday, is still available to
pinch-run or bunt as a pinch hitter, manager Ned Yost said. Colon,
however, cannot throw. ... The Royals are off Thursday before opening a
six-game trip Friday against the New York Yankees and the Detroit
Tigers. ... Royals RHP Wade Davis has allowed two extra-base hits all
season, both doubles, in 61 2/3 innings.
