KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- 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. Dario Saric Suns Jersey . And former Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson certainly knows his pain. "Its pretty hard to coach there without allowing some of these things to kind of affect you," Wilson told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in his ESPN. Elie Okobo Suns Jersey . The White Sox said Wednesday they acquired left-handed pitching prospect Sean Bierman and infielder Ben Kline, who both played at Class A this season. The White Sox dealt Crain to Tampa Bay on July 29. https://www.thesunslockerroom.com/Jalen-...Edition-Jersey/. - Urijah (The California Kid) Faber finds himself in an unaccustomed position Saturday night at UFC 175 — on the preliminary card. Phoenix Suns Jerseys . Ramirez is still hitting behind Puig, only now they are in the third and fourth spots, and the change is starting to generate positive results for manager Don Mattingly. Ricky Rubio Suns Jersey .com) - St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk and Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury have been selected as the NHLs top players for last week. DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Brett Cecil walked into spring training last year with his career in limbo. The Toronto left-hander seemed far removed from his breakout season of 2010, when he posted a team-high 15 wins despite not making the 25-man roster out of camp. Instead, he was fresh off two years of disappointment. Hed bounced back and forth between the Blue Jays and Triple-A, going a combined 6-15 while getting demoted from the rotation. Cecil knew that if he didnt show improvement, his days in Toronto would be numbered. "There was a big discussion before the beginning of spring last year whether he was even going to make the team," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said Saturday. That doubt forced the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Cecil to make a change. He began throwing a weighted baseball during pitching drills to help strengthen his arm and build velocity. It worked. After several strong outings, Cecil was informed in the final days of camp that hed made the final cut. As a reliever, in fact. Cecil took advantage of that opportunity and went 5-1 with a 2.82 ERA and one save. He was also picked as an American League All-Star for the first time. Cecil pitched in 60 games, striking out 70 in 60 2-3 innings. He signed a one-year, $1.3 million contract in the off-season. The 27-year-old Cecil said last years experience changed his mindset and made him appreciate what he has. "Completely different," he said. "Im fairly certain that I have a spot on the team. Obviously, I have to perform, but its a little bit more pressure taken off not being on the bubble." Though Cecil performed well early on in 2013, he began to wear down during the second half of the season. Extra work with the weighted-ball routine and the added stress of having to continuously prove himself took a toll on his body. In September, soreness developed in his shoulder and prematurely ended his season. "I just needed rest," Cecil said. "It was a combinattion of a different role, different workload and overdoing the ball program a little bit.dddddddddddd" Cecil said he is now completely healthy and understands where his limits are. He said it will be much easier to dial it back when he needs to instead of constantly going full-bore all the time. "I just dont want any red flags to be thrown up, but I am going to be a lot smarter about the time I take throwing," Cecil said. "When I feel like I really need the work, if I feel like I need to take a day, I said Im going to take a day." "(During batting practice on Friday) they told me I had 25 pitches, and I said I dont need 25 pitches, Ill do 20. If I can throw 20, Im sure I can get five more in a game down the road. I dont need that right now. I need 20 or so and that would be it. Right now, its just saving as many bullets as I can for August, September and, hopefully, October." Gibbons agreed and said it will take that approach from Cecil to help the bullpen succeed. "He had a heck of a year," Gibbons said. "Hes found a role, he likes that bullpen role and hes very good at it. The big thing is always going to be durability, because the good ones get used a lot. Hes got to be conscious of that. He can be a hero, but he also has to understand that to be good in this business." NOTES: Gibbons said LHP J.A. Happ will start the Blue Jays exhibition opener on Wednesday in Clearwater against the Philadelphia Phillies. ... RHP Liam Hendriks, claimed off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, joined the team. ... Japanese-born SS Munenori Kawasaki said he will cheer for the Canadian mens hockey team during its Olympic gold-medal game against Sweden on Sunday. Kawasaki said he predicts a win for Canada, because his son, Issho, was born in Toronto last year. "I love Canada," Kawasaki said. "I think Canada wins 2-1. Yes, perfect. Sounds good. Lets go, Canada." ' ' '