ird quarter, Phoenix became the first team to have three

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- With the Aug. 1 trade deadline approaching next week, the World Series champion Kansas City Royals may be sellers instead of buyers.Delino DeShields homered in the seventh inning to break a tie and the Texas Rangers beat the Royals 2-1 on Sunday.The loss dropped the Royals to 48-49, the first time the World Series champions have been below .500 since May 15. The Royals have lost 13 of 19 games in July and have not won back-to-back games June 29-30.For Kansas City, it might already be too late to find another gear for a postseason push.We thought about that like three weeks ago, Yost said. We can think it all we want. That doesnt help you. Weve got to get it going.The Royals are in third place in the AL Central, eight games behind Cleveland. They are in seventh place in the wild card race, six games back.Royals starter Edinson Volquez left after six innings and 91 pitches, allowing one run and seven hits while walking three and striking out three. It was Volquezs fifth straight start pitching at least six innings and he has a 2.87 ERA in that span.We know what we can do and we never give up, Volquez said. Were going to be all right. Were going to make some adjustments and win games I believe.Volquez is eligible for free agency after this season and could be traded at the deadline. He stranded runners at third base to end the third, fourth and fifth innings.He pitched in and out of trouble all day long, a fantastic job, Yost said.DeShields, who was recalled Thursday from Triple-A Round Rock, walked and doubled before leading off the seventh with his third home run. DeShields hit a 2-1 pitch from Luke Hochevar out to left.Hochevar (2-3) took the loss and has allowed six runs in 6 1/3 innings in July.It was a four-seam fastball and it just took off and ran back over the plate, Hochevar said of DeShields home run. Trying to go down and away with that and it just ran middle.Left-hander Alex Claudio (2-1) picked up the win, pitching a scoreless sixth.Rangers relievers Claudio, Keone Kela, Jake Diekman and Sam Dyson held the Royals scoreless the final four innings.Dyson earned his 20th save in 22 opportunities, but not before allowing two singles and taking Paulo Orlandos liner off his right shoulder.The Rangers broke through with a clutch hit in the sixth when Mitch Morelands two-out single scored Adrian Beltre, who began the inning with a single.Rangers right-hander A.J. Griffin left after allowing four hits in five innings, including Kendrys Morales home run in the fourth inning. Morales had three of the Royals seven hits.PEREZ RESTEDC Salvador Perez was not in the Royals lineup for the first time since July 3 with Drew Butera behind the plate with a day game after a night game. Perez was in a 2-for-23 skid with eight strikeouts and no walks over six games before delivering a pinch-hit single in the ninth.STREAK ENDS3B Cheslor Cuthbert went 0 for 4, snapping his 12-game hitting streak, the longest by a Royals rookie since Mike Moustakas 15-game streak in 2011.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: General manager Jon Daniels said he anticipates LHP Derek Holland and RHP Colby Lewis will return to the rotation on Aug. 20 and 21, the dates they are eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list.Royals: OF Lorenzo Cain (left hamstring strain) ran before the game. Hes making progress, Yost said. Well evaluate it tomorrow.UP NEXTRoyals: RHP Ian Kennedy, who starts Monday against the Angels, allowed four home runs in a loss Wednesday to the Indians and is tied with teammate Chris Young in allowing a major league-high 26 homers. Los Angeles sends out RHP Hector Santiago. Clearance Nike Shoes . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. Wholesale Nike Shoes . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. https://www.fakenikeshoeswholesale.com/ . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. Black Friday Nike Shoes . Carey Price didnt, but he still came out on top against one of his rivals for the No. 1 job at the Sochi Games. The Anahim Lake, B.C., native was stellar in making 39 saves in his home province and Lars Eller got credit for a bizarre short-handed winner as the Canadiens defeated the Canucks 4-1. Cyber Monday Nike Shoes . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. PHOENIX -- Dave Joerger is off to a winning start with the Sacramento Kings.The Kings gave the former Memphis coach a 113-94 season-opening victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night, led by 24 points from DeMarcus Cousins and 22 from Rudy Gay.The Kings won an opener for the first time in three years and gave Joerger a victory in his Sacramento debut.The Kings used an 18-1 run from its second unit to take control in the first half and was up by as many as 26 points in the third quarter.First we kind of came out a little rusty,. Cousins said. The second group came in with incredible energy and really opened the game up and really got energy going. Basically, there was no looking back from there.Joerger brings a defensive mindset to the Kings.They got after it on defense, Joerger said of his second unit in the big run. The key for our defense is to set it. We executed offensively and didnt turn it over. When we did that, we were able to set our defense. `Gay said the Kings are buying in.Were helping each other, Gay said. That was one of the things at camp we worked on. We have to help each other and play as a team.Devin Booker, plagued by foul trouble, scored 18 points for the Suns. Eric Bledsoe added 16 and T.J. Warren had 14. Dragan Bender, the 18-year-old fourth overall pick in this years draft, scored 10 points for Phoenix, all in the second half.Weve got some adjustments to do, said Bledsoe, in his first game since injuring his knee last December. They went on a run, we could never bounce back from it. Its the first game.A lineup featuring all three Phoenix draft picks -- first-rounders Bender and Marquese Chriss and second-rounder Tyler Ulis -- got the Suns back within 10. Bender hit his second 3-pointer of the quarter and Chriss scored inside to slice it to 86-76 with 9:07 to play.It was fun to watch, Suns coach Earl Watson said. Dragan came in and gave us great minutes. Marquese is Marqueese.dddddddddddd I think the biggest surprise out of the second unit was Tyler. His defense on the ball was aggressive and we need that energy.But Gay scored seven points and Matt Barnes had five in a 12-1 outburst to put the Kings back firmly in control 98-77.Sacramentos reserves dominated their Phoenix counterparts to give the Kings their big first-half lead.Ben McLemore scored six points and Garrett Temple and Willie Cauley Stein added four apiece in a 16-1 run to end the first quarter, with the Kings leading 30-19. Anthony Tolliver made a 6-foot floater to open the second quarter to make it an 18-1 run and a 32-19 lead.Temples 17-footer with 2.8 seconds left in the half gave Sacramento its biggest lead of the game thus far, 57-39.KIDS CORPSWhen Bender entered the game in the third quarter, Phoenix became the first team to have three teenagers appear in a game. Chriss is 19 and Booker barely made it. He turns 20 on Sunday.McCOY HONOREDSuns owner Robert Sarver took the microphone and told Suns longtime broadcaster Al McCoy that he would be added to the Ring of Honor on March 3. The 83-year-old McCoy has been the Suns radio announcer for 40 seasons.TIP-INSKings: Cousins scored 10 straight Sacramento points in the third quarter. ... Sacramento last won a season opener in 2013, beating the Denver Nuggets.Suns: The Suns won 23 games last season, second-worst record in the teams 48-year history. ... Phoenix has missed the playoffs the last six seasons. ... Chriss drew a flagrant foul with 5:37 left in the third quarter. ... Booker got in early foul trouble and had a brief shoving match with Cousins in the second quarter.UP NEXTKings: Play their home opener Thursday night against the San Antonio Spurs.Suns: Travel to Oklahoma City for the Thunders home opener on Friday night. ' ' '