SEATTLE -- Needing wins in Seattle to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, the Kansas City Royals offence went into a slump. Hisashi Iwakuma pitched eight scoreless innings in Seattles 6-0 win against Kansas City on Wednesday, eliminating the Royals from the playoff hunt. It was the second straight night the Mariners shut out Kansas City as the teams ahead of the Royals in the wild-card race -- Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Texas -- won. The Royals havent scored since the 12th inning of Mondays 6-5 win. "Back-to-back shutouts, youre not going to win any games scoring zero runs," Alex Gordon said. "Its kind of a tough way to go out." Mariners catcher Mike Zunino homered twice, Michael Saunders also homered and Kyle Seager hit a two-run double for Seattle, which has won three of four. Zunino and Saunders hit back-to-back homers with two outs in the eighth inning, the 14th time this season Mariners have hit consecutive home runs. The Royals entered Wednesday four games behind Cleveland for the second wild-card berth with five games to play and needed a victory. Iwakuma made sure they didnt get one. "We put ourselves in the situation to maybe find a way to sneak in, but we just came up a little short," Gordon said. "Its unfortunate, but weve got four more games and were going to try to finish the season strong." Iwakuma (14-6) finished his season without allowing a run in three straight starts, a streak of 23 scoreless innings. Against the Royals, he gave up four hits and never allowed more than one base runner in an inning. He didnt walk anyone until the eighth. He had nine strikeouts, the 13th time in 33 starts he struck out at least seven. "He handcuffed us, we couldnt do anything," Royals manager Ned Yost said. Iwakumas 2.66 ERA is third-best in the American League, and he finishes the season 4-0 in his final eight starts. "It sort of caps off the year he had," Zunino said. "He just keeps getting stronger. Every start is getting better and better." Ervin Santana (9-10) matched Iwakuma and kept the Mariners scoreless for the first four innings before Seattle broke through. Santana went six innings, allowing four runs and five hits with two strikeouts and four walks. Zunino broke the scoreless tie leading off the fifth inning, taking Santanas first pitch deep to left field. The blast sparked more scoring for the Mariners. With one out, Brad Miller doubled and Nick Franklin walked. With Seager at the plate, Santanas pickoff attempt to second ended up in centre field, putting runners on second and third. Seager then laced a double down the right field line to give Seattle a 3-0 lead. The Mariners added a run in the seventh. Dustin Ackley led off the inning with a double, and Yost walked out to the mound to signal Santanas night was done. "I just told him, You know Erv, you had a great year. Real proud of you. That was it," Yost said. Miller pushed a bunt up the first base line and reliever Will Smiths throw to first baseman Eric Hosmer was wide, allowing Ackley to score. The Royals best offensive chance came in the fifth, when Mike Moustakas doubled with one out and took off running when Jarrod Dyson hit a line drive which looked as if it might reach the outfield. Instead, Miller at shortstop timed his jump and snared the ball, then jogged to second to double off Moustakas and end the inning. The Royals, who were six games below .500 at the All-Star break, head to Chicago to finish up the season with a four-game series against the White Sox. Even without a shot at the playoffs, Kansas City (83-75) is assured of its first winning season in a decade, and one more win will give them their best record since they finished 84-78 in 1993. "Weve had a real good second half," Billy Butler said. "We have one more series and we get to build on this for next year. We had a good run, and the guys in here played hard." Yost said hell have a chance to give some young players an opportunity over the final four games, but doesnt expect any letdown despite no longer having a shot at the post-season. "I think weve made a lot of progress as an organization," Yost said. "It was a giant step forward for us, and it was a step we definitely needed to take this year." NOTES: Seattle manager Eric Wedge said before the game he feels like hes "hanging out there" with little clarity regarding his future with the organization. Wedges contract -- originally a three-year deal -- expires after the season and Wedge indicated hes been given no word about whether hell return for a fourth year. ... Seattle has hit 183 home runs this year, tied with Toronto for second-fewest in the major leagues. ... The last time Kansas City was shut out in back-to-back games was May 22-23, 2009, at St. Louis. nfl jerseys china .A. Dickey and the Toronto Blue Jays look to get even with the Baltimore Orioles tonight in the second game of a three-game set at Camden Yards. cheap jerseys .J. Pollock and infielder Cody Ransom. Young, an NL All-Star in 2010, injured his right shoulder crashing into the padded wall in centre for a catch in the fourth inning Tuesday. An MRI confirmed he had a bruised right shoulder. http://www.cheapjerseyssafe.com/ .J. -- Rex Ryan is sticking with Geno Smith. cheap jerseys from china . The 20-year-old from Thornill, Ont., dropped to No. 29 in the ATP rankings released Monday. Raonic underwent surgery last month after suffering a tournament-ending injury during the second round of Wimbledon. wholesale jerseys . Their offensive linemen? They got a free dinner. The Calgary Stampeders O-line has been one of the most potent in the Canadian Football League this season, helping propel the team to Sundays 100th Grey Cup game versus the Toronto Argonauts.TEMPE, Ariz. -- Omar Vizquel is in the cramped workout area near the Los Angeles Angels weight room shortly after the sun comes up, repeatedly slamming a medicine ball into a concrete wall with insistent, two-handed throws. The determination and work ethic necessary to play nearly a quarter-century in the major leagues dont just disappear. Although the 45-year-old who played more games at shortstop than anybody in baseball history has started a new career as a coach, Vizquel is still grinding away in early-morning workouts by himself before he teaches a few things to the Angels prospects in spring training. "The baseball world is the best work that a man can have," Vizquel said. "I love it here, and I think that Im going to die being a baseball player." Indeed, Vizquel couldnt even stay away from baseball for an entire winter after ending his playing career with Toronto last fall. Hes in his first weeks as a roving minor league infield instructor for the Angels, teaching the finer points of fielding to youngsters who hadnt been born when he broke into the majors. "I dont know, I just needed something to do," Vizquel said. "I want to be close to the game. I want to learn my new career, what its going to be -- being a coach or, my final goal, which is being a manager someday. I dont really want to take the time off and do anything in my house. I want to do what I love to do, which is here. Baseball." Vizquel had earned the right to a few months of relaxation in Seattle, his familys adopted home. He won 11 Gold Gloves, posted the best fielding percentage by a shortstop in major league history (.985) and became the sports top Venezuelan hitter between his April 1989 debut with the Mariners and his Oct. 3 finale for the Blue Jays, with lengthy stops in Cleveland and San Francisco in between. And its not as if Vizquel has nothing better to do. He is a prolific oil painter, sculptor and photographer who once had a gallery show in San Francisco, and he famously keeps a menagerie of animals. But after running into former Indians teammate Paul Sorrento, the Angels minor league hitting co-ordinator, at a poker game organized by Edgar Martinez, Vizquel connected with the Angels. They were looking for somebody to teach infielders, and Vizquel seemed eminently qualified. "I said, Well, I must be the guy," Vizquel recalled.dddddddddddd. "So I got in touch with (assistant general manager) Scott Servais, and Scott gave (general manager) Jerry Dipoto a call. I also played with Jerry in Cleveland, and he knows me from those years. The communication was really quick, and they put it together, and I was here two days later." Even during a chilly Arizona week in February, Vizquel cant contain his famed energy. After a morning workout that would leave manager Mike Scioscia and even a few players gasping, he flits distractedly through the Angels clubhouse with his cap on backward, nibbling at breakfast and lounging on the floor while talking to players with his back resting on a door frame. "I still go through my program," Vizquel said of his morning work. "Not as intense as it was before, but I want to keep in shape. I want to be able to run with my kids and do drills and be on the field, so it feels pretty good." Vizquel didnt consider a managing career until six or seven years ago, when his playing career began to wind down. He knows the idea will surprise some people who know about his