KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alcides Escobar was going to take the first pitch that Neftali Feliz threw him, no matter what. After that, the Royals shortstop decided to keep taking pitches until he saw a strike. Turns out he never got to see one. Escobar walked on four pitches with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning Friday night, giving Kansas City a 2-1 victory over the Texas Rangers in the opener of an important three-game series between teams in the playoff race. "We had the utmost confidence he was going to get it done right there and he had a great at-bat," said Royals manager Ned Yost, who chose to stick with Escobar despite his .238 batting average and the fact that he had walked just 18 times in more than 600 plate appearances. Make that 19 times. "Im frustrated that I wasnt able to locate where I wanted to, but I understand thats part of the game," Feliz said. "I need to keep my head up and try it again tomorrow." The Rangers dropped a half-game behind the Indians, which beat Houston 2-1 in a rain-shortened game, for the second AL wild-card spot. The Royals were three games behind the leading Rays, who were locked in an extra-inning game with the Orioles. "These games are all going to be like this," said Yost, whose Royals (81-72) are already assured of their first non-losing season since 2003. "Theyre all going to be nail-biters. Theyre all going to be close." This one was so close the Rangers and Royals scored matching runs in the second inning, and then started tossing up zeros the rest of the way. The Royals finally broke through when Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas hit consecutive two-out singles off the Rangers Jason Frasor (4-3) in the eighth. Pinch-hitter David Lough drew a walk on a full-count pitch, and Rangers manager Ron Washington brought in Feliz. He promptly walked Escobar as a crowd of 30,000 roared. Luke Hochevar (5-2) earned the win in relief of Ervin Santana, who allowed one run on five hits in 7 1-3 innings. Greg Holland worked the ninth for his 44th save. "It stinks when you get taken out and youve got to rely on someone else. Its hard to sit there and watch," Frasor said. "Its a tough spot for Neftali." The Rangers actually jumped out to an early lead when Adrian Beltre, whose .374 average coming into the game was the best of any current player at Kauffman Stadium, roped a single to lead off the second. It was followed by a double by A.J. Pierzynski for a 1-0 advantage. The Royals answered in the bottom half when Salvador Perez led off with a double and Justin Maxwell, getting the start in right field, hit a two-out double to tie the game. Kansas City kept wasting chances in the early innings, though. Billy Butler grounded into a double play to end the first, and Moustakas grounded into another in the second. The Royals worked back-to-back walks in the fourth before Escobar flied out to centre field to end yet another scoring threat. The most egregious mistake came in the sixth, when Maxwell walked and Escobar was hit by a pitch from Rangers starter Martin Perez. Maxwell took off for third base with Alex Gordon at the plate, and he was easily thrown out by catcher Geovany Soto to end the inning. Asked whether he was running on his own, Yost replied: "Yeah." Good idea? "Nope." None of those jams was as tight as the one Santana worked out of in the fifth. After retiring the first two batters, David Murphy doubled, Leonys Martin singled and Ian Kinsler drew a walk to load the bases. Santana recovered to strike out Elvis Andrus. The Rangers had another opportunity in the eighth, but Hochever got Andrus to fly out to left and Alex Rios to ground out to first to leave Kinsler standing on first base. "Every game is so big, and thats what makes it fun," Hochevar said. "The intensity, the electricity in the ballpark that weve had during this push, its been awesome." NOTES: RHP Matt Garza goes to the mound for the Rangers on Saturday night. The Royals counter with RHP Jeremy Guthrie. ... Soto gave Pierzynski a night off behind the plate. ... Perez allowed one run on seven hits and four walks in 5 2-3 innings. ... The Royals left 11 runners on base. Texas stranded five. Nike Roshe Run Femme. Playing in her 12th Solheim Cup, the four-time major winner teamed up with Melissa Reid in the final fourball session to beat Americans Brittany Lang and Michelle Wie 4 and 3. Adidas Zx 750 Pas Cher. Fisher made birdies on three of his first six holes and then birdied four of the first five holes on his back nine. "Its been coming for a while and its nice to see the hard work paying off," Fisher said. http://www.frchaussuressoldes.com/. Indianapolis says it sent an undisclosed conditional draft pick to the 49ers. The Colts did not immediately announce a corresponding roster move. Adidas Zx 750 Homme. - It was textbook London Knights hockey and it was too much for the under-performing Edmonton Oil Kings. Nike Air Max Thea Pas Cher Homme.K and Malcolm Subban, as this will mark the first official time the two brothers will play against each other. HAMILTON, Ont. -- George Cortez paid the price Tuesday for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats disappointing season as the CFL team has relieved him of his duties as head coach and director of football operations. The firing came just over a month after the Ticats wrapped up a disappointing 6-12 season. "After a thorough evaluation of our organization and our goals moving forward, we have determined that a change in direction is needed," team president Scott Mitchell said in a release. "We want to thank coach Cortez for his contributions to the Tiger-Cats and wish him well in his future endeavours. "We will immediately begin the search for our new general manager and head coach." Cortez said he was surprised by the news, but seemed to be taking his dismissal well when he talked to reporters Tuesday. "Thats the way things go," he said. "We didnt win enough games, and ultimately thats what youre judged on." When asked if he would have done anything differently over his tenure in Hamilton, he relied dryly: "I would have won more games." "I think we had a good plan of how we did things," he added. "It was pretty much based on places Id been in the past and how wed done things successfully in the past, so I dont do a lot of second-guessing. Once you make a decision you move forward." Cortez said he would like to return to coaching next year, possibly as an offensive co-ordinator. He said he hasnt ruled out a return to the CFLs head coaching ranks, but noted that as of right now job vacancies are hard to come by. "I know obviously theres going to be a job in Ottawa in a year or two, but aas of right now theres no jobs out there," he said.dddddddddddd The Ticats also announced that Bob OBillovich, the teams vice-president of football operations, has been offered a position within the organization as a consultant to the president and the football operations staff. "Bob has done a very good job of bringing competitive football back to Hamilton and we look forward to working with him for many years to come," said Mitchell. OBillovich served as vice-president of football operations this year after spending four seasons as general manager. Cortez, who also handled offensive co-ordinator duties, was named the 21st head coach in Ticats history last January after spending the previous two seasons as a quarterbacks coach with the NFLs Buffalo Bills. He has won four Grey Cup rings and has three decades of coaching experience in the CFL, NFL and NCAA. OBillovich has also held several head coach and front-office positions over his long CFL career. Cortez had three years remaining on his contract. The news came down just over a week after defensive co-ordinator Casey Creehan left the Tiger-Cats for the same position in Winnipeg. Hamilton is now without a head coach, general manager, offensive co-ordinator or defensive co-ordinator. It is shaping up to be a busy off-season for the Tiger-Cats, who will play their home games next year at the University of Guelph. A new 24,000-seat field is being built on the site of Ivor Wynne Stadium, the teams home for the past 84 years. Hamilton finished tied with Winnipeg at the bottom of the East Division standings with 12 points. The Tiger-Cats havent won a Grey Cup since 1999. wholesale jerseys　 Cheap Jerseys　 ' ' '