, Kohlschreibers 6-2, 6-3 win over Tunisian wild card Malik Jazirivictory

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Its getting very crowded at the top of the AL Central. The surging Cleveland Indians have turned the division into one of baseballs best playoff races. Michael Brantley and Carlos Santana each had an RBI single in the 11th inning, leading the Indians to a 3-2 victory over the sliding Kansas City Royals on Saturday night. Kansas City has lost three in a row to fall into a first-place tie with Detroit, which split a doubleheader at Chicago. Cleveland, which has won six of seven, is just 3 1/2 back. "Its extremely agonizing," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Its frustrating." The Royals got a run back in the bottom of the 11th when Salvador Perezs two-out double scored Jarrod Dyson. But Erik Kratz struck out to end the game. Jose Ramirez sparked Clevelands winning rally with a leadoff triple. Brantley followed with a base hit against Scott Downs (0-4). "It was a hustle triple," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "I about swallowed my tobacco when he went around second. Instead of Brantley trying to get the runner over they have to bring the infield in and he hit a chopper over the infield." Brantley then stole second and went to third on Perezs throwing error before Santana singled into centre field. The Royals loaded the bases with one out in the 10th, but failed to score off Josh Tomlin (6-8). The reliever got Alcides Escobar to hit a grounder to third, forcing Perez at the plate. He then struck Jayson Nix, who was making his Royals debut. The Royals went 2 for 18 with runners in scoring position and stranded 16 runners, twice leaving the bases loaded. "We werent getting any hits with runners in scoring position, it was plain and simple," Yost said. "One was an infield hit and didnt score a run. We had a multitude of opportunities starting in the first inning. We just couldnt take advantage of it." Cleveland grabbed a 1-0 lead when Yan Gomes doubled in Jason Kipnis in the fourth. The Royals tied it in the eighth without the benefit of a hit. Alex Gordon led off with a walk. Billy Butler then hit a comebacker that should have been a double play, but reliever Scott Atchison threw the ball into centre field, putting Gordon on third. With the bases loaded, Lorenzo Cains grounder scored Gordon for an unearned run. "Thats tough, leaving that many runners on base," Cain said. "We should have definitely beat these kids. We had a few chances to walk it off. I did myself. We just didnt get the job done. Weve got to come through in those tight situations if we want to get to the playoffs." Indians rookie Trevor Bauer pitched 5 2-3 scoreless innings despite issuing five walks. He allowed four hits and struck out six. The Royals loaded the bases with none out in the first, but Bauer escaped the jam. "I was fortunate to get out of it," Bauer said. "With the way the game turned out it was important to get out of it with no runs. Usually in that situation you try to keep it to one or two, but that was big with no runs." James Shields tossed seven innings of one-run ball for Kansas City. He gave up five hits, struck out four and walked one. "Its disappointing," Shields said. "We had the game right in our grasp, right in our hands and we didnt come out of it." Wade Davis replaced Shields and struck out the side in the eighth to run his scoreless streak to 25 2-3 innings, the longest active streak in the majors. He has allowed just one run in his 49 innings, lowering his ERA to 0.76. INDIANS WINNING WAYS The Indians have won five straight series and are a season-best six games above .500. They have won eight of their past 10 road games. They are 17-9 in August for their fourth straight winning month. TRAINERS ROOM Indians: DH Jason Giambi (left knee inflammation) and OF Ryan Raburn (right wrist soreness) are on a rehab assignment with Double-A Akron. Giambi is eligible to come off the disabled list Monday and Raburn on Tuesday. Royals: DH-OF Josh Willingham was unavailable with a stiff back. .1B Eric Hosmer (fractured right hand) went 2 for 6 with two RBIs and struck out twice in his first rehab game with Triple-A Omaha. ... 2B Omar Infante (right shoulder inflammation) started after missing four games. UP NEXT Indians: Rookie LHP T.J. House, who won his first big league July 5 over the Royals, is coming off a rocky outing, giving up five runs Tuesday in a no-decision against the White Sox. Royals: LHP Danny Duffys 2.47 ERA ranks third in the American League, but he has a losing record at 8-11. Cheap Adidas Sharks Jerseys . The defending champions sent their preliminary list to FIFA on Tuesday, with coach Vicente del Bosque to announce the final 23-man squad on May 25. Costa is set to lead the attack in his native Brazil, with Atletico Madrid teammate David Villa and Chelseas Fernando Torres also included, while David de Gea replaces injured goalkeeper Victor Valdes. Wholesale Sharks Jerseys .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan had ideal preparation for the playoffs at the Ford World Curling Championships with a pair of hard-fought wins over tenacious opponents Thursday. http://www.cheapsharksjerseys.com/ . - The first sign that Kansas Speedway was going to be a heartbreaker for Hendrick Motorsports should have come during qualifying when Jimmie Johnson inexplicably spun and earned one of his worst starting spots since 2005. Cheap Sharks Jerseys . For the first time all night, as the Raptors were on the clock to make the 20th overall selection, no one had the slightest idea what was about to happen. No leaks, no whispers, nothing. Cheap San Jose Sharks Jerseys . TSN platforms will broadcast 75+ live games per season – tripling the networks current slate of MLB games. With the new deal TSN retains rights to ESPNs SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL and, for the first time, acquires rights to ESPNs MONDAY NIGHT BASEBALL and WEDNESDAY NIGHT BASEBALL. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- While top-seeded Novak Djokovic had a rest day when opponent Mikhail Youzhny became ill and withdrew from their quarterfinal on Thursday, Roger Federer had to play his way into their semifinal date at the Dubai Championships. The fourth-seeded Federer, who has won this title five times, won his 40th match at the Dubai Championships with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic. Federer made a slow start, falling behind 2-0 but quickly rebounded by winning the next six games. In the second set, Federer broke serve in the third and fifth games. "When you play someone for the first time, you never quite know what his best level is or his normal level is," Federer said. "Thats why you kind of keep pushing on, and thats also why I guess the score came out the way it did, because I never let go." Federer holds a slim 16-15 winning record over Djokovic. The Serbian, however, has beaten Federer in their last three matches, and nine of their last 12 meetings. "He is in the semis, hes already played two matches, hes been here long enough for preparing, and hes fit enough for anything anyway," Federer said of Djokovic having a quarterfinal walkover. "Every match you can get away from is a good one. "For me, it was important also probably not to be out there for three hhours.dddddddddddd Then it would have been a disadvantage. But I think were back on even terms for tomorrow." The other semifinal will feature third-seeded Tomas Berdych against seventh-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Playing in his fourth quarterfinal of the season, Kohlschreibers 6-2, 6-3 win over Tunisian wild card Malik Jazirivictory was his 300th match-win on the ATP Tour. Berdych holds a 7-1 winning record over Kohlschreiber. "The record is one thing, but then always the match is going to start from zero," Berdych said. "I have seen Philipp play here and hes playing really well. "Hes playing very aggressive, very confident, too." Berdych, who was a finalist last year, fought past fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 6-3. Berdych was on a 10-match winning streak, which includes his win at the Rotterdam tournament two weeks ago. The first set stayed on serve until Tsonga dropped his at love in the 10th game. The second set was even more tightly contested. In the fifth game, Berdych faced four break points but held on. Tsonga surrendered his serve in the eighth game when he double-faulted on break point. "It was very close," Berdych said. "I faced many break points which was very tough, but that was really the key of todays game, that I managed to save them." ' ' '