MeeBay Forum » Buffalo, after Nolan replaced Ron Rolsto

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The hallmark of a good team, at least in Royals manager Ned Yosts opinion, is the ability to wedge open the smallest of openings that an opponent provides. His club sure did that against Cleveland on Wednesday. The Royals scored all their runs by tying a franchise record with four sacrifice flies, and Yordano Ventura dominated the Indians over seven stingy innings in a 4-1 victory. "Its finding a way to win a ballgame thats important," said Yost, whose team has won four straight. "Good teams find ways to score those runs, and we did it four times today." In doing so, the Royals became only the second team to score four runs all on sacrifice flies since it became an official stat in 1954. The Expos managed to do it against the Cubs on May 28, 1980, according to STATS, although that happened in an 8-4, 14-inning loss. "See?" Yost said. "We made history." Ventura (4-5) allowed six hits while striking out three without a walk to win back-to-back starts for the first time. The only run he allowed came in the sixth, when he gave up consecutive singles to start the inning and Carlos Santana hit an RBI single. By then, Indians counterpart Trevor Bauer (1-3) had already allowed sacrifice flies to Jarrod Dyson, Omar Infante and Alcides Escobar. Billy Butler added another sacrifice fly off reliever John Axford in the seventh to complete the scoring. "Usually Im able to strike out guys in situations like that," Bauer said. "I made a couple of good pitches today, but they fouled them off and put them in play. So it is unusual." The Indians loaded the bases off Wade Davis with nobody out in the eighth, but two strikeouts and a groundout ended the threat. Greg Holland worked a perfect ninth for his 19th save. The Royals (33-32) moved over .500 for the first time since May 18. They also jumped over Cleveland into second place in the AL Central as they embark on a trip that begins with the White Sox and concludes with the division-leading Detroit. Lonnie Chisenhall had a pair of hits for Cleveland, extending his hitting streak to a career-best nine games. Hes had at least two hits in his last five. Prior to the game, Indians manager Terry Francona recalled with disdain the last time his club faced Ventura -- the young flamethrowers debut last September. Ventura allowed one run over 5 2-3 innings, and at one point threw a pitch to Yan Gomes clocked at 102 mph. "Hes got pretty special stuff," Francona said. "Kind of hope we dont see that today." Turns out he did. Ventura kept the ball down in the strike zone and forced the Indians to chop into a series of groundouts. He retired seven straight batters at one point, never allowing a ball to be hit out of the infield. "I went out there with the mentality to throw a lot of strike," Ventura said through a translator. "Something good was going to happen if I threw a lot of strikes." Nobody was more frustrated than Jason Giambi. With the Royals shifting their infield, the Indians DH grounded out to the exact same spot three straight times before popping out. "Hes got great stuff," Giambi said. "When he locates like he did today, hes tough. He really is. Hes got good mound presence and attacks the strike zone." The Royals scored their first run when Dyson followed a double by Mike Moustakas and a single by Escobar with a sacrifice fly in the third. Nori Aoki followed with a single, and Infante hit his sacrifice fly to give the Royals a 2-0 lead. Escobars sacrifice fly came after a double by Salvador Perez and a single by Moustakas in the fourth, and Butler added his sacrifice fly after singles by Infante and Eric Hosmer. That was enough to beat Bauer, who has still never won in seven road outings. The Indians starter allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. "That type of energy and intensity we played with today, thats the way we need to play," Butler said. "Bauer was pitching really well. Every opportunity we had we capitalized on." NOTES: Escobar has hit in 10 straight games. ... Indians OF/1B Nick Swisher (left knee) planned to make a final rehab start Wednesday for Double-A Akron before joining the team Thursday in Boston. Asked if Swisher would be activated immediately, Francona said, "Well see." Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic . The light-heavyweight champion and number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world is on an 11-fight UFC winning streak, the longest in the history of the weight class. Discount NFL Jerseys . Terms of the contract were not disclosed by the club. Clemons spent his first five NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2009 draft out of Clemson. http://www.wholesalechinanflcheapjerseys.com/. (AP) -- The head of the committee that developed Major League Baseballs plan to expand instant replay says he is optimistic the system will be in place this season, even though owners and unions for players and umpires have yet to approve. Cheap Jerseys . Anor had not scored since getting his first two goals of the season vs. Philadelphia on March 22 but struck with laser precision from distance in the 56th and 75th minutes. Montreal (3-10-5) lost its third straight and Impact coach Frank Klopas said it literally was a case of his players not stepping up. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . Despite Arsenals financial firepower, the 31-year-old midfielder was the only arrival in the January transfer window. Signed until the end of the season as injury cover, Kallstrom might not be fit until mid-March after arriving Friday at Arsenal having injured his back earlier in the week while training with Spartak Moscow. BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Sabres centre Mikhail Grigorenko was back in Buffalo on Wednesday after the NHL blocked the teams attempt to send the rookie to the minors on a two-week conditioning assignment. In reaching its decision, the league cited its agreement with the Canadian Hockey League preventing teams from assigning players with junior eligibility to the American Hockey League. "We determined that the assignment would not have been consistent with our obligations under the leagues agreement with the CHL," NHL spokesman Frank Brown wrote in an email to The Associated Press. Interim coach Ted Nolan accepted the leagues ruling, which came a day after the Sabres demoted Grigorenko to their AHL affiliate in Rochester N.Y., for conditioning. "We thought we were doing it by the rulebook, but unfortunately we werent," Nolan said. "Now hes back with us. Well have to sit down and evaluate what the next step is." Players remain on their NHL teams roster and are paid their full salary during conditioning stints, which last no more than 14 days. The question became whether the 19-year-old Grigorenko qualified for assignment. The ruling limits the Sabres options in determining how to develop a player who has had difficulty earning regular ice time in Buffalo. Grigorenko has two goals and one assist in 15 games this season and had missed two straight games and five of seven as a healthy scratch before being assigned to AHL Rochester. The Sabres must now choose between keeping Grigorenko on their roster and returning him to his Canadian junior team in Quebec.dddddddddddd Rather than preparing to play against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday, Grigorenko practiced with the Sabres in Buffalo before the team travelled to Philadelphia for a game against the Flyers on Thursday. Nolan said he had not yet determined whether Grigorenko would play. The NHLs ruling was the latest twist in whats become an unsettled professional career for the Russian-born player, who was selected by Buffalo with the No. 12 pick in the 2012 draft. Grigorenko is now playing for his third coach in Buffalo, after Nolan replaced Ron Rolston, who was fired last week. After opening last season playing in Quebec, Grigorenko earned a spot on the Sabres roster at the end of the NHL lockout. He had a goal and four assists in 22 games before the Sabres elected to return him to Quebec. Grigorenko then came back to Buffalo to play the final three games of the season and two more for Rochester in the playoffs after Quebecs season ended. The Sabres would prefer Grigorenko develop in the AHL rather than the juniors. "Hes a real nice young man. Hes just put in this predicament," Nolan said. "Now we have to go back to the drawing board and see what else might work, and what the best situation is for him to develop his skill and be the dominant player we all think he could be in this organization." On Wednesday, the Sabres also recalled centre Luke Adam and defenceman Brayden McNabb from Rochester. ' ' '