er tough night, going 2 for 8 for five points. ... The Raptors recalled Dwight Buycks from the NBDLs Bakersfield Jam | Forum

SEATTLE -- Needing wins in Seattle to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, the Kansas City Royals offence went into a slump. Jakar Hamilton Cowboys Jersey . 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. A.J. Jenkins Jersey . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Ezekiel Elliott Cowboys Jersey . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. http:///...ndle-Cowboys-Jersey/ . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line.MINNEAPOLIS -- The Toronto Raptors have had every excuse to give in this season. Theyve had injuries to key players, turned the roster over significantly with an early season trade and had low expectations after a regime change portended a possible tear down and rebuild. Kyle Lowry doesnt make excuses. Dwane Casey doesnt make excuses. And the Raptors havent given an inch while climbing the Eastern Conference ladder. Lowry had 20 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his fourth career triple-double, lifting the Raptors to a 111-104 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night. DeMar DeRozan added 25 points and seven rebounds and Steve Novak hit five 3-pointers for the surprising Raptors (35-26), who have won nine of their last 11 games to surge to third place in the East. They are nine games over .500 for the first time since 2006-07. "We try to keep everybodys spirits high even if its not going well on the basketball court and we dont let nothing get down on us," said DeRozan, whose team shot 58.3 per cent (14 for 24) on 3-pointers. "Thats the cool thing about our team. We continue to keep it going." Kevin Love had 26 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, and Nikola Pekovic added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Minnesota has started a crucial four-game homestand with two losses in three games, and the teams hopes of climbing from 10th in the West into the playoff picture are looking bleak. "Weve got to go out and win games were not supposed to win," Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. "Thats the approach you have to take. If youre going to get down and you start moping about it, youre going to lose again." The Raptors got some bad news early in the day when they learned Patrick Patterson, a key member of the bench during their post-Rudy Gay trade surge, would miss the next seven to 10 days with a sprained right elbow. But just as they have done over the last two months, the Raptors found someone else to step up. Novak had played less than 13 minutes over the last month, but he scored a season-high in 18 minutes and Terrence Ross (15), Amir Johnson (15) and Greivis Vasquez (12) all reached double figures in scoring as well to earn a toughh road win. Orlando Scandrick Cowboys Jersey. "I cant say enough good things about those guys cause its going to take all of us, especially with Patrick being out," Casey said. The Wolves entered the night five games behind Dallas and Phoenix for the eighth and final spot in the West. Theyve now lost two of the first three games of a crucial four-game homestand. They put up a fight in this one, trimming a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to 93-91 with five minutes to play. But Lowry drilled a 3-pointer, the Raptors locked down with the kind of defence that has gotten them this far and DeRozan finished the Wolves off with a 3-pointer from the left wing to improve Toronto to 26-2 when leading after three quarters. "Twenty games left, anything can happen," Love said. "We obviously have to go on some sort of a run. But if those other teams keep winning and pulling games out of their you-know-what, were in trouble." When Love sat down for a rest in the second quarter, the Raptors blasted Minnesota with a 15-0 run to take a 46-33 lead. Love ended the run with a jumper, fed Pekovic three straight times with pinpoint entry passes and also drew a charge during a 17-2 run that gave Minnesota a 50-48 lead. DeRozan and Ross both went to the bench early in the third quarter when they each picked up their fourth fouls and thats when Lowry took over. He was tenacious in his attack, hitting two jumpers and feeding Vasquez for a 3 to put Toronto up 75-68. He also played a big role in getting Wolves point guards Ricky Rubio and J.J. Barea in foul trouble with his aggressive penetration. "We needed all of his assists. He did a good job getting in there, penetrating, finding people," Casey said. We needed all his rebounds, especially with the way they crash the boards. He just had an all-around game." NOTES: Love made four 3-pointers, including one in the third quarter that broke Rashad McCants franchise record for 3s in a season. McCants made 142 3-pointers in 2007-08 to set the previous franchise record. ... The Raptors reserves outscored Minnesotas 32-16 for the game. ... Barea had another tough night, going 2 for 8 for five points. ... The Raptors recalled Dwight Buycks from the NBDLs Bakersfield Jam on Sunday. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '