ARLINGTON, Texas -- Cole Hamels provided another reminder of what an ace means to a beleaguered starting rotation.Hamels (12-2) allowed two runs and six hits in eight innings, matching his longest start of the season, to help the Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 Thursday night.Hamels 123 pitches were 10 more than his previous high for the year. He didnt allow an earned run in his previous two starts, totaling 13 1/3 innings.Its always great when youre able to go out there, youre doing well and youre having non-stressful innings and theyre pretty quick, the 32-year-old Hamels said. Youre able to keep going out there, keep a good rhythm, a good pace.Texas manager Jeff Banister said: Hes our front-end guy. I mean, hes our ace. Hes the guy that sits in the front of that rotation.The Rangers managed only four hits off Yordano Ventura (6-9) -- including three home runs. Mitch Morelands second of the game broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning. Rougned Odor also went deep.Sam Dyson earned his 21st save in 23 opportunities, stranding the tying run at third base after walking the leadoff batter in the ninth.The AL West-leading Rangers are 5-8 since the All-Star break, the 10-game lead of late June now at three. The only wins by Texas starters during that stretch are from Hamels. Hes 3-0 since then with a 0.84 ERA, an opponents batting average of .190 and 23 strikeouts against four walks.The game was a pitching rematch of the Rangers 7-4 win in Kansas City last Saturday. Hamels allowed one unearned run over 5 1/3 innings and also got that win. Ventura was the loser then, giving up three runs in five innings.You think you know what hes got, said Eric Hosmer, who went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. He did a good job of mixing in a lot more offspeed pitches.Hamels will get an extra days rest before his next start. Banister said that and recent struggled by Texas bullpen helped determine that Hamels, at 96 pitches through seven innings, would go out again for the eighth.Catcher Robinson Chirinos said he asked Hamels after the seventh how he felt. Hes like, `Lets go, Chirinos said. He deserved that win. He was outstanding.Hamels 12 strikeouts equaled his Texas high, set last September vs. Seattle. His career high -- set with Philadelphia -- is 15. The 12 is the most by a Rangers pitcher this season.Odors 19th of the season added to his career high and went 465 feet into the upper deck in right field, the longest of his career.MORELAND IS LOCKED INBoth homers by the left-handed hitting Moreland were to the opposite field. It was his 10th career multi-homer game and second of the season. He has five homers in his last 11 hits.Banister said Moreland, 30, is unaffected by the recent call-up of power-hitting prospect Joey Gallo, who will share time at first base with Moreland.Mitch is a pro, Banister said. He understands. He knows hes a part of this lineup. Hes a big part of this lineup. So, there was no real conversation that needed to be had.SHORT HOPSNeither team had a hit with runners in scoring position. Kansas City was 0 for 11 while Texas didnt have an at-bat in that situation. . The game began after a 35-minute rain delay. It was the second rain delay in three days, an unusual summer occurrence in Arlington. ... The first son of Royals 3B Cheslor Cuthbert was born on Thursday morning in Venezuela.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals: RHP Luke Hochevar was placed on the 15-day disabled list with symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome.Rangers: LHP Derek Holland (shoulder) is expected to throw a bullpen session on Friday. One of the scheduled hitters is RF Shin Soo-Choo (hamstring strain).UP NEXTFriday nights game will be a pitching rematch of Sunday afternoons 2-1 Texas win at Kauffman Stadium in which each starter allowed one run and got a no-decision. Royals RHP Edinson Volquez (8-8) allowed seven hits in six innings, Rangers RHP A.J. Griffin (3-1) four hits in five innings. Wholesale Jerseys . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. Wholesale China Jerseys .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. http://www.wholesalejerseysquality.com/ . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. Wholesale Jerseys Quality . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. Yorkshires chief executive, Mark Arthur, has warned that Headingley could miss out on international fixtures for four years, and be excluded from hosting matches at the 2019 World Cup, after a delay to the rebuilding works at the Leeds Rhinos rugby stadium that backs on to the cricket ground.Rhinos had originally hoped to demolish their South Stand and embark on a ￡38 million refit, involving both the cricket and rugby venues, at the end of their season two months ago.However, with the new Super League season due to get underway in February, planning permission for the building work has not yet been granted by Leeds City Council, and the sale of two areas of land for housing, that is due to part-fund the project, is also yet to go through.The funding package for the whole stadium development involves investment from both ourselves and Yorkshire CCC, and support from both Leeds City Council and other public bodies, Gary Hetherington, Rhinos chief executive, said.The sale of historical land assets completes the funding of the scheme, leaving the clubs in a stable long-term financial position. We appreciate the support from the council to date, but we recognise the distinction and integrity of the planningg process.ddddddddddddWhile the delay to the rebuild means that Rhinos will revert to its original 20,000 capacity, the news has caused deep concerns at Yorkshire, who state that the completion of the scheme is essential for both the staging of International fixtures beyond 2019 and the financial sustainability of the club.The 2020-2024 major matches will be allocated in the summer of 2017, therefore this delay could mean that Headingley will no longer be considered fit for Test match cricket - or to host any World Cup matches in 2019, Arthur said.Not only does this delay impact the clubs ability to stage internationals, it would also have profound consequences to both Yorkshires and Leeds Rhinos valuable and long-standing work within the wider community.To continue the vast amount of work within the Leeds area, the club is dependent on retaining international cricket.The clubs Grant Funding Application submitted to Leeds City Council in July 2016, projected that the redevelopment would account for ￡5.75m of additional visitor spend in Leeds and ￡5.3m county-wide per annum. 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