playoffs, and must show better endurance over a long season. The 24-year-old Russian is due a big raise as a restricted free ag

MIAMI -- Alcides Escobar is the latest player to make an impact at the plate for the Kansas City Royals. Danny Manning Jersey .Escobar homered, doubled, and drove in two runs to lead the surging Royals past the Miami Marlins 5-2 on Thursday night.Esky had a great game, Royals manager Ned Yost said. Just had a great game. Defensively, offensively, the home run was big to give us a two-run lead at that point.Escobar is hitting .388 (19 for 49) with four doubles, a triple, and a home run in his last 13 games.Salvador Perez and Kendrys Morales also drove in runs for the Royals as the defending World Series champions have won 15 of 18 to pull within four games of the second AL wild card spot.Weve been playing great baseball as of late, but we definitely know were a long way from where we want to be, Royals right fielder Lorenzo Cain said. We have to continue hopefully winning series -- thats our main goal.Kansas City starter Edinson Volquez (10-10) pitched five innings and allowed two runs, both unearned, and three hits.The Royals bullpen, which has been a successful formula for the reigning two-time AL pennant winners, pitched four scoreless innings to push their franchise-record scoreless streak to 38 2/3 innings -- the best in the majors since 2002-03 when San Francisco tossed 39 1/3 straight.Theyve just been spectacular, Yost said.Kelvin Herrera pitched a flawless ninth for his ninth save in 11 chances.Tom Koehler (9-9) allowed four runs, three earned, and seven hits in six innings for the Marlins.It was an interesting game, Koehler said. Youve got to give them credit. They capitalized on our mistakes we made tonight.Kansas City went 4 for 28 with runners in scoring position and scored six runs during the three-game series, but left Miami with two victories.We dont care what we do as long as we win, Yost said. As long as we score more runs than they do and its a combination of pitching, great defense, and timely hitting and thats been our recipe for a while now.The Marlins also struggled hitting with runners in scoring position during the series going 3 for 26 and leaving 24 men on base including 11 on Thursday.We had a few chances, we didnt have a ton, but we had a few chances but werent able to scratch, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.The Royals opened the scoring in the third on an RBI double by Perez after the Marlins elected to intentionally walk Eric Hosmer with first base open. Cheslor Cuthbert scored on Perezs ground ball down the left-field line.Escobar extended the Royals lead to 2-0 on a home run to center field in the fourth. It was his third of the season and second of the month.I was looking for a fastball on that pitch, Escobar said. (Koehler) threw me a first-pitch cutter and the next pitch was a fastball and I swung the bat and hit the ball really good.Third baseman Cuthbert had two doubles to go with two errors, one of which led to the Marlins two runs coming in the fourth to tie the game at 2.Escobars tiebreaking RBI double off Koehler in the sixth gave the Royals the lead. Morales pinch-hit sacrifice fly put the Royals on top 4-2.The Marlins threatened in the sixth loading the bases with two outs, but lefty Matt Strahm entered the game and got Dee Gordon to ground out to escape the jam.The bullpen was phenomenal and Strahm probably gets the gold star, Yost said.The Royals pushed their lead to 5-2 in the ninth as Raul Mondesi walked, stole two bases, and scored on catcher J.T. Realmutos throwing error trying to get Mondesi at third on his stolen base attempt.A club like that over there thats got guys that can hit balls out of the ballpark, a three-run lead is much better than a two-run lead, Yost said.Both teams combined for six errors.DYSON WEB GEMRoyals center fielder Jarrod Dyson made one of the best catches ever at Marlins Park when he robbed Christian Yelich of a home run in the first inning.That was probably the best play that anybodys made for me in my entire career, Volquez said.Yelich said: It was a great play. Its a huge ball park. We play in the worst hitters park in baseball so you better get it. I didnt get enough of it and he made a great play. Youve got to hit it to get it out of here. Its a terrible hitters park.Dyson ran to make a leaping left-handed grab up against the wall in center field.Actually off the bat I thought I was burnt and I had no shot, but as I kept running and got closer I was like, `Yeah I got a chance, Dyson said.Many of Dysons teammates gave him the Royals customary tip of the cap for an impressive defensive play on his way back to the dugout.It felt great, Dyson said. I think thats the first one Ive ever robbed in my career so it was a pretty special moment for me.It was the first home run robbed at Marlins Park since it opened in 2012.Thats history right there and I love being a part of history, Dyson said.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals: C Salvador Perez took a foul ball off his face mask in the eighth and was replaced by Drew Butera in the ninth as a precaution. He got a little light-headed so we just got him out, Yost said.Marlins: RF Giancarlo Stanton (groin strain) is hopeful he can return to the team at some point during the regular season to help the Marlins after sustaining the injury on Aug. 13. Anything could help so whatever I can do to be back, if its possible, is going to happen, Stanton said.UP NEXTRoyals: RHP Ian Kennedy (8-9, 3.58) will start Fridays game at Boston against RHP Steven Wright (13-5, 3.01) in a three-game series with the Red Sox. Kennedy has recorded five straight starts of at least six innings and one-or-fewer runs matching Larry Gura for the longest such streak in franchise history. Kennedy is 2-0 with a 0.79 ERA during the stretch.Marlins: RHP David Phelps (7-6, 2.28) will take the mound Friday to begin a three-game series against San Diego, which will start former Marlins RHP Jarred Cosart (0-1, 4.54). Phelps is 2-1 with a 1.31 ERA over his last four starts since moving into the rotation. Jevon Carter Jersey . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. Richard Dumas Jersey .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. https://www.cheapsunsonline.com/439z-gor...ersey-suns.html . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. ARLINGTON, Va. -- ?? Barring a complete collapse, nothing the Washington Capitals do from the time the puck drops on the 2016-17 season until April will mean much of anything in the long run.Over the past nine seasons, there have been plenty of trophies: three for Alex Ovechkin as MVP and six for the most goals, one for Braden Holtby as top goaltender, one each for Bruce Boudreau and Barry Trotz as coach of the year and two Presidents Trophies for the team having the most points in the regular season. Eight times the Capitals have made the playoffs and eight times theyve failed to make it past the second round.The Stanley Cup is still very much within reach, especially with Ovechkin, Holtby and centers Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov in the prime of their careers. But with key players Karl Alzner, Justin Williams and T.J. Oshie eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer, the salary cap hanging over their heads and the uncertainty that follows, this is arguably the Capitals last, best chance to win the championship they looked to be building toward for more than a decade.When you get older, then the more think about that a little more, Alzner said. I would love to just win so you can stop worrying about getting that win.Last spring, after dominating the NHL for 82 games, the Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round before falling in six games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Ovechkin, who just turned 31 and has led the league in goals for four consecutive seasons, brushed it off as, Last year is last year, though the sting of that loss stuck with players through the summer.Back at the rink for training camp, it was hard to deny a desire to fast-forward several months. But another first-in-the-NHL finish guarantees nothing, as the Capitals know all too well.Itd be nice to just jump back into June or May and say, OK, lets have another crack at it, but thats not the way it works, right winger Tom Wilson said. The tough part is the 82-game season: getting yourself into the position to have success, and then when youre there, to have success at the right time.After the Capitals played their best hockey early and midseason and the Penguins hit their stride for the stretch run and the playoffs, center Jay Beagle thought a lot about peaking at the right time. If he and his teammates learned any lesson from last season its that they need to be at their best at playoff time, something that hasnt been the case so far. Quentin Richardson Jersey. he playoffs is about scoring big goals at big times, said Williams, who won the Cup twice with the Los Angeles Kings. The margin of errors very small. You dont want to be asking yourself why things didnt go right. ... You want to be asking yourself why it went right. We have a chip on our shoulder and we have a point to prove to everybody.Here are some other things to watch with the Capitals this season:HOLT-BEAST MODEHoltby, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, started 66 games last season and 72 in 2014-15. Expect him to play less and backup Philipp Grubauer more as Trotz, goalie coach Mitch Korn and the Capitals reduce Holtbys workload so he peaks for the playoffs like the New York Rangers did with Henrik Lundqvist a few years ago.CONSISTENT KUZNETSOVEven though he led Washington with 77 points and was an All-Star, Kuznetsov had just one goal and 12 assists in his final 31 games, including the playoffs, and must show better endurance over a long season. The 24-year-old Russian is due a big raise as a restricted free agent and can prove hes an elite player.BLUE LINE DEPTHAlzner, John Carlson and Matt Niskanen are Washingtons top three defensemen and then theres a drop off. Brooks Orpik is 36 and better in a third-pairing role, so the Capitals may count on Dmitry Orlov making the leap and taking on more responsibilities.NOTHING REGULARBackstrom chaffed at Presidents Trophy talk late last season after winning it in 2009 preceded a first-round exit. After winning it again last year, its not like the Capitals want to lose more games, but the balance between going hard in the regular season and pacing themselves warrants monitoring to see how it affects their place in the standings.ELLER, ELLER, ELLERAcquiring Lars Eller from Montreal gives Washington a solid third-line center behind Backstrom and Kuznetsov and could make it look more like Pittsburghs top-nine forward group. The Capitals didnt copycat the Penguins in many ways, but they want to have three scoring lines, and Eller is a big key to that happening.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno ' ' '