KANSAS CITY, Mo. George Iloka Black Jersey . -- Omar Infante told Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar that on a muggy night at Kauffman Stadium, with a stiff breeze blowing out to left field, any ball hit solidly would clear the fence. Infante never predicted that hed hit one with the bases loaded. The veteran capped a seven-run inning with his first career grand slam Friday, and Kansas City held on to beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-6 on a rough night for starting pitchers. "There was a lot of wind," Infante said. "I just wanted to make contact, do something." The grand slam in the third gave the Royals a 7-2 lead, and they tacked on one more run the next inning. Then, after starter Jason Vargas gave up four runs in the fifth, the Kansas City bullpen twirled five scoreless innings to preserve the victory. Michael Mariot (1-0) picked up his first career win with 1 1-3 innings of relief, and Greg Holland earned his 23rd save by tossing a perfect ninth. "We just knew that with Vargas going four innings, we needed to piece it together," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Mariot did a phenomenal job." Lorenzo Cain, Billy Butler and Alex Gordon each drove in a run for Kansas City, which ended the Angels six-game winning streak after limping into the series having lost six of seven. Vargas and Angels counterpart Matt Shoemaker (5-2) combined to give up 14 runs on 20 hits -- four of them home runs -- and neither got an out in the fifth. "It was definitely not fun," Shoemaker said. "Its going to make me tougher, not that I wasnt, but you learn from it. The third inning was a long inning. There were a lot of runs." C.J. Cron hit two homers for Los Angeles, and Mike Trout sent a shot to centre in the first inning that cleared the fence, four rows of seats and a walkway before landing in a fountain. "I squared it up. I definitely barrelled it," Trout said. "I was trying to put a good swing on it and got a pitch I could hit. Im always looking fastball and reacted. I got a heater." Trouts mammoth drive only counted for one run, though. It was going to take more than that to win, with the ball carrying so well. Cron added a homer to left with two outs in the second inning, but Kansas City quickly erased its two-run deficit in the third by matching its biggest inning of the season. The seven-run outburst against Shoemaker began with a double by Escobar, who added a single later in the inning. Jarrod Dyson, Cain and Eric Hosmer hit singles, Butler walked, Gordon hit a sacrifice fly and Salvador Perez added another base hit. By that point, the Royals had pulled ahead 3-2 and the bases were loaded for Infante, who hit a high fly to left field that carried just over the wall and landed in the bullpen. His first career grand slam came in his 1,268th game. "The ball was really carrying tonight," Yost said. "I knew he hit it good." Butler added an RBI single in the fourth to make it 8-2. Shoemaker finished the inning but did not emerge for the fifth after allowing eight runs on 11 hits and a walk. The rookie was 5-0 with a 3.00 ERA in his previous seven starts. Vargas nearly squandered the big cushion when Cron hit a two-run shot in the fifth for his first career multihomer game. David Freese, Chris Iannetta and Collin Cowgill joined Trout in stringing together enough hits to eventually put up four runs. Howie Kendrick nearly tied the game with a shot to the wall in right, but Cain caught it on a gallop at the warning track to end the inning and preserve the Royals 8-6 lead. Despite some hiccups, their bullpen kept the Angels off the board the rest of the way. "We had a lot of great opportunities. We could have easily put our heads down when it was 8-2, but we fought back," Trout said. "We just fell short." NOTES: The Angels traded RHP Ernesto Frieri to Pittsburgh for RHP Jason Grilli before the game. "Were trying to get a bullpen with some chemistry," manager Mike Scioscia said. ... The Angels optioned INF Efren Navarro to Triple-A Salt Lake and recalled RHP Michael Kohn after the game. ... Royals RHP Yordano Ventura faces Angels LHP Hector Santiago on Saturday. Brandon Tate Jersey . Amid lusty boos from a modest crowd on a rainy, 46-degree night, Cano began his first game in the Bronx since joining Seattle this winter for $240 million with a wink -- at Yankees starter CC Sabathia (3-3). Geno Atkins Black Jersey . A week after collecting the Professional Footballers Association trophy, the Uruguay international won the 2014 vote by the Football Writers Association on Monday.PINEHURST, N.C. -- Even in the best of times, Phil Mickelson has ample reason to expect the worst at the U.S. Open. More than two decades of play in the major known as the toughest test in golf has produced everything from agony to aggravation, mostly torment, never triumph. And all Mickelson has to show from the U.S. Open are silver medals -- a record six of them -- for finishing second. "He could have won six, and he hasnt won one," Ernie Els said. "I believe hes going to win one. Hes still young enough. His game is still good enough." The U.S. Open took on even greater importance to the 43-year-old Mickelson last summer when he won the British Open at Muirfield, leaving him one major away -- the U.S. Open, of course -- from joining five other greats who have the career Grand Slam. For all his heartache in golfs toughest test, his optimism hasnt wavered. Never mind that he has been linked to an insider trading investigation involving activist investor Carl Icahn and Las Vegas gambler Billy Walters, in which FBI agents paid him a visit after his first round at the Memorial. Or that Mickelson hasnt won this year, his worst start to a season since 2003. Mickelson not only believes hes going to win the U.S. Open, he thinks hes going to win more than one. "Some people view it as though, Hes come close and hes never done it. I see it as though Ive finished second six times in this event," Mickelson said. "I played some of my best golf in this event, and I should have an opportunity -- and more than one opportunity -- to close one out here in the future." The U.S. Open returning to Pinehurst No. 2 only adds to the intrigue. Thats where Mickelson picked up his first silver medal in 1999. He had a one-shot lead with three holes to play and had a 6-foot par putt on the 16th hole, while Payne Stewart was 25 feet away from par. Stewart made his putt, Mickelson missed and they were tied. Stewart took the lead with a short birdie on the 17th, then famously won the U.S. Open with a 15-foot par putt on the final hole. No worries. Mickelson surely would get another chance, and he did. He just doesnt have the trophy. Five years later, he was tied for the lead on the 17th hole at Shinne**** Hills when he hit into a bunker, blasted out to 5 feet and three-putted for double bogey. "It was like being in a morgue walking up the 18th," said Fred Funk, who was paired with him that day. The most crushing blow was at Winged Foot in 2006. Mickelson had a one-shot lead on the 18th hole. His tee shot clangged off a corporate tent.Darqueze Dennard Jersey. The bigger mistake was going for the green with a 3-iron and hitting a tree. His third shot plugged in the bunker. His fourth shot raced across the green. He made double bogey and lost my one. There was Mickelson, crouched on the green, hands cupped over his head. "I am such an idiot," he said. "Phil handled the whole thing like a true gentleman," said Kenneth Ferrie, who played with him in the final pairing. "He had nice words to say to me coming off 18 and was amazingly courteous and polite to the volunteers and officials considering what had just happened." And yet he keeps coming back for more. Sam Snead, who holds the PGA Tour record with 82 career wins, never won a U.S. Open. Lee Trevino never won the Masters. Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson never won the PGA Championship. Even so, none of those greats ever had as many chances to win the missing major as Mickelson. Hunter Mahan paid him the ultimate respect at Bethpage Black in 2009. Mickelson was tied for the lead with four holes to play until missing short par putts on the 15th and 17th holes. Another U.S. Open bid over, Mickelson was walking up to the 18th green when Mahan -- who had just as good of a chance to win that day -- began applauding, and thousands joined him. Mahan has played with Mickelson twice on Sunday when Lefty was the runner-up. The other occasion was last year at Merion. Mickelson twice made bogey with a wedge in his hand on the back nine. His last hope was to chip in from 40 yards to force a playoff with Justin Rose. He missed. "I looked at him and said, Good try, Phil. You can only do what you can do," Mahan said. "At some point, youve got to get a bounce or two and make a putt. I think he wants to win that tournament more than anything." The thought of Mickelson at Pinehurst stirs emotions. Stewart died in a freak plane crash four months after he won that U.S. Open. Mickelson carried a pager in his golf bag that week and pledged to withdraw if his wife went into labour. His first child, Amanda, was born the next day. Fifteen years later, the pressure is only greater. "Maybe it is his strength of mind, or his short game, that has enabled him to put himself in contention as so many times," Ferrie said. "As each year has gone on and he has won other majors, the focus has become more and more about the U.S. Open. As a player, when you want something so much, its even more difficult to achieve. Yet he keeps giving himself a chance." cheap jerseys ' ' '
