With the regular season ending in a week, the American League playoff race is heating up. In the Central Division, the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox are tied for the lead, an its looking like the only option for the post-season is to win the division. In the West, the Rangers host the As, while the hard charging Angels are facing the Mariners. In the East, the Yankees play the Twins in a matinee, while the Os look to down the Blue Jays. American League Central: Tigers go for another win over Royals (Sports Network) - Righty Rick Porcello gets another chance to end a personal skid and keep the Detroit Tigers in a first-place tie atop the American League Central Division tonight when they host the Kansas City Royals in game three of a four-game set at Comerica Park. The Tigers gained a game on the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday, when they defeated the Royals in game two while the White Sox dropped a game to Cleveland. Anibal Sanchez tossed a three-hit shutout in the Tigers 2-0 win. Sanchez (4-6) struck out 10 and walked one while earning his first shutout since Sept. 10, 2011 at Pittsburgh when he was a member of the Marlins. "We need to take care of our game. We dont have to pay attention to what the White Sox are going to do, or whether the White Sox win or lose," Sanchez said. "We need to keep focusing on our game. Thats more important." Prince Fielder and Delmon Young each hit RBI singles in the first inning for Detroit, which won the first two games of the series. Bruce Chen (11-13) allowed two runs on 10 hits over 6 2/3 innings for the Royals, who have dropped three straight. The left-hander struck out five and walked three. "They came ready to play. I left a couple pitches up and they got some base hits," Chen said. "But we played hard and we never gave in." The Tigers won seven of the first 11 games between the teams in 2012, though Kansas City swept a three-game set at Kauffman Stadium from Aug. 28-30. Detroit won the 2011 season series, 11-7. Meanwhile, Porcello was 9-6 on the season after a 6-5 defeat of the New York Yankees on Aug. 7 in Detroit. Hes winless in seven starts since, losing six decisions across the stretch while his earned run average has actually dropped from 4.62 to 4.57. He got a no-decision at Cleveland in his most recent start on Sept. 16 and allowed two earned runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. Porcello, whos 5-3 in 13 career starts against the Royals, dropped a 2-1 verdict at Kansas City on Aug. 30 after allowing two runs on eight hits in five innings. Hes opposed by veteran Jeremy Guthrie, who starts for the 13th time with the Royals since a midseason trade with Colorado for lefty Jonathan Sanchez. Guthrie was 3-9 in 19 games with the Rockies before the deal and has won four of seven decisions since, all of which has come in a nine-start unbeaten string since early August. He was a 5-3 loser to Texas on Aug. 3 but is 4-0 since, including a victory over Porcello and the Tigers in the aforementioned Aug. 30 matchup. Guthrie allowed a run on 10 hits in 7 1/3 innings of the 2-1 win and is 4-3 in 12 career games against Detroit. --- White Sox target series win over Tribe The American League Central has become an eight-game sprint to the finish. The Chicago White Sox hope to maintain at least a share of the division lead on Wednesday when they play the rubber match of a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians at U.S. Cellular Field. Chicago lost sole possession of first place for the first time since Sept. 3 on Tuesday, as Corey Kluber threw seven sharp innings and Russ Canzler went 3- for-4 with a homer and two runs scored to propel Cleveland to a 4-3 win. The White Sox sixth loss in seven tries coupled with Detroits win against Kansas City dropped them into a first-place tie with the Tigers. "We knew it wasnt going to be easy," said A.J. Pierzynski, whose team had owned a three-game edge on Detroit just a week ago. "(The Tigers) are not going to go away. Theyll keep playing hard." Kluber (2-4) gave up back-to-back solo homers to Pierzynski and Dayan Viciedo in the bottom of the fifth inning, but just two other hits as the rookie hurler notched his second career victory in his longest-ever start in the majors. Chris Perez served up a leadoff homer to Paul Konerko in the ninth, but worked out of a jam later on in the frame to notch his 37th save and enable Cleveland to bounce back from a 5-4 loss in Mondays opener of this three-game series, in which the Indians bullpen coughed up a late lead. Chicago starting pitcher Francisco Liriano (6-12) lasted only 3 2/3 innings and was tagged for four runs and seven hits while issuing two walks to record the loss. Canzler finished a triple shy of the cycle to help the Indians halt a string of six consecutive setbacks to Chicago, with Shin Soo-Choo contributing two hits and an RBI to the winning effort. On Wednesday Chicago turns to rookie left-hander Hector Santiago, who gets the start in part because manager Robin Ventura wanted to push Jake Peavy back a day to keep ace Chris Sale on schedule for a start on Saturday. Plus Cleveland is just 16-35 against left-handed starters this season. Having Sale stay on schedule keeps him in line if a one-game playoff is needed to decide the AL Central. Santiago has made just two starts for the White Sox this season and is 1-1, while allowing just one run in nine innings of those outings. Overall he is 3-1 with four saves and a 3.45 ERA in 40 appearances. "You watch other guys get (the Indians) out. You learn from them. Im (glad) they consider me for that," Santiago said. "I feel like I have a tougher time [against left-handed hitters] because of my slider, but I dont go out there and think about that." Cleveland, meanwhile, will turn to right-handed sinkerballer Justin Masterson, who is 11-15 with a 4.97 ERA. Masterson lost his third straight start on Friday in Kansas City, as the Royals reached him for four runs in six innings. He is 4-5 in 17 games (13 starts) versus the White Sox with a 2.50 ERA. Chicago is 9-5 versus the Indians this season. --- American League West: Rangers vie to bounce back versus As The Texas Rangers try to move one step closer to a third straight American League West crown on Wednesday when they continue a four- game set with the Oakland Athletics at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Texas saw its lead atop the West dwindled to four and their magic number for clinching the division remain at five on Tuesday, as Oakland pulled out a much-needed win. George Kottaras solo homer in the 10th inning carried the As to a 3-2 victory. Chris Carter also hit a solo homer for Oakland, which is now a half-game behind the Orioles for the top wild card spot in the AL. Baltimore lost to Toronto on Tuesday. "The farther you go into a season, each and every win has a little bit more magnitude to it," said As manager Bob Melvin. "This team has responded like this many, many times this year so it doesnt surprise me." Oakland starter Tommy Milone gave up two unearned runs on six hits over six innings. Evan Scribner (1-0) tossed a scoreless ninth to pick up his first win in the big leagues. Scott Feldman got the start for Texas after Yu Darvish was scratched due to neck stiffness. He allowed two runs on four hits over four-plus innings. Mark Lowe (0-2) gave up the homer to Kottaras to take the loss. Getting the call for the Rangers on Wednesday will be 21-year-old lefty Martin Perez, who is 1-2 with a 3.78 ERA. Perez lost to Seattle on Friday, as he surrendered four runs (3 earned) and six hits in four innings. "He needs better command of his fastball," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "I like the way he competes. He doesnt back down. Hes got good enough stuff and he believes in his stuff. I just want him to go out there and keep competing." Perez beat the As the only other time he faced them, holding them to two runs back on June 30. Oakland, meanwhile, will counter with righty Jarrod Parker, who has won four of his last five decisions and is 11-8 with a 3.40 ERA. Parker did not get a decision on Friday against New York, despite a sensational outing that saw him allow just a run in eight innings. He also struck out eight in that one without walking a batter. He has now allowed two earned runs or less in four straight starts "I think he feels like hes no longer a rookie with the way hes pitched this time of the year," said Melvin. "He pitched really good." Parker yielded just one hit over eight scoreless innings to beat the Rangers earlier in the year. Texas has split its 14 games against the As this season with five of those wins coming in Arlington. --- Angels resume set with King Felix, Mariners (Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim continue their postseason quest on Wednesday when they play the middle test of a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium. Los Angeles has won four in a row, but still trails the Oakland Athletics by two games for the American Leagues second wild card spot. The Angels continued their late season push in Tuesdays opener, as Zack Greinke allowed one run over five innings, Torii Hunter and Erick Aybar both homered, and Los Angeles eked out a 5-4 win. Greinke (6-2) notched a season-high 13 strikeouts, scattered seven hits with two walks and improved to 5-0 in his last seven starts. "Greinke is really carrying us right now," said Hunter. Albert Pujols and Alberto Callaspo both added an RBI for the Angels, who have won 23 of 32 to get themselves back into the race. "Its definitely a lot of fun," said Hunter, who has batted .378 with four homers and 24 RBI in his last 25 games. "The intensity level is definitely up. My adrenaline level goes to another level in games like these." Erasmo Ramirez (1-3) gave up five runs -- three earned -- on seven hits over six innings in the loss. The rookie right-hander struck out three and did not issue a walk. "Erasmo made pitches tonight," said Seattle manager Eric Wedge. "He hung a pitch to Hunter, but he deserved a better fate." The Angels will have their work cut out for them on Wednesday against Seattle ace Felix Hernandez. The 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner, though, is winless in his last four starts (0-3) and is 13-8 on the year with a 2.85 ERA. After giving up 16 runs in his previous three outings Hernandez bounced back to form last Wednesday against Baltimore, as he allowed just a run and six hits in eight innings. However, he did not factor in the decision of his teams 3-1 loss. "It was just something mechanical," Hernandez said. "My last couple games, nothing was working, and I was leaving pitches over the middle. But this time I was following through at home plate and executing pitches." Hernandez has faced the Angels 28 times and is 6-11 against them with a 3.89 ERA. Los Angeles, meanwhile, will counter with lefty C.J. Wilson, who is 12-10 with a 3.82 ERA. Wilson failed to get out of the third inning last Wednesday and absorbed the loss against Texas, as he surrendered three runs and four hits with three walks in just 2 2/3 innings. "I wasnt happy to get pulled out of the game, but I wasnt doing well, either," Wilson said. "So its my own fault. Were trying to win the game, so I understand." Wilson beat the Mariners the last time he faced them and is 10-5 with a 3.88 ERA in 48 games (11 starts) against them. The Angels are 9-5 against the Mariners this season. --- American League East: CC tries to deliver Yankees series win in Minnesota CC Sabathia tries to deliver the New York Yankees a series win on Wednesday when they play the rubber match of their three-game set with the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Sabathia was terrific against the Oakland Athletics on Friday, but did not factor in the decision of his teams 2-1 extra-inning win, despite scattering three hits and striking out 11 over eight scoreless innings. Still, though, he is 0-3 in his last five starts and is 13-6 on the year with a 3.47 ERA. "I know its been a season where it hasnt been vintage CC," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after his last outing, "but heres a guy with an ERA under 3.50, and were not calling it vintage CC. Thats how good he is. Tonight might have been the best game hes pitched all year." Sabathia beat the Twins the last time he faced them and is 15-8 in 31 starts against them with a 3.00 ERA. In fact, he is 9-0 with a 1.93 ERA in his last 10 outings versus the Twins New York wasted a golden opportunity to stretch its lead atop the American League East on Tuesday, as it blew a three-run lead and fell to the Twins, 5-4. Denard Spans two-run double during a four-run seventh inning propelled Minnesota to its third win in four games. "Our guys are rising to the occasion," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "If you cant get up for (the Yankees), you cant get up for anything." Making the loss even worse for New York was the fact that Baltimore lost to Toronto. The Yankees still hold a 1 1/2-game lead on the Orioles for first place in the division. "You had an opportunity," Girardi said. "You can look at it the other way, too. So we have to come out and win the series tomorrow." Robinson Cano had three hits and Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 19 games in the loss, New Yorks second in three games. Nick Swisher also homered for the third straight game. Minnesota will pin its hopes Wednesday on righty Samuel Deduno, who is 6-4 with a 3.84 ERA. Deduno lost for the fourth time in six starts on Sept.16 against the Chicago White Sox, allowing four runs and five walks in four innings. "My mechanics were OK, but I was just trying to do too much," Deduno said. "Nothing was working. But sometimes thats just part of the game." He has never faced the Yankees. New York has won 19 of its last 26 regular season meetings with the Twins since the start 2009 campaign, but it is just 3-3 against them this season. --- Os try for needed split with Blue Jays Its starting to get hot under the collar for the Baltimore Orioles and their quest to end a lengthy playoff drought. Tonight, the Orioles will try for a split in their four-game series versus the Toronto Blue Jays at Camden Yards and havent been to the postseason since 1997. They have lost two straight and three of four games since a season-best six-game winning streak and dropped a 4-0 decision Tuesday. Joe Saunders took the mound for Baltimore and lasted 6 1/3 innings in the loss, as he was touched for four runs -- three earned -- and 11 hits. J.J. Hardy and Matt Wieters both had two hits for the Os, who still lead the wild card with Oakland in the American League, but the LA Angels are only two games off the pace. Baltimore is 1 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees for the top spot in the AL East. The Yankees lost in Minnesota last night. "Right now, winning is the only thing thats going to help us," Wieters told the clubs website. "We know were going to need to win some games to be able to get in, so were just going to keep trying to win as many as we can." The Orioles will host the Red Sox for three games on their homestand and took two of three matchups in Boston over the weekend. Rookie Miguel Gonzalez draws the start for Baltimore and is 7-4 with a 3.52 earned run average in 16 games (13 starts). Gonzalez has prevailed in five of his last seven decisions and tossed 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball in a 4-2 win at Boston on Friday. Gonzalez, a right-hander, is 0-1 with a 5.59 ERA in two games (1 start) against the Blue Jays. Toronto has nothing to play for besides ruining postseason chances for other teams and will try for a series win this evening. The Blue Jays have won two in a row since a seven-game slide and used six pitchers to shut out Baltimore in the third portion of the set. Aaron Laffey threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings for the win, while Steve Delabar, Brett Cecil, Brandon Lyon, Darren Oliver and Casey Janssen kept the Os off the board. "Everything I had was out there tonight, but it just shows that if you stay aggressive in the zone and throw quality strikes, regardless of what the velocity of the pitch is, you can get big league hitters out," Laffey told the teams website. "I didnt walk anybody tonight and I think that was the biggest difference-maker." Colby Rasmus, Edwin Encarnacion, Yan Gomes and Adeiny Hechavarria were each credited with an RBI for the Jays. Toronto will close out the season with a seven-game homestand versus the Yankees and Twins at Rogers Centre. Carlos Villanueva will handle pitching duties this evening and is 1-6 in his last seven decisions. Villanueva was hammered in a 12-1 loss at Tampa Bay on Friday, as he gave up a season high seven runs and eight hits in only 2 1/3 innings of work. It was the first time this season that he didnt last at least five innings. Villanueva fell to 7-6 with a 3.88 earned run average in 37 games (15 starts) this season. He lost to Baltimore on Aug. 24 and is 2-2 with a 5.09 ERA in eight career games (5 starts) in this series. The Orioles are 10-7 against the Blue Jays this season. Baltimore had a six- game home-winning streak against Toronto come to an end Monday night. wholesale jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. cheap jerseys nfl . The GMs gave high marks to the Los Angeles Lakers moves and picked them to win the Western Conference, but the Heat got 70 per cent of the votes to win the 2013 championship. http://www.comcheapjerseys.com/ . The 25th-ranked Dolgopolovs previous three finals appearances, including one victory, came in 250-level events. Dolgopolov relied in his high-risk, high-reward approach. "Its a part of me, my personality," said Dolgopolov, who added that he enjoys racing cars. wholesale nfl jerseys . The roster includes four goaltenders, 12 defencemen and 24 forwards. The camp will take place August 3-6 at the MasterCard Centre in Toronto. The players, born in 1995 and 1996, were selected by Hockey Canada head scout Kevin Prendergast, in consultation with head coach Todd Gill and assistant coaches Yanick Jean and Scott Walker. cheapjerseys.com . The injury means the 27-year-old winger becomes the only player on the team roster who is not officially locked out by the NHL. Under the lockout rules, Michalek is allowed to go the rink and get treatment for his injury.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- It took 11 weeks for Mario Williams and the Buffalo Bills oft-maligned defence to finally flex its muscle and show its capable of playing up to its high-priced potential. Williams had one of three sacks and safety Jairus Byrd had a hand in forcing two of three turnovers in a stifling 19-14 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night. "Im just happy everyone saw what the Bills are all about," defensive tackle Marcell Dareus said. "Were not no pushover. Were a whole nother team." For one game, it sure looked that way. A defence that entered the game ranked 31st in the NFL in yards allowed and dead last in giving up an average 31.67 points, limited the Dolphins to 184 yards and 16 first downs. Just as important, the defence closed it out by forcing turnovers on Miamis final two drives. Byrd intercepted rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehills pass with a diving catch at Buffalos 35 with 1:54 left. And Bryan Scott followed a little over a minute later, jumping in front of Tannehills pass intended for Davone Bess at midfield. "Seeing the predicament were in, it was a must win," Byrd said. "We dug this hole for ourselves." And here was the first step in attempting to dig out of it. The Bills (4-6) snapped a three-game skid and won for only the second time in seven games to stay on the fringe of the AFC playoff hunt. Buffalo also ended several other inglorious skids, by beating a division rival for the first time in nine meetings, and snapping an 11-game prime-time drought that dated to 2001. Leodis McKelvin opened the scoring 90 seconds in by returning a punt 79 yards for a touchdown in a game the Bills never trailed. That made up for an offence that lacked finish. Rian Lindell hit four field goals, including a 42-yarder, as Buffalo failed to score an offensive touchdown despite four trips inside the Miami 20. Marcus Thigpen scored on a 96-yard kickoff return and Bess scored on a 2-yard touchdown for Miami (4-6), which has lost three straight. Tannehills struggles continued. He finished going 14 of 28 for 141 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He was coming off a dreadful outing in which he threw three interceptions in a 37-3 loss to Tennessee last week. The No. 8 pick out of Texas A&M has thrown six TD passes and 11 interceptions. "Its really frustrating, especially with the success earlier in the year," Tannehill said. "Being in situations where were going three-and-out or six-and-out, its frustrating. We have to be able to find a rhythm and get things going early on." It wasnt all Tannehills fault as Dolphins usually sturdy defence gave up 120 yards rushing, including 91 to C.J. Spiller, who took over the bulk of the rushing duties in place of Fred Jackson (concussion). After allowing 307 yards rushing in its first five games, Miami has given up 661 in its past fiive.dddddddddddd The Dolphins running game also sputtered. Reggie Bush finished with 20 yards rushing, which marked a significant drop-off after he had a career-best 203 yards in 30-23 win last December during his previous visit to Orchard Park. "We didnt make any plays. It was not a good offensive performance," Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said. "We were 0 for 7, I believe, at one point on third down. We had nothing going on." Miami finished converting just three of 10 third-down chances. For Buffalo, it was a long-awaited breakout performance for a high-priced defence that entered the game among the NFLs worst. Buffalo had ranked 31st in yards allowed and last in allowing an average of 31.67 points. Williams was supposed to be the defences centerpiece after signing a six-year, $100 million contract March. Hes finally starting to play up to the deal, and his sack gave him a team-leading 5 1/2. "It was definitely a must win," Williams said. "With the way things turned out earlier in the season, weve got to come out and play like its the playoffs. And weve got to make plays and weve got to finish. It got close there at the end, but Im glad we came out with it." The unit forced three turnovers after failing to produce one its past three games. The 184 yards allowed were a season-low for Buffalo, and the fewest the defence has allowed since limiting Washington to 178 in a 23-0 win Oct. 30, 2011. The Bills bounced back from a 37-31 loss at New England last weekend. And the defence was questioned after allowing a combined 1,201 yards over a two-game stretch in which the Bills were blown out 52-28 to New England and 45-3 at San Francisco. Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick finished 17 of 27 for 168 yards. Spiller also had three catches for 39 yards, while Stevie Johnson had six catches for 79 yards. Fitzpatrick gave much of the credit to how well the defence played. "The defence has been working so hard," Fitzpatrick said. "Theres been a lot of criticism on them, but tonight was a dominating performance and something we can build on." NOTES: Miami had 50 yards and two first downs in the first half. ... Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll had a particularly dreadful outing. He was penalized four times for 56 yards. That included a pair of pass-interference penalties, including a 31-yard penalty against T.J. Graham. ... Thigpen and McKelvin scored 8:05 apart in the first quarter. The last time there was a punt return touchdown by one team and a kickoff return touchdown by the opposing team in the same quarter was December 1999 in a game between Washington and Detroit, according to STATS LLC. Washingtons James Thrash had a 95-yard kickoff return and Detroits Desmond Howard had a 68-yard punt return in the second quarter. ... Dolphins PK Dan Carpenter had a 50-yard field attempt glance wide off the right goal post. ' ' '