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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alcides Escobar is a maestro with his glove, making the kinds difficult of plays at shortstop that has helped to make the Kansas City Royals one of the best defensive teams in baseball. On Wednesday night, Escobar showed he can swing the bat a bit, too. His two-run double in the seventh inning proved to be the difference in a tense 4-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. "Hes been very consistent," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Hes always been an important part of our club because of his defence. He saves runs in the field. But when you add offence to that, he becomes a very special player." Eric Hosmer drove in the other two runs for the Royals, whose bullpen blew a 2-0 lead for young starter Yordano Ventura before holding on to beat Toronto with a late rally for the second straight night. Kansas City won the series opener 10-7 behind a six-run eighth inning. Kelvin Herrera (1-1) stranded runners on second and third in the seventh, and Wade Davis struck out Jose Reyes to leave the bases loaded in the eighth. Greg Holland worked around a double in the ninth for his seventh save in seven tries. "You play 162 games. Youre going to see a lot of things happen," Holland said. "The mark of a good bullpen is when you have guys pick each other up when they get in jams." Drew Hutchison (1-2) allowed all four runs on five hits in seven innings for Toronto. The 23-year-old right-hander, who missed last season after Tommy John surgery, kept the Royals mostly off balance until Escobar guided his double down the left-field line with two outs in the seventh. Jimmy Paredes and Salvy Perez scored easily to give Kansas City the lead. "I got ahead of him. I went right at him. I thought I made a good pitch," Hutchison said. "Thats a situation where I expect myself to thrive and get the job done, but I didnt." The Royals improved to 14-0 when scoring at least four runs -- they remain 0-12 falling short of that mark. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays lost for the sixth time in their last seven games. Toronto also lost outfielder Melky Cabrera in the sixth inning when he was hit in the left shin by a pitch from Danny Duffy. Cabrera needed to be helped off the field, though X-rays taken at the ballpark came back negative and a team spokesman said he was day to day. The Royals manufactured a 1-0 lead through driving rain in the first inning with a double by Nori Aoki, a sacrifice bunt and Hosmers sacrifice fly. They tacked on another run in the fourth when Hosmer followed a double by Omar Infante with one of his own. As long as Ventura was pitching, it seemed that would be enough. The Blue Jays struggled to catch up to the 22-year-olds triple-digit fastball, managing just two hits over five innings. But they were more successful at avoiding stuff off the plate, driving up his pitch count and forcing him from the game after five innings and 92 pitches. "It was cold out there," Ventura said through a translator, fellow starter Jeremy Guthrie. "Naturally, it was a little more difficult to command." Thats when Royals manager Ned Yost called on Duffy, who hit Cabrera in the left shin with his first pitch. Cabrera dropped to the grass in foul territory and stayed there several minutes, eventually getting helped through the dugout and to the clubhouse by the Blue Jays trainers. Duffy proceeded to walk Jose Bautista on five pitches and was yanked for Aaron Crow, who gave up singles to Edwin Encarnacion and Juan Francisco that tied the game 2-all. Crow finally escaped the inning, and the Royals bullpen held Toronto down the rest of the way. "Its frustrating, but at the end of the day I need to do a better job to give us a chance to win after we came back and scored two runs," Hutchison said. "I was in complete control going into the seventh. It comes down to that its on me and I need to get the job done." NOTES: Toronto left 11 runners on base. ... Bautista finished with 30 walks in April, matching Fred McGriffs club record for a single month. ... Blue Jays INF Brett Lawrie (sore back) was held out of the lineup. Manager John Gibbons called him day to day. ... RHP Jeremy Guthrie starts the series finale Thursday night for Kansas City. LHP Mark Buehrle starts for Toronto. Brandon Allen Jersey . -- Craig Anderson has quite a record against his former team, the Florida Panthers. Marcus Peters Rams Jersey .Currently no, Tatjana Haenni, FIFAs deputy director of the competitions division and head of womens competitions, said Tuesday in an interview from Ottawa. http://www.laramsfootballshops.com/joseph-noteboom-jersey/ .Y. -- First, Patrick Kane gave his family and friends something to cheer about by scoring a highlight-reel goal in a rare trip home to Buffalo on Sunday night. Brian Allen Rams Jersey . -- Jonathan Vilmas season is over and his future on the football field is in doubt. John Kelly Jersey .Bekker was added Wednesday in exchange for allocation money after two seasons with Toronto. The native of Canada had 29 MLS appearances, including 16 starts. Hes also played in 13 games for the Canadian national team.Each week, TSN.ca Fantasy Editor Scott Cullen, NFL Editor Ben Fisher, and Isaac Owusu discuss three hot fantasy football topics. As the regular season starts to wind down and the weather gets colder, how will Peyton Manning finish out the fantasy season? Cullen: Cold weather hasnt typically been a problem for Manning. He was a monster last December, completing 70.7% of his passes for 1399 yards and 11 touchdowns in five games. The next couple weeks, at Kansas City and against Tennessee, could be tough matchups against good pass defences, but the last three – San Diego, at Houston and at Oakland, seem like fine opportunities for Manning to put up typically strong numbers. Fisher: Even if youre on board with the notion Manning fades when the lights shine brightest, its far too early to take that into consideration. The Broncos are still in a fight in the standings as well – tied with the Chiefs atop the AFC West and only a game in front of the Patriots for home field advantage throughout the playoffs – so Manning wont be given any games off any time soon either. A Week 16 matchup in Houston could be worrisome for Manning owners in their championship games, but until then I expect the veteran to put up the same type of league leading numbers hes had all season long. Owusu: Its no secret that Denver Broncos led by Peyton Manning and his talented receiving core have flourished in a pass-first offense. What may come as a surprise is they boast a top 12 rushing offense, and RB Knowshon Moreno, who in the preseason few expected to be their starting back is currently 7th in the league in rushing with 824 yards. Now with the cold weather kicking in, you can surely expect a dip in Mannings production. Its important to note that three out of his next four matchups are against pass defenses ranked in the top 15, while their other game (week 15 versus division rival, the San Diego Chargers) is at home in what should be a cold and snowy Sports Authority Field at Mile High stadium. Denver will need to protect Manning and their possessions, so count on them to trust Moreno (or any committee of running backs they use) more and turn to the run game significantly more. Coming off three of his best performances of the season, is Maurice Jones-Drew an RB1 down the stretch? Cullen: Jones-Drew has scored touchdowns in each of the last three games, but hes a long way from being RB1 based on his overall production this season. Hes had two games with more than 100 yards from scrimmage all year so, while there is reason for optimism, and enough that he should fit as RB2 or FLEX, its a reach to believe that, after a dozen weeks of mediocrity, he is now a suitable RB1. Fisher: Jacksonville, and every player associated with the team, is really hard to trust. With upcoming matchups at Cleveland, vs Houston, Buffalo, and Tennessee, and then at Indianapolis, its not unreasonable to think the Jaguars will be competitive enough to avoid catch-up mode where the run game is all but abandoned. Combining his touches in the passing game – hes averaged more thann five targets his past four games – MJD will be afforded the workload to put up RB1 numbers.dddddddddddd That said, Jacksonville doesnt score enough – Jones-Drew has just five TDs on the year – to consider their 28-year-old RB as anything more than an RB2. Owusu: Maurice Jones Drew has put up reasonable stats against legitimate defences as of late, but theres always the fear that his performance can revert to what it was in the first half of the season. The tests dont get easier and to be frank, the Jacksonville Jaguars arent a team expected to run the ball to extend a lead or drain the clock. However, Jones-Drews value comes in pass catching and making the most of his usual less than 20 rushing opportunities. Due to the current lack of running back depth and production he can be considered an RB2 in PPR leagues, while in standard formats he is still a borderline RB2/Flex due to his tough upcoming schedule and expected lack of rush attempts. What can you expect from Michael Crabtree in the coming weeks? Cullen: Id hold my enthusiasm for Crabtree initially – the same as I would for any player returning from a long-term injury – but if he gets up to speed over the next couple weeks, I could see a strong finish to in the final three games. Crabtree was clearly Colin Kaepernicks preferred option in the passing game last year – recording 538 receiving yards and four touchdowns in the last five games -- and Kaepernick hasnt been the same without him, so expect Crabtree to resume a prominent role when he shows that hes up to handling the speed of the game. Fisher: A likely play count as Crabtree works his way back into game shape should prevent him from hitting the solid WR2 numbers he was putting up last year right away, but Im betting he gets there eventually. There is a sharp drop-off in production in the 49ers receiving game after Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis – even Mario Manningham only has eight catches in his three games – so theres definitely room in the offence for Crabtree to put up big numbers. If Crabtree can regain his chemistry with Colin Kaepernick, and thats certainly a factor with Kaepernicks relative struggles this year, hell get his targets down the stretch. The 49ers are in a fight in the NFC West and need their best players to produce; Crabtree is exactly that and if healthy, will return to his 2012 fantasy lines sooner than later. Owusu: Crabtrees presence is a welcome one for San Francisco 49ers, but expecting WR1 or even WR2 numbers may be a little too ambitious. He made a name for himself last season off all the YAC (yards after catch) that he was able to gain from short to medium passes. This issue is he will need time and repetitions to develop chemistry with the inconsistent Colin Kaepernick. The likelihood is that Crabtree would be on a play count as he looks to get back in game shape and the 49ers wont try to overwork him coming off the torn Achilles. He should be treated as a flex at best as the 49ers are merely working him up to a strong playoff push. 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