INDIANAPOLIS -- When Ed Carpenter, Carlos Munoz and Helio Castroneves were pushed to the edge Saturday, each remained calm and came up with their best-qualifying runs of the day. Now they have to do it again one more time Sunday. The American, Colombian and Brazilian who have celebrated some of their biggest career moments at Indianapolis each made daring runs over the final 80 minutes Saturday to take the top three seeds heading into Sundays Indianapolis 500 shootout. Carpenter finished first with a four-lap qualifying average of 230.661 mph. Munoz was second at 230.460. "I wasnt sure we were going to go 230 in our first run, so I was relieved when we did," Carpenter said. "But to be honest, I didnt think going into qualifying I was going to exceed 230." Others drivers thought Carpenter would, and it only took one practice lap and one qualifying lap to assuage any doubts. Carpenter, the fifth car on the track, averaged 230.114 then sat around all day as other drivers tried to knock him off the top rung. Nobody caught him until a rain delay ended at 4:18 p.m. Then in a flurry of speed, Andretti Autosport driver James Hinchcliffe knocked Carpenter off the pole, Munoz knocked Hinchcliffe, his teammate, off the pole, and Carpenter retook the pole. He finished the day waiting 65 minutes to see if it would stand. Normally, the reward for surviving such tension would be celebrating a pole win. Instead, under the new qualifying format, all Saturday did was assure Carpenter and the other eight top cars of a top-nine starting spot on Indys traditional 33-car starting grid. Each of the top nine will have one qualifying run Sunday with the fastest claiming the coveted No. 1 starting spot for the May 25 race. The success of Carpenter, Munoz and Castroneves was hardly a surprise. Carpenter, last years pole winner, had one of the fastest cars in practice Thursday and Friday. If he wins the pole again Sunday on the track his stepfather, Tony George, once ran, Carpenter would be the second driver since 1990 to earn consecutive poles at Indy. Castroneves also did it in 2009 and 2010. Munoz, meanwhile, drives for Michael Andretti, whose team has consistently put four or five drivers in the top 10 all week. In 2013, Munoz made his IndyCar debut here and responded by qualifying second, finishing second and walking away as the 500 rookie of the year. "I was questioning myself, the team, everything before, but as soon as I hit the track I forgot everything," Munoz said. "The car was really fast, and its a shame we wasted that second outing. I think were looking strong, and well see what happens tomorrow." Castroneves owns three 500 wins and three pole wins at Indy -- all for team owner Roger Penske. But there was plenty of intrigue, too. Kurt Busch, the fourth driver to attempt "the double" by racing in Indy and Charlotte on the same day, May 25, nearly made it into the pole shootout, too. He was bumped with 39 minutes left in qualifying when 2000 Indy winner Juan Pablo Montoya surpassed Buschs speed of 229.960. Busch could have bumped his way back into the fast nine had he not already left for NASCARs All-Star race in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was scheduled to be back in Indy for Day 2 when the top 30 starting spots will be determined. Two other Andretti drivers, Hinchcliffe and Marco Andretti, overcame unusual circumstances to reach the shootout. Hinchcliffe was fourth (230.407) despite spending most of this week recovering from a concussion. Andretti actually withdrew his original qualifying time to move into a shorter line, then waved off on another attempt before making it back to No. 6. Frances Simon Pagenaud, who won the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis last weekend, was seventh. Carpenters teammate, JR Hildebrand, and Sarah Fishers driver, Josef Newgarden, also made the shootout, though Chip Ganassis four drivers were shut out. "I think we need to find a little more speed," Charlie Kimball said. "As a team, the fact that we arent in the top nine would prove that. We all work toward that goal, having four of our cars in the top nine. It was a lofty goal, but that was the expectation within the team." This time, theyll all be watching Carpenter and the rest of the gang. "We came in with a good car and a good package from last year," Carpenter said. "Like I said, with the second car here, weve been able to try some more things than what we did last year." Nike Air Max 95 Canada . The Earthquakes (6-9-7) were coming off a 5-0 loss at home last Saturday to FC Dallas. Even with the draw, the Sounders (13-7-3) climbed back into a tie for both the Western Conference and overall top spot in MLS. Seattle, West co-leader Real Salt Lake and East leader Sporting Kansas City all have 42 points. Nike Air Max Clearance Canada .com) - Manchester City will face a steep test in the Champions League knockout stage as the English champions were drawn with Barcelona on Monday. http://www.clearanceairmaxcanada.com/air...anada-sale.html. TSN 1290s coverage begins with Hustler & Lawless at 3pm. Rick Ralph hosts the Official Jets Pre-game Show at 5pm. Nike Air Max 2020 Canada . CBS Sports Jon Heyman is reporting that Santana will sign a one-year deal, likely in the next two days with one of a trio of suitors, with the Toronto Blue Jays believed to be heavily involved. Cheap Nike Air Max Canada . -- Colin Kaepernick insists he just happened to pull on a pair of socks with dollar bill prints all over them Wednesday morning -- before he learned he had struck a new fortune with the San Francisco 49ers. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Brad Miller stepped to the plate against one of baseballs best closers in the ninth inning of a tied game, a sellout crowd rooting for him to fail. Miller silenced them all with one swing of the bat. The Seattle shortstop pounded a pitch from the Royals Greg Holland just inside the right-field foul pole, his homer breaking a 5-all tie and helping the Mariners to a 7-5 victory Friday night. "That was honestly one of the best baseball games Ive been a part of," Miller said with a grin. "Theyre one of the hottest teams in baseball and I was pumped." Logan Morrison drove in another run later in the ninth to provide some breathing room. "What a swing by Miller. Oh my goodness," he said. "He crushed it." Charlie Furbush (1-4) inherited a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth, but the Mariners reliever calmly retired Mike Moustakas on a lazy popup to shallow right field. Furbush then struck out Alcides Escobar to silence a crowd of 38,475 and keep the game tied. After Holland (0-2) coughed up the lead, Fernando Rodney allowed two singles in the ninth for Seattle. But the veteran closer bounced back to retire pinch-hitter Nori Aoki on a groundout, and then he struck out Alex Gordon on three pitches to earn his 19th save. "They are big league baseball players. Big league ballplayers dont miss mistakes too often," Holland said. "I got up on (Miller) two strikes and didnt get the slider where I wanted. I made a mistake. Sometimes you pay for them and I did tonight." Morrison added a two-run homer for Seattle, which overcame a subpar start from Hisashi Iwakuma to end the Royals five-game winning streak at Kauffman Stadium. Mike Zunino added a solo shot and Robinson Cano drove in two runs, extending his hitting streak to 21 games. Moustakas hit a two-run shot to lead the Royals, who have dropped two in a row after winning 10 straight. Salvador Perez homered and drove in two runs for Kansas City. "Listen, we ran into a buzz saw. These guys are hot and everythiing is going for them," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said.dddddddddddd "When you run into teams like that you have to play extremely well." Iwakuma went eight shutout innings in each of his two starts against Kansas City this season, and the right-hander was headed that way again with four scoreless frames to start the game. Along the way, Iwakuma struck out the side in the first inning on just 12 pitches. Meanwhile, his offence was staking him to a 5-0 lead. Cano, who has dominated James Shields throughout his career, drove in a run off him in the first inning and another during a three-run fifth that was capped by Morrisons homer. Zuninos solo shot came in the fourth inning, a no-doubt rocket over the bullpen in left. The Royals finally broke through when Perez homered on a meaty 0-2 pitch in the fifth. They didnt stop there, either. Lorenzo Cain followed with a double, and Moustakas belted his eighth homer of the season over the wall in right to trim the Royals deficit to 5-3. Iwakuma escaped the inning, but he quickly ran into more trouble in the sixth. Consecutive singles by Billy Butler and Gordon knocked him from the game, and reliever Dominic Leone gave up the lead when Perez hit an RBI single and Moustakas an RBI groundout to make it 5-all. Iwakuma allowed nine hits and a walk in five-plus innings. It was his shortest start since July 9, 2013, when he allowed six runs and eight hits in three innings against the Red Sox. Shields went seven innings and still has not lost since May 2, a span of nine starts. "It was a great to see the crowd come out, obviously a sellout. We love it when the fans come out," Shields said of the rare packed house. "We didnt get a win for them tonight, but hopefully they keep coming out and well get some wins here." NOTES: Royals right-handed batters were 0 for 23 against Iwakuma this season before Butlers single in the second. Butler had three hits. ... Gordon returned after missing a game to illness. ... Mariners RHP Chris Young faces Royals LHP Jason Vargas on Saturday. ' ' '