DETROIT -- Its been over a decade since the Kansas City Royals were in first place this late in the season, and try as he might, manager Ned Yost couldnt totally downplay the achievement. He just wants it kept in perspective. "Its nice. Weve got a lot of games to play. We dont get all geeked up," Yost said. "Its better than the alternative, trust me." Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas homered as part of a seven-run second inning, and the Royals displaced the Detroit Tigers atop the AL Central on Tuesday night with an 11-4 victory, their ninth in a row. Kansas City is in first place this late in the season for the first time since 2003, according to STATS. The Royals were leading the division in late August that year, only to finish third at 83-79. They have not made the post-season since winning the World Series in 1985. "A lot of games left, so it really doesnt matter, but to say youre in first place, it feels pretty good," designated hitter Billy Butler said. "Being in first place any time is good -- even if its after the first game." Gordon and Moustakas hit two-run shots off Max Scherzer, and Kansas City has won the first two games of this four-game series emphatically. The Royals, who trailed the Tigers by seven games after a May 20 loss, now lead Detroit by a half-game. Scherzer (8-3) yielded a career high-tying 10 runs in four-plus innings. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner allowed the first eight batters of the second inning to reach base, with Kansas City scoring six runs before making an out. "Im just not putting guys away with two strikes. Thats my problem," Scherzer said. "Ive taken punches on the chin before, and Ive come back. Im not worried about that. I just have to get back to where Im putting guys away." Scherzer did strike out five in the game. Yordano Ventura (5-5) allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings. Ian Kinsler hit a solo homer for Detroit. After winning 86 games in 2013, Kansas City is hoping to unseat the Tigers, who have won the last three division titles. Detroit looked headed for a fourth straight year at the top after a 27-12 start, but now the Tigers are facing a surprising number of questions about their starting rotation, which was expected to be among the best in baseball. Justin Verlander has slumped badly over the last month -- he took the loss in Kansas Citys 11-8 victory in the series opener Monday. Scherzer threw his first career shutout last week, but the Royals tagged him for 10 hits in his next start Tuesday. Gordon opened the scoring with his two-run drive to right field, and Moustakas homer made it 4-0. Omar Infante added a two-run single before Eric Hosmer finally made the first out of the second inning on a tapper to the pitcher. Some fans cheered sarcastically, even though another run came home on the play to make it 7-0. Verlander and Scherzer combined to allow 17 runs in the first two games of this series. Thats the most ever by two teammates with Cy Young Awards in back-to-back team games, according to STATS. Ventura allowed two runs in the second, but that was the first of three consecutive innings in which Detroit hit into a double play. With the Royals ahead 10-2 in the fifth, Ventura walked Miguel Cabrera with the bases loaded, but the hard-throwing rookie caught a break when a pitch to Victor Martinez sailed past catcher Salvador Perez. The ball bounced hard off the backstop, right back to Perez, and Detroits Eugenio Suarez was caught between third base and home. Perez threw to third to catch Suarez retreating and end the inning. NOTES: Detroit is out of first place for the first time since taking over the division lead July 3 last year, according to STATS. ... The Tigers agreed to terms with OF Derek Hill, the teams first-round draft pick. ... Perez extended his hitting streak to 11 games. ... Royals INF Danny Valencia (left hand) was assigned to Triple-A Omaha for a rehab assignment. ... Detroit OF Torii Hunter, who left Mondays game with a hamstring cramp, did not play. ... Detroit LHP Drew Smyly (3-5) faces Kansas City RHP Jeremy Guthrie (3-6) on Wednesday. Balenciaga Scontate . With a win tonight, Buehrle will match Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka for the most wins in the majors with 11. Buehrle is 10-4 with a 2.32 earned run average, but has lost his last three starts, including a 7-3 setback at Yankee Stadium last Wednesday. Air Max 97 Saldi . -- Kyle Busch edged teammate Joey Logano at the Bristol Motor Speedway finish line Friday night to become the all-time winningest driver in Nationwide Series. http://www.scontatescarpenikeoutlet.it/i...us-offerte.html Scarpe Nike Offerta Online . -- First baseman Carlos Pena and outfielder Brennan Boesch have signed minor league deals with the Los Angeles Angels. Scarpe Nike Scontate On Line . The Cottagers last victory came in a 2-1 home win over West Ham when Rene Meulensteen was still in charge. Since then, a miserable run of seven defeats and two draws has seen the club part with the Dutch coach and replace him with German Felix Magath.A Flyers defenceman leads the charge, the Kings’ top line is rolling, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Mark Streit – The 37-year-old Flyers defenceman had a goal and two assists in a 7-3 win over Tampa Bay. He has 18 points (1 G, 17 A) in the past 19 games and, based on with-or-without-you (WOWY) stats this year, won’t be any worse off while frequent partner Nicklas Grossmann is injured. Kings top line – Marian Gaborik, Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter opened the scoring against Toronto, 37 seconds into the game, then iced the game with an empty-netter with a minute remaining. Gaborik has 15 points (10 G, 5 A) in his past 12 games, Carter has 13 points (4 G, 9 A) in the past dozen games and Kopitar has 21 points (4 G, 17 A) in the past dozen games. ZEROES Evgeni Nabokov – Tampa Bay’s backup didn’t provide much of a break for starter Ben Bishop, allowing four goals on 13 shots against Philadelphia and getting pulled after 22:36. Booth and Clarkson – While the Leafs had to be happy with their overall matchup against the Kings, wingers David Booth and David Clarkson failed to register a shot attempt, while combining for nearly 28 minutes of ice time. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay’s top defenceman suffered a lower-body injury against Philadelphia and will be day-to-day. With Radko Gudas also out, Nikita Nesterov likely moves into the lineup and Mark Barberio, who played 21:14 at Philadelphia, could handle a bigger role. Tyler Johnson – The Lightning pivot suffered a lower-body injury at Philadelphia. Tampa Bay is at least well-equipped to handle an absence down the middle of the ice, with Steven Stamkos, Valtteri Filppula, Brian Boyle and Cedric Paquette available. They’ve also recalled Vladislav Namestnikov from the AHL. Rob Zepp – The 33-year-old who made his NHL debut earlier this season, and played the past seven years in Germany, stopped 21 of 24 shots in a 7-3 win over Tampa Bay. Braydon Coburn – Suffered a lower-body (foot?) injury that is expected to keep him out four weeks. With Nicklas Grossmann already out, playing time is opening up on the Philadelphia blueline for frequent scratches Michael Del Zotto and Carlo Colaiacovo. Incidentally, before getting hurt, Coburn was having a nice game (9 shot attempts for, 0 against) in his 6:07 of even-strength ice time. Morgan Rielly – Played 20:18 at Los Angeles, in a 2-0 loss. While it was his lowest ice time in three games with the new coaching staff, it also marked the first time in Rielly’s career that he played at least 20 minutes in three consecutive games. SHORT SHIFTS Lightning D Anton Stralman recorded a pair of assists in a 7-3 loss to Philadelphia, giving him six assists in the past six games…Flyers C Claude Giroux had a couple of assists in the win, moving to a tie for second in the league with 48 points (113 G, 34 A) in 42 games…Flyers RW Jakub Voracek added a goal and an assist, and leads the league with 52 points (17 G, 35 A) in 43 games.dddddddddddd Avalanche G Semyon Varlamov stopped 36 of 38 shots in a 2-1 loss to Washington. Capitals G Braden Holtby turned away 31 of 32 shots in a 2-1 win over Colorado. Holtby has a .932 save percentage since the beginning of December, second-best behind Carey Price among goaltenders with at least 500 minutes played…Kings G Martin Jones stopped all 19 shots he faced in a 2-0 win over Toronto. Jones has a 4-3-2 record this season, allowing a total of one goal in his four wins. FANTASY FOCUS It’s a busy night on the ice, so here are a half dozen players to consider plugging into your lineup: Justin Abdelkader – A plough horse who gets ice time with the thoroughbreds in Detroit, Abdelkader has eight points (4 G, 4 A) in the past eight games and, even better, is going up against the Sabres. Chris Kreider – It’s been an uneven start to the season for Kreider but, as the Rangers are rolling, he’s picking up too, with five points (3 G, 2 A) in the past five games. Mike Fisher – Was productive almost immediately upon returning to the Nashville lineup and has seven points (4 G, 3 A) in the past eight games. Nice secondary scoring if you can get it. Brett Ritchie – Ice time (by minutes) in his first six NHL games: 10, 12, 12, 14, 17, 19. That trend is heading in the right direction and Ritchie scored a goal with five shots on goal while skating with Jamie Benn last game. Sam Gagner – With Martin Hanzal out, more time available at centre in Arizona and Gagner has 10 points (4 G, 6 A) in the past nine games. David Pastrnak – Though the rookie has a modest three points (2 G, 1 A) in seven games, he’s put 20 shots on goal and, in that small sample, has generated more shots per minute than any player in the league. Among players with at least 75 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time: MOST 5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPTS PER 60 MINUTES PLAYER TEAM POS. SHOT ATTEMPTS/60 David Pastrnak Boston RW 24.00 James Neal Nashville RW 22.49 Alex Ovechkin Washington LW 22.19 Matt Beleskey Anaheim LW 21.67 Tyler Kennedy San Jose RW 21.45 Rick Nash N.Y. Rangers LW 21.38 Patrick Sharp Chicago LW 20.90 Max Pacioretty Montreal LW 20.89 Tyler Toffoli Los Angeles RW 19.86 Filip Forsberg Nashville LW 19.58 Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca ' ' '