Allgemeines Forum » e Thunder gave them a 63-57 lead with about seven minu

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Slugger Jose Abreu, All-Star left-hander Chris Sale and closer Matt Lindstrom are on the disabled list. But the Chicago White Sox are still finding ways to win. Adam Dunn hit a three-run homer and the White Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 7-6 on Tuesday night. "Any time you can expand a lead I think that those are a lot more meaningful," Dunn said. The White Sox needed those extra runs as the Royals answered with three in the eighth and one in the ninth. "Six runs were not enough," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "The eighth inning put a damper on it. We were trying to keep the score at two runs. "This is a club you go up and down their lineup, you make a mistake and those guys are going to hit it a long way. I guess you call it we caught a break, but it hasnt helped us any missing (Jose) Abreu. Hes got a ton of power, too." Abreu leads the majors with 15 homers, but Dunn and Paul Konerko have hit three-run homers in the first two games of this series. "Obviously, hes really good," Dunn said of Abreu. "I think Paul and I hopefully can put some runs on the board." The White Sox out-homered the Royals 5-0 in winning the first two games of this series. "Theyve got a lot of power," Royals designated hitter Billy Butler said. "They live and die by the long ball. They hit a lot of home runs and when they dont, they usually lose." Andre Rienzo (4-0) limited the Royals to two runs and five hits over six innings. He struck out a career-high eight. "He had some really good stuff today," Dunn said. "Hes kept us in pretty much every ball game. ... When he has three or four pitches working like he did tonight, hes tough." Ronald Belisario gave up a run in the ninth, he stranded the tying run at second base to pick up his first save of the season. The Royals record dropped to 5-15 against American League Central opponents. Gordon Beckham and Conor Gillaspie, who each had three hits, singled before Dunn homered in the eighth off right-hander Aaron Crow, who had allowed two three-run homers in his past two appearances. Beckham has hit safely in 13 of his past 15 games, while Gillaspie increased his average to .347. Royals rookie right-hander Yordano Ventura (2-4) took the loss, allowing four runs and seven hits, including a Tyler Flowers home run, in six innings. Ventura threw three wild pitches in the White Sox three-run fifth, the last one allowing Beckham to score. Danny Valencia doubled home Butler and Alex Gordon with the first two Kansas City runs in the second. White Sox relievers Scott Downs and Frank Francisco combined to retire only one of the six batters they faced in the eighth as the Royals scored three runs. Gordon and Cain had RBIs, while Cain scored on a Francisco wild pitch. Zach Putnam restored order by retiring pinch hitter Mike Moustakas on an infield popup and Nori Aoki on a ground ball that shortstop Alexei Ramirez made a diving stop with runners on the corners. Belisario, who threw 21 pitches in two innings Monday, allowed a two-out single to Gordon, scoring Butler, who had doubled. Jarrod Dyson ran for Gordon and stole second. Belisario struck out Cain on three pitches to end the game. "Its the same," Belisario said of setting up or closing. "Its the same going in. I do my job. I feel the same." Notes: Sale felt fine after a bullpen session Tuesday and could come off the disabled list this weekend to start against the New York Yankees. ... Royals All-Star C Salvador Perez is sidelined with inflammation in his right thumb. The Royals are hopeful Perez could return Saturday, avoiding a trip to the disabled list. They did recall C Francisco Pena, the son of Yankees bench coach and former Royals manager Tony Pena, from Triple-A Omaha. Pena made his major league debut, catching in the ninth. ... The Royals optioned IF Johnny Giavotella to Omaha. ... Lindstrom, who injured his left ankle trying to field a bunt in the ninth inning, was placed on the 15-day disabled list. The White Sox purchased the contract of RHP Javy Guerra, who had 21 saves for the Dodgers as a rookie in 2011, from Triple-A Charlotte. Duncan Keith Jersey . -- The Windsor Spitfires were left with just one goaltender Tuesday after having their starter walk out on them midway through Game 3 of their Ontario Hockey League playoff matchup with the London Knights. Artem Anisimov Jersey . The Toronto Argonauts running back hurt his left ankle during the teams practice Friday afternoon at Rogers Centre. http://www.authenticblackhawkspro.com/Br...ckhawks-jersey/. That still leaves a big hole.You dont replace the leadership, defensive co-ordinator Billy Davis said. You just dont. Leadership is something that is earned over time. Steve Larmer Jersey . Chelsea took until the second half to trouble the leagues bottom team, but Schuerrle then ripped through the defence with ease at Craven Cottage to keep Jose Mourinhos side on track for the title. Chris Chelios Jersey . -- Sami Salo joked that as the shootout went on and on, one thing went through his mind: "Youve got to tie up your skates.HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets are heading to the playoffs for the second straight year and believe wins like the one they picked up Friday night will help them when they get there. James Harden scored 39 points and the Rockets ended a three-game skid and clinched a playoff berth with a 111-107 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder "It was a great win for us ... just to give ourselves confidence, especially going into the playoffs," Harden said. "We might see them. It was a big win for us. It shows the resilience we have." Kevin Durant scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his 40th straight game with at least 25 points, the longest streak since Michael Jordan also did it 40 consecutive times in 1986-87. But he was in no mood to talk about matching the feat after the game. "We lost the game thats all Im worried about," he said. "I dont care. We lost." The normally mild-mannered Durant, who leads the NBA with 32.1 points a game, talked a little trash afterward when asked if he was frustrated by the physical defence Houstons Chandler Parsons and Francisco Garcia played on him. "Those dudes cant check me 1-on-1," he said. "They know that. I aint afraid to say it either. They know that. So I was playing the double-teams, triple-teams, but you still got to find a way to do it. Theyre physical just like everybody else and Ive been playing against physical players my whole life, so its nothing different." The Thunder, who had already secured a playoff berth, clinched their fourth consecutive Northwest Division title with a loss by Portland later Friday. Durants 3-pointer cut Houstons lead to one with 1:01 remaining, but Houston answered with four straight free throws. He made another 3 with 16 seconds left, but Harden made two free throws to push the lead to 111-107. Harden was 17 of 20 from the line and had nine rebounds and seven assists. The Rockets were playing without Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley, who both missed their fourth straight games. Howard has missed seven games recently because of a left ankle strain and Beverley is out indefinitely with a torn meniscus in his right knee. "Theres all kind of adversity in playoff games and playoff runs," coacch Kevin McHale said.dddddddddddd. "Youve got to be resilient and thats what Ive been preaching with the guys and the coaching staff. Youve just got to stay in the fight and keep swinging. When we do that, were OK." Serge Ibaka tied a career high with 27 points in a game that Russell Westbrook didnt play because the Thunder were playing the second night of a back-to-back. Parsons added 23 points for Houston and Terrence Jones had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Oklahoma City was up by one before Houston scored seven straight points to take a 104-98 lead with less than three minutes left. The Rockets made four free throws before a 3-pointer by Garcia. The Rockets started the fourth quarter with 3-pointers by Jeremy Lin, Isaiah Canaan and Harden for a 9-2 spurt which gave them a 91-86 lead with about 10 minutes left. Durant scored the next four points to get Oklahoma City within 91-90. Houston scored the last six points of the third quarter to cut the lead to 84-82 entering the fourth quarter. The Thunder scored 39 points in the third quarter to take the lead after trailing the entire game. They opened the second half with a 9-0 run punctuated by a dunk by Ibaka to make it 54-52. Houston went right back on top with a 3-pointer by Parsons, but a 9-2 spurt by the Thunder gave them a 63-57 lead with about seven minutes left in the quarter. The Thunder trailed through the first quarter and cut it to three points early in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Caron Butler before an 11-0 run by Houston pushed the lead to 43-29 about five minutes before halftime. Harden scored the last seven points in that span and capped it by making a 3-pointer with Derek Fisher right in his face. Durant scored Oklahoma Citys final five points to get the Thunder within 50-45 at halftime. The first three points of that run came when Durant was fouled on an off-balance layup he made with his back to the basket and then made the free throw. NOTES: The 39 points the Thunder scored in the third quarter were the most anyone has scored against Houston this season in the quarter. ... Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon watched the game from a courtside seat. ... The win was Houstons 50th, giving them the 10th 50-win season in franchise history. ' ' '