the second Test at Trent Bridge and a high-scoring draw at The

DETROIT -- The Kansas City Royals headed to Detroits Comerica Park last month well positioned for a playoff push. They return Monday looking like nothing more than spoilers.The defending champions lost two of three in their first series at Comerica this season, starting them on a post-All-Star break slide. Theyve gone from two games above .500 to three games below that mark, virtually assuring they will not a third straight trip to the postseason.Two four-game losing streaks and a three-game slide during the ensuing three weeks after the series loss in Detroit dropped Kansas City to a season-worst seven games below .500 before a recent upswing. The Royals have won six of their last eight, including an 11-4 win over Minnesota on Sunday -- their second-highest scoring output this season.Right-hander Ian Kennedy, who will start the opener of the three-game series, has perked up in his last three starts. He has allowed just two runs in 19 1/3 innings during that span but only has three no-decisions to show for it. Kennedy (6-9) has gone winless in his last eight starts, with his last victory coming June 26 against Houston.Kennedy, who signed a five-year, $70 million contract during the offseason as a free agent, feels like he has some momentum heading into his 24th start of the season.The last couple starts have been building off each other, and keeping that same thing in between starts -- the same routine, Kennedy said to the Kansas City Star.Kennedy gave up one run and six hits in 6 1/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday in his last start, which the Royals won in extra innings.In two starts against Detroit this season, Kennedy has a loss and a no-decision despite allowing a combined three earned runs.Hes had some lulls, but for the most part, hes gone deep into games, manager Ned Yost told the Kansas City Star. Hes kept us in games.The Tigers are coming off back-to-back shutout victories over Texas, including a complete-game, 7-0 whitewash by Rookie of the Year award candidate Michael Fulmer on Sunday.To take two out of three after being swept in Seattle is certainly a good ending to a road trip that started out poorly, Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said during his postgame interview.Tigers left-hander Daniel Norris will make his second start since returning from Triple-A Toledo. Norris (1-0), who went on the 15-day disabled list in early July with a right oblique strain, gave up one run and seven hits in five innings at Seattle on Tuesday. He was in line for a victory before the Mariners rallied for an extra-innings win.Norris got a no-decision in his lone career start against Kansas City.Detroit is in survival mode while trying to remain in striking distance of American League Central leader Cleveland. Center fielder Cameron Maybin, third baseman Nick Castellanos and shortstop Jose Iglesias are on the 15-day disabled list, as well as starting pitchers Jordan Zimmermann and Mike Pelfrey.Theres no reason to dwell on injuries, second baseman Ian Kinsler told the Detroit News. Theres no reason to dwell on what-ifs. We have who we have to play and were going to win the games we have to win with the players we have to put on the field.Kinsler should be happy to see Kennedy on the mound. Detroits leadoff hitter has five extra-base hits in 12 career at-bats against Kennedy. Kurt Warner Jersey For Sale . Pert has formerly spent time as an assistant coach with Cardiff City, Coventry City, and Bahrain mens national team. "Martyn is a highly-respected coach with experience at the top levels in England," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. Larry Fitzgerald Jersey Cheap . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. http://www.arizonacardinalsshoponline.com/ . PAUL, Minn. Budda Baker Jersey Cardinals . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Patrick Peterson Color Rush Jersey . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006. Montys last stand - Cardiff 2009In the first instalment of the 2009 Ashes saga, the walls were closing in on England as Australia brought overwhelming force to bear. They racked up a massive 674 for 6 declared, their highest total in Ashes cricket since the Second World War, and England were running out of heroes as their resistance was picked off, man by man, on the final day in Cardiff. Paul Collingwood dug in as best he could with a five-and-three-quarter-hour 74, but England still trailed by six runs when his departure brought the diffident figure of Monty Panesar loping to the crease, his prospects about as realistic as a protocol droid in a blaster duel. And yet, with James Anderson as his wingman in an engrossing 69-ball alliance, England lived to fight another day. It was the beginning of an epic fightback. By the end of the summer, the tables had been turned and the Ashes had been regained.Mushtaq masters Warne - Karachi 1994-95In 1994-95, the National Stadium in Karachi lived up to its reputation as Pakistans citadel when Australias mighty challenge was repelled at the very last gasp to extend the hosts run of 31 matches without defeat at the venue. They had to do it the hard way as well, resisting the mind tricks of the mighty Shane Warne, who bowled almost without change on the final day of the match to haul Australia to the very brink of victory. At 258 for 9, still 56 runs adrift of an unlikely victory target of 314, the battle appeared to be lost for Pakistan as the diminutive Mushtaq Ahmed arrived to support their only hope, Inzamam-ul-Haq. And yet, with pluck and ingenuity, it was Mushtaq who took the lead, breezing his way to 20 not out from 30 balls to make light of a dire situation and set up the heart-stopping moment of glory - a missed stumping off Inzamam that skitted away past Ian Healy for the winning runs.Laxman uses the force - Mohali 2010-11Throughout the first decade of the millennium, Indias top order was populated by a veritable Jedi Council - indisputable masters of the art of batting in Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag … and VVS Laxman, whose record against the strongest foes in crickets universe was second to none. Six of Laxmans 17 Test centuries came against Australia in their pomp, including his incredible 281 at Kolkata in 2000-01. But it was one of his final acts of resistance, at Mohali in 2010-11, that delivered Indias slenderest victory of all time. Laxmans physical powers were on the wane when he arrived at the crease with India in strife at 76 for 5 chasing 216 for victory. He batted with a runner after suffering a back injury, but nothing could impact the ferocity of his wristwork as he flicked and charmed his way to a matchwinning 73 not out. However, he couldnt have won it without support from his lesser team-mates, not least the No. 11, Pragyan Ojha, who survived a raucous lbw shout with six runs still required, before deflecting the winning runs to fine leg off Mitchell Johnson.Morrison the immoveable - Auckland 1996-97Few causes have seemed more lost than the one that New Zealand encountered at Auckland in the opening Test of Englands tour in 1996-97.ddddddddddddOutclassed from the opening exchanges, the hosts had been beaten to the very brink of defeat, and led by just 11 runs in their second innings when Danny Morrison came out as New Zealands last man. The owner of a then-record 24 Test ducks was not expected to hang around for long - he was wearing sunglasses for the occasion and looked, by his own admission, like a blind man carrying a cane - but then, without warning, Englands attacking instincts short-circuited. Morrison blocked and blocked and blocked, amassing 14 runs from 133 deliveries in more than three hours of crease occupation, and Englands captain, Mike Atherton, had no option but to shake hands later that afternoon and write the match off as a draw. Morrisons euphoria, however, was short-lived. Like decommissioned X-wing fighter, he was thrown on the scrapheap, and never played for his country again.Dhoni stands firm - Lords 2007For all that India have grown in recent years to become the dominant power in world cricket, their record outside of Asia took some time to catch up with their excellence in home conditions. When they arrived for their Test tour in 2007, two decades had elapsed since their last victory in England in 1986, and come the final day of the first Test at Lords, that record looked sure to be extended. But Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not a man who knows when he is beaten. On a dank final day, with the threat of rain adding an extra layer of suspense to Englands quest for wickets, Indias future captain dug in with the tail to haul his side to safety. He finished unbeaten on 76, with only the No.11 Sreesanth still standing by the time the heavens opened to complete the rescue job. It was the stroke of luck they needed to crush their hoodoo. An epic victory in the second Test at Trent Bridge and a high-scoring draw at The Oval secured India a coveted series win that had eluded an entire generation. The birth of the legend - The Oval 1882The original Ashes encounter took place a long, long time ago, but it remains to this day one of the most gripping encounters in any sporting galaxy. Australias colonial upstarts were given little chance of success when they arrived at The Oval, in the heart of imperial London, to play a one-off Test match against a full-strength England line-up. But with Fred The Demon Spofforth leading the line with 14 wickets in the match, they out-fought their supposed superiors in a classic finale that caused one spectator to chew through his umbrella handle and another to drop dead with heart failure. Chasing 85 to win, the match arguably turned on a moment of English skulduggery - when WG Grace ran out Sammy Jones as he left his crease to repair a divot. Australia refused to be beaten after that affront. Sure enough, the Sporting Times responded to their seven-wicket win by publishing mock obituary of English cricket, adding that the body will be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia. ' ' '