(6-9) has gone winless in his last eight starts

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. Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Cheap Jerseys China . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. http://www.chinajerseyscheap.com/ .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . On Mar. 16, coming off a "fight of the year" performance at UFC 154 the previous November, St-Pierre faced Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in what would be his eighth defence of the welterweight title. Using his superior athleticism, St-Pierre cruised to a five round, unanimous decision victory setting up a much-anticipated title defence against number one contender Johny Hendricks. Stitched Jerseys . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. BATON ROUGE, La. - Behind a season-high hitting percentage, the Razorback volleyball team opened conference play Sunday afternoon with a sweep at LSU. Seniors Danielle Harbin and Savannah Voelzke led the team with 14 kills each and freshman setter Rachel Rippee dished out 38 assists in directing Arkansas to a .374 attack efficiency. The Razorbacks have now won four-straight SEC openers.Arkansas next home match is Sept. 30 when it welcomes Missouri to Barnhill Arena for a conference matchup at 6 p.m. on the SEC Network. For more information about tickets, fans can call 800-982-HOGS (4647) or buy tickets online.FINAL Arkansas 3, LSU 0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-14) Attendance: 651 | Time: 1:27 Maravich Center (Baton Rouge, La.)#RazorStats ? Leaders vs. LSU o Kills: Danielle Harbin & Savannah Voelzke - 14 (ties career high for Voelzke) o Digs: Okiana Valle - 19 o Blocks: Ana Sofia Jusino - 4.0 (0-4)After back-to-back tandem blocks fromm Rippee and Ana Sofia Jusino to clinch the first set, Arkansas (3-10, 1-0 SEC) jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the second after a kill from Voelzke.dddddddddddd Later in the set, Rippee posted consecutive service aces for a 17-10 lead. The Razorbacks advantage reached as high as 10 points at 24-14 after a contact error on LSU (5-8, 0-2 SEC). An LSU service error secured a 2-0 match lead.With the score tied at 7-all in the third set, Arkansas won seven of the next nine points and led 14-9 after Harbin and Breana Jones teamed up for a block. Kills from Voelzke and Jusino pushed the lead to 19-12 which forced the home team to call its second timeout of the set. Voelzke brought the Razorbacks to match point with another kill, and two plays later, Jusino put down her sixth kill to secure the road sweep. ' ' '