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Kansas City Royals' Mike Moustakas follows through on a two-run double against the Boston Red Sox during the ninth inning in Boston on Sunday. Moustakas also had a solo homer and another RBI double in the game.
WINSLOW TOWNSON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Royals rally with Moustakas double in 9th; defeat Red Sox 8-6
KEN POWTAK Associated Press
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez after giving up a home run to the Royals" Mike Moustakas (8) during the sixth inning of a baseball game at fenway Park in Boston on Sunday WINLISW IUWNSUNS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
WINSLOW TOWNSON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON — Mike Moustakas' two-run double capped a four-run ninth inning that carried the AL Central-leading Kansas City Royals to an 8-6 comeback victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
Moustakas also had a solo homer and RBI double for Kansas City, which salvaged a split of the four-game series.
Boston led 6-4 going into the ninth. After left fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. threw out Omar Infante trying for an inside-the-park homer for the first out, Kansas City rallied with four hits against Junichi Tazawa (2-6), tying it on Eric Hosmer's two-run single. Moustakas hit a bases-dloaded right to right.
Chris Young (9-6) retired one batter and Wade Davis got the final three outs for his 11th save.
Bradley Jr. had two RBI doubles and a single for the Red Sox, who went 6-4 on a 10-game homestand — all under interim manager Torey Lovullo, who took over for John Farrell on Aug. 14. Farrell took a medical leave for the rest of the season to deal with Stage 1 Lymphoma.
Boston trailed 4-2, but scored twice in both the sixth and seventh.
Ryan Hanigan opened the seventh with a single against starter Edinson Volquez and Bradley Jr. hit a grounder inside the first-base bag. He
scored on Pablo Sandoval's infield hit off on a dribbler in front of the plate.
Boston had tied it at 4 when David Ortiz had a sacrifice fly and Rusney Castillo an RBI single.
Volquez gave up six runs in 6.2 innings.
Trailing 2-1 in the fourth, the Royals scored twice, taking advantage of two errors on one play. Second baseman Josh Rutledge booted a grounder and center fielder Mookie Betts' throw bounced into the Royals' 'dugout for the first run. Moustakas followed with his RBI double. He also
homered into the Green Monster seats in the sixth inning.
Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez allowed four runs — two earned — in six innings.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Royals: C Salvador Perez had the day off. He took a hard foul tip off the mask and one off the right leg Saturday night, but was feeling fine.
Red Sox: Utility infielder Brock Holt was out of the lineup again Sunday. He was set to play Saturday, but was taken out of lineup after batting practice with a strained left oblique. OF Hanley Ramirez
had the day off.
UP NEXT
Royals: RHP Kris Medlen (1-0) makes his first start since returning from Tommy John surgery Monday when the Royals host the Baltimore Orioles. RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (9-7) is set to start for the Orioles in the first meeting since the Royals swept the ALCS.
Red Sox: Joe Kelly (6-6) looks to win his fifth straight start as Boston faces RHP Jeff Samardzja (8-9) on Monday in the opener of a three-game series at the Chicago White Sox i.
WINSLOW TOWNSIDN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas City Royals' Mike Moustakas, center, is congratulated by Lorenzo Cain (6) after hitting a game winning two-run double during the ninth inning of their 8-6 win over the Boston Red Sox in a game on Sunday.
Ohio State ranked No.1 in AP preseason poll, edging out TCU and Baylor
RALPH D. RUSSO Associated Press
Ohio State is the first unanimous preseason No.1 in The Associated Press college football poll.
The defending national champion Buckeyes received all 61 first-place votes from the media panel in the rankings released Sunday.
TCU is No.2, followed by Alabama, Baylor and Michigan State.
The Buckeyes won the first College Football Playoff championship last season and are trying to become the 12th team to win consecutive AP titles since the poll began in 1936.
Preseason rankings date back
6 - Pac 12 has six teams ranked in the preseason poll for the second straight year.
8 - it is the eighth time Ohio State is ranked No. 1 in preseason. Only Oklahoma has been rated the top preseason team more times, with 10.
POLL POINTS
6 - Pac 12 has six teams ranked in the preseason poll for the second straight year
2 - The last two times the Buckeyes opened the season at No.1 [1998 and 2006], they finished No.2.
The rest of this year's preseason top 10 is Auburn, Oregon, Southern California, Georgia and Florida State.
8 - SEC has eight teams ranked for the third time, the most by any conference. SEC set the record in 2011 and had eight teams ranked last year.
10 — Ten times the preseason No. 1 has gone on to win the national title. Only twice, Florida State in 1999 and Southern California in 2004, has the top-ranked team in the preseason poll gone wire-to-wire as No. 1.
27 - Ohio State has appeared in the preseason poll for 27 consecutive years, the longest current streak and the fourth longest all-time. Oklahoma has the second longest current streak at 16 years.
had won two straight championships, received 58 of 60 first-place votes and defending champion Florida did the same in 2009. Neither finished
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the season No.1.
to 1950. Since then no team had received more than 97 percent of the first-place votes in a preseason poll.
In 2013, Alabama, which
You might have heard that TCU and Baylor shared the Big 12 championship last year. It was sort of a big deal. Well, the second-ranked Horned Frogs and No.4 Bears are close again and both have their best preseason rankings.
CLOSE AGAIN
- ICU's previous best preseason ranking was No. 6 in 2010.
- Baylor's previous best was No. 7 in 1957.
No. 3 Alabama is preseason top-five for the seventh consecutive season. It is the third longest streak of preseason top-five rankings in the history of the poll. Florida State did it 11 straight times from 1990-2000 and Oklahoma had eight straight preseason top-five rankings from 1974-81.
CONTINUING A STREAK
MOVING UP NORTH
RAISING ARIZONA
No. 5 Michigan State has its best preseason ranking since 1967 when it started No. 3
No. 22 Arizona is ranked in the preseason for the first time since 1999. The Wildcats and rival Arizona State, ranked 15th, are both preseason ranked for just the fifth time (1974,'89,'98 and '99).
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