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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Detroit Tigers insisted that they werent trying to make a statement. They accomplished it anyway. Ian Kinsler hit a two-run homer, everyone in the Detroit starting lineup had a hit by the fourth inning and the Tigers pounded Jason Vargas and the second-place Kansas City Royals 10-1 on Friday night to add another game to their AL Central lead. The Tigers (85-68), who now lead the division by 1 1/2 games, have forged their advantage by dominating head-to-head matchups. They are 12-5 against the Royals his season. "We just went out there and did what were capable of doing," Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter said. "But there are no statements. Our intent is just to play the game." Justin Verlander (14-12) had all the support he needed by the end of the first inning, when the Tigers had shelled Vargas (11-10) for three runs on five hits. Detroit tacked on a run in the second, another in the fourth and then broke things open with a five-run fifth. Lost amid the offensive onslaught was a fine performance by Verlander, who had struggled his last three times out. The 2011 Cy Young winner allowed one run on seven hits in 7 1-3 innings. "He certainly seemed like he was up for this game," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "It was there up there with one of the best games hes had all season." Vargas allowed five runs on nine hits in 3 1-3, his shortest outing since April 16, 2013. "Its my responsibility to set the tone," he said. "They were hitting good pitches and I was leaving pitches up in the zone. I just wasnt able to put us in the right direction." Now, its up to the Royals to change course in a hurry. "Theres no carry-over," manager Ned Yost said. "They whipped us, they beat us, they spanked us, whatever you want to say. Well show up again tomorrow and be ready to play." Kansas City came into the weekend off a momentum-building win over the White Sox, and a day off Thursday allowed anticipation of the series to swell. Fans snatched up every last ticket, pounding the plastic "thundersticks" given away at the turnstiles as the Royals opened arguably their most important set of games since the 1985 World Series. It took about 15 minutes for silence to grip the ballpark. Kinsler led off the game with a single, and after Hunter flied out, the Tigers rapped out three straight hits to take the lead. Hunter got his hit the next inning, an RBI double, and James McCann became the last Detroit player in the starting lineup with a hit in the fourth. His single and ensuing stolen base were the first of McCanns career. Royals relievers Casey Coleman and Louis Coleman could do little to stop the bleeding as the Tigers pounded out 15 hits by the fifth inning. And those fans that had packed "the K" to see the first act of a pennant-chase drama? Many were already streaming for the exits. Kinsler paced the Tigers offence with three RBIs, and Eugenio Suarez added a pair. Everyone in the starting lineup but McCann, J.D. Martinez and Rajai Davis drove in a run. That included 35-year-old Victor Martinez, whose run-scoring single in the first inning gave him 100 RBIs to go with 31 home runs. The only players older than him to become first-time members of the 30-100 club have been Carlton Fisk (1985) and Edgar Martinez (2000). "Its nice," Martinez said, "but at the same time, I dont look at those numbers. Were in the middle of a race. Thats all that matters." BLOWOUTS AT THE K Detroit has outscored Kansas City 60-21 in eight games at Kauffman Stadium this season. "We love the backdrop," Hunter said. "We love the stadium." CHECK THE BOX SCORE With the game out of reach early, both managers substituted liberally, giving their stars a chance to rest with a noon first pitch on Saturday. They combined to use 31 position players. TRAINERS ROOM Tigers: C Alex Avila remains sidelined with concussion-like symptoms. He tried working out Friday but again felt dizzy. ... RHP Anibal Sanchez (strained chest muscle) had no issues after a bullpen session Thursday. He plans to throw a simulated game Sunday. Royals: LHP Tim Collins was recalled from Triple-A Omaha. The Royals considered bringing him back a few weeks ago, but Royals manager Ned Yost said a back injury kept him in the minors. ON DECK Tigers: RHP Max Scherzer (16-5) tries to beat Kansas City for the second time in less than two weeks. He allowed one run over 6 1-3 innings in a 4-2 victory on Sept. 9. Royals: RHP James Shields (14-7) beat Detroit at Comerica Park the following day, tossing seven shutout innings. He only allowed two hits and a walk in that game. . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. Getting Creative The Pittsburgh Penguins will try their best to acquire Ryan Kesler from the Vancouver Canucks before the Trade Deadline. . Englands only win in the four most recent trips north had been tight, and Scotland was expected after losing 28-6 to Ireland six days ago to show some venom against its archrival. . - The situation looked bleak at best for the coach Doc Rivers Clippers — down by four points with 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter. . -- The top-seeded Alberta Pandas set up of an all-Canada West final against arch rival UBC at the CIS womens volleyball championship after a 3-0 win over the No. . The commissioners office said Friday that Sears tested positive for metabolites of Methandienone. Sears will be 23 in March. He signed with the Braves in June 2013 out of Arizona Christian, an NAIA school, and is on the roster of the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Braves.KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- At any age, Jeff Gordon sure knows how to win. Nearly two decades after he burst onto the scene with his first victory, Gordon keeps taking checkered flags, storming to the lead in the final laps at Kansas Speedway on Saturday night for his first victory of the season and 89th overall in NASCARs top series. The 42-year-old Gordon held off a hard-charging Kevin Harvick on the final lap to move into the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field. Gordon won for the first time since October at Martinsville and became the ninth driver to win in the first 11 races this season. He entered the race with the points lead, but exclaimed a weight was lifted off his shoulders as he crossed the finish line for his third Kansas victory. "Im just so proud of (the 24 team). They have been giving me the best race cars all year long," Gordon said. "I have been having so much fun. Im going to be 43 this year and I feel like Im 25 again. That is the way they make me feel." Kasey Kahne was third, followed by Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Danica Patrick was seventh for her best career Cup finish. Gordon built his points lead on the strength of four top-fives and seven top-10s in the first 10 races -- including second-place finishes at Texas and Richmond -- but he knew how much one win would ease pressure on his Hendrick Motorsports team. He got it under the lights at Kansas. "This is so sweet," he said. "What a huge weight lifted off this teams shoulders. We needed to get to Victory Lane." Gordon is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his first career Cup victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the prestigious Coca-Cola 600. He will go for his fourth Coca-Cola 600 victory May 25. At Daytona this year, Gordon insisted he was serious about considering retirement with a fifth championship. He looks every bit a title contender -- but said he feels like he could race until 50 if his cars are this stout. "The whole retirement thing I think is thrown out too much," he said. "I know Im somewhat to blame for that." After the start of the race was delayed 35 minutes by rain, the first Sprint Cup night race at Kansas soon left drivers in the dark after the lights went out on the backstretch. NASCAR polled drivers if they wanted to continue and they were good to go, with Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards among the many who said thhe track was bright enough to race.dddddddddddd Harvick led the final 36 laps in his October win and led the first 41 on Saturday before briefly falling into the middle of the pack. Harvick worked his way to the front in the No. 4 Chevrolet and opened a commanding lead over Gordon and Logano. He led a race-high 119 laps in the 400-mile race -- small consolation once Gordon grabbed the lead with eight to go. With two wins already, Harvick has been a force in his first season at Stewart-Haas Racing, but his dominant Chevrolet ran out of gas on his last pit stop and lost time that he couldnt recover. "I should have been paying attention to my pit road lights and should have got off pit road better," he said. "I made a mistake at the end and it cost us a chance to stay out in front of the 24." Patrick had her best run of the season, spending most of the race nestled inside the top 10, and brought a needed jolt of electricity when she passed teammate Tony Stewart and Earnhardt to move into third with 95 laps left. Patrick hadnt finished better this season than 14th at Fontana and her lone top-10 in the Cup series was an eighth-place finish in the 2013 Daytona 500. She was shuffled back on a restart, costing her a top five. Patrick beamed in the garage after the kind of finish shed been striving for since her dazzling performance at Daytona more than a year ago. Crew chief Tony Gibson told her, "Chicks rule, huh?" "I know that we havent had the best of times, but we work hard for it," Patrick said. "This is the kind of stuff that materializes in wins. Weve just got to keep hanging around and doing what were doing. Im just proud of everyone for working really hard and believing in me." Sara Christians fifth-place finish in a 1949 race remains the best for a female driver in NASCARs top series. Jamie McMurray and David Gilliland both had their cars erupt in flames in separate accidents. Gilliland was slow to exit his No. 38 Ford and gingerly walked away from the smouldering wreckage. He was checked out and released from the infield care centre. "It was the hardest hit Ive had in a long time," he said. McMurray had a solid run derailed when he smacked the wall and the back of his No. 1 Chevrolet caught fire. "I heard a small pop, and then just lost all the steering and got into the fence," he said. ' ' '
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