KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alex Gordon knew that the Atlanta Braves were going to be careful with him with first base open and the go-ahead run standing on second in the 10th inning Wednesday night. He didnt waste the first good pitch he saw. Gordon lofted it into shallow left field, just deep enough to allow David Lough to score, and gave the Royals a 4-3 victory and a split of the first two games the Braves have played in Kansas City. "I just go out there and try to play hard and let my game speak for itself," said Gordon, who hit a leadoff homer in the first inning and made several stellar players in left field throughout the night. "I dont think about it individually," he added. "I think of it as a W." It was a much-needed W, too, after the Royals dropped five of their previous six games. "Thats a great team over there thats leading its division," manager Ned Yost said. "Theyve got 45 wins and we matched them pitch for pitch. Every game we played them we competed. These kids are getting better. I think throughout the second half they will continue to that." Lough had entered the game the previous inning as a pinch hitter, but was still at-bat because Elliot Johnson was picked off first base to end the ninth. Lough singled off Braves reliever Alex Wood (0-2) to start the 10th and then reached second when Miguel Tejada laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt. That set the stage for Gordon, who came through with his third game-winning hit of the season. "He started the game with a homer and ended it with a base hit," Yost said. "Hes come up clutch for us in those situations. He did it again tonight." Aaron Crow (4-3) worked the 10th inning for the Royals, who had lost five of their last six. It was the sixth time in the last eight games that Kansas City played a one-run contest. "Its huge," Lough said. "I mean, we know what the braves are capable of doing, theyre in first place in their division, theyre a great team and we stuck with them." The Royals were actually in control through six innings. Gordon ended a 159 at-bat homerless drought with his first-inning shot, the first leadoff homer of the season for the Royals. It was Gordons first home run since May 9 at Baltimore. Billy Butler added a two-out double to right, and then the big DH chugged home when Salvador Perez got just enough of the bat on a pitch from Mike Minor to hit a single to left field. The Royals tacked on another run in the third when Gordon singled to lead off the inning. Alcides Escobar put runners on the corners with nobody out before Eric Hosmer lined into a double play, but Butler managed to bring Gordon home with a timely single to make it 3-0. That was all the offence until Luis Mendoza started to unravel in the seventh inning. The Royals starter kept the Braves off balance with a mixture of fastballs and sliders, and had given up just three hits to that point. But hed put runners on the corners with two outs when he was lifted for left-hander Bruce Chen, who promptly served up an RBI single to pinch-hitter Reed Johnson. Chen walked Jason Heyward to load the bases and was replaced by right-hander Luke Hochevar, who gave up a tying two-run single to Justin Upton. Heyward was thrown out at third on the play to end the inning. Minor allowed three runs on nine hits over six innings, while Mendoza gave up two runs on five hits over 6 2-3 innings. Neither of them factored into the decision. "Mike did a nice job," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "The solo home run by Gordon and he had a couple of innings that were stressful innings, but he did a nice job." Just not good enough to keep the outcome out of the hands of the bullpens. Alex Avilan and Jordan Walden breezed through the Royals lineup, the only blip coming when Mike Moustakas singled off Walden with two outs in the ninth inning. Johnson came in to pinch run and strayed too far from first base, allowing Walden to pick him off and end the inning. Hochevar wound up going 1 1-3 innings for the Royals, who brought in star closer Greg Holland to pitch the ninth inning. He struck out the side on just 11 pitches. "They have a very strong bullpen," Lough said, "but we were able to get to them in that last inning." NOTES: Royals RHP Yordano Ventura (Double-A Northwest Arkansas) and RHP Miguel Almonte (Class A Lexington) will pitch for the world team in the Futures Game. Braves INF Joey Terdoslavich (Triple-A Gwinnett) will play for the U.S. and C Christian Bethancourt (Double-A Mississippi) for the world. ... The Royals begin a four-game series Thursday at Minnesota. The Braves have a day off before starting a three-game set against Arizona on Friday night. Buy Puma Shoes Online . Nat Borchers headed in the sole goal in the 54th minute, getting on the end of a Kyle Beckerman free kick. The defeat cost Sporting top spot in the Eastern Conference. Even a draw would have moved the Kansas City club above Columbus. Cheap Puma Shoes Sale . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.cheappuma.us/ . Basketball fans around the globe will be watching as Kobe Bryant makes his season debut - 240 days after tearing his left Achilles - against Toronto, a team he has used as his own personal punching bag. Cheap Puma Shoes From China . Bostons bats exploded in Mondays opener, as David Ortiz belted a pair of two-run homers, Stephen Drew homered and drove in four runs and the Red Sox pummeled the Blue Jays, 14-1. Clearance Puma Shoes . Nine-year veteran Danny Granger did not make his debut with the Clippers because of a technicality on the teams active list, which is signed by coach Doc Rivers before every game and relayed to the officials. Grangers name was printed by hand by a member of the public relations staff under the heading: "Updated Roster Additions," but the number on the sheet was not circled along with the other active players by the required deadline of 6:30 p. SALVADOR, Brazil -- France is striking at the World Cup again, this time in a way the fans back home will approve of. Four years ago to the day, Frances players shamed the nation by going on strike at the last World Cup. On Friday, the team put on a striking attacking display, blowing Switzerland away with a 5-2 win on Friday to take total control of Group E and put themselves in position to avoid a showdown with Lionel Messis Argentina in the next round. "We were all magnificent tonight," said goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, one of only four holdovers from the shambles of Frances last World Cup. "We cant let ourselves get flooded by emotion and must stay calm. But were going to savour this." Karim Benzema, Olivier Giroud and winger Mathieu Valbuena alls scored one goal and created another to underline both the newfound team spirit in this team and the lethal versatility in attack. "When you score five goals, its ecstasy," Valbuena said. "It was a great night for us. We hurt them with our quick attacks and with the variety of our play," France coach Didier Deschamps said. Giroud and Blasie Matuidi scored a minute apart and Valbuena added another before halftime. Benzema made up for a first-half penalty miss with a poachers finish in the 67th, and then turned provider for Moussa Sissoko, who made it 5-0 in the 73rd. "Karim is confirming that hes in very, very good form," Deschamps said." Hes in great shape athletically." Switzerland pulled two consolation goals back as Blerim Dzemaili scored with a free kick in the 81st and Granit Xhaka slotted in the second in the 87th. Benzema thought he had scored his second -- and the goal of the night -- but his curling, first-time strike was ruled out because Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers blew his whistle for full time just seconds before the shot. "I didnt hear the whistle," he said. Friday marked the fourth anniversary of Frances infamous World Cup training ground strike four years ago in South Africa, when the players shamed a nation back home. How different things look from 2010. "We have to carry on this way and to keep this strength, this irreproachable team spirit we have," Valbuena said. France has scorred eight goals in two games in the tournament and Benzema could even afford to miss a penalty.dddddddddddd "Its a huge satisfaction within the team but were not going to get carried away," Deschamps said. "We shouldnt think were prettier than we are." Switzerlands demise came rapidly, after centre half Steve Von Bergen came off with blood pouring down from under his left eye after Giroud kicked him in the face in the sixth minute. He was replaced by Philippe Senderos and things went from bad to awful from then on for a makeshift defence against the ferocious pace of Frances breaks from midfield and the slick movement of its interchanging forwards. "They can go very far in this tournament," Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said through a translator. "We have seen Frances potential. They had an explosion of power." Deschamps had dropped midfielder Paul Pogba, who was lucky not to be sent off against Honduras for aiming a wild kick at Wilson Palacios, warning him that he needs to control his temper better. After coming on as a substitute, Pogba sent an exquisite pass with the outside of his right boot that had Senderos kicking at air, and Benzema finished confidently for his third goal of the tournament. The Real Madrid forward then instigated a move and waited for Sissoko to break down the right, serving him with an inch-perfect pass. The Swiss conceded far too easily. Giroud jumped above Behrami from near the back of the penalty area to head powerfully under the crossbar in the 17th minute. Then, Valon Behrami gave the ball away to Benzema, who fed Matuidi sprinting down the left, and the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder slotted neatly inside the near post. The Swiss had only one shot on target in the first half, with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris diving low to keep out Mehmedis drive. Shaqiri picked up the rebound and scuffed a low shot that rolled just wide. That close miss went unpunished by Benzema, who missed from the spot after being tripped by Johan Djourou in the 32nd. Yohan Cabaye hit the crossbar from the rebound. It mattered little as Giroud galloped into space down the left and picked out Valbuena at the back post in the 40th with a classic counterattacking goal. China NFL JerseysCheap Nike NFL JerseysNFL Jerseys CheapWholesale NFL JerseysCheap Basketball Jerseys OnlineStitched Hockey JerseysWholesale Baseball JerseysFootball Jerseys OutletCollege Jerseys For SaleCheap MLB JerseysWholesale Soccer JerseysWholesale Jerseys For SaleWholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '