cats had 20 fast-break points to UCLAs none ... Kentuckys eight national titles are

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Oakland Athletics Pro Shop . -- Terry Francona likened the atmosphere at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday to a playoff game in October. The crowd was into it. Every pitch mattered. The Indians manager is hopeful the outcome will propel his team into the actual playoffs. Asdrubal Cabrera drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, and Cleveland rallied off the stingy Kansas City Royals bullpen for a 5-3 victory Tuesday night that evened their series. The win allowed the Indians to remain a half-game back of Texas and Tampa Bay in the AL wild-card race. The Royals are 3 1/2 games adrift after the Rangers beat the Rays earlier in the night. "That was a fun game to be part of, two teams that really want to win bad were competing a lot," Francona said. "We did enough to win." The Indians were shut out until the sixth by Yordano Ventura, who made an electric major league debut. They tied the game 3-all in the seventh off reliever Kelvin Herrera, and Cabreras double off Wade Davis (7-11) in the eighth scored Drew Stubbs and gave Cleveland the lead. Michael Bourn added a homer in the ninth to provide a cushion. "Its not always going to be pretty but we have to find a way to get it done," said Nick Swisher, whose sacrifice fly in the seventh tied it. "We have a scrappy group in here, and were not done. Were going to keep pushing because we want this. We want it bad." Cody Allen (6-1) was among six Indians relievers who kept Kansas City off the scoreboard the final 4 1-3 innings. Chris Perez handled a perfect ninth for his 25th save. "It happens sometimes," Royals catcher Salvador Perez said of the collapse. "We have to keep going, keep playing hard through the last day of the season." Ventura had already been saddled with the nickname "Ace" before Monday night, but in the first inning he looked more like a different film character: Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn. He erratically walked Bourn on four pitches to lead off the game, and earned a roar when he finally threw a strike to Nick Swisher. The roar grew when Ventura got him to ground into a double play, and reached a crescendo when he struck out Jason Kipnis to end the inning. The 22-year-old flame-thrower settled in after that, mixing his curveball and changeup with straight gas that touched 101 mph on the radar gun at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals gave him a lead on Hosmers double in the first inning. They added two more in the third, thanks in large part to Emilio Bonifacio getting into the head of starter Corey Kluber. After a single, Bonifacio swiped second even as Kluber tried to pick him off. Bonifacio kept dancing around second base, and the Indians right-hander proceeded to walk Hosmer and Billy Butler to load up the bases. Salvador Perezs sacrifice fly and Mike Moustakass double made it 3-0. The Indians finally started to rally in the sixth. Swishers single and a pair of two-out singles by Carlos Santana and Michael Brantley made it 3-1 and drove Ventura from the game -- he received a standing ovation. Cabrera walked to load the bases before Ryan Raburn struck out. It may have been a wasted opportunity, but Cleveland atoned for it the next inning. Yan Gomes was plunked in the back by Herrera, and then Bourn ripped an RBI triple into the gap. Swisher followed with a sacrifice fly to left field that knotted the game 3-all. "The hit batsman was crucial at that point with Bourn coming up and hitting a triple right behind it," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Those are things late in the season in games of this magnitude you really want to try to stay away from." Those are the things that set the stage for Cabrera to finish off the comeback. "Tonight was one of the more gratifying wins," Francona said. "We kept fighting, and thats a good feeling to be part of that, and watch those guys do that." Notes: The Royals made roster space for Ventura by placing 1B Carlos Pena (appendectomy) on the 60-day DL. ... Indians RHP Justin Masterson (left oblique) hopes to throw a bullpen session Friday. ... Royals affiliate Omaha beat Rays affiliate Durham 2-1 to win the Triple-A title. ... Royals LHP Bruce Chen and Indians RHP Danny Salazar meet in the series finale Wednesday. Athletics Jerseys 2019 . She was a pioneer. She did things on skis that made the birds take notice. Chris Bassitt Athletics Jersey . Ashton scored a hat trick -- giving him 13 goals in 16 AHL games this season -- to power the Toronto Marlies to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Lake Erie Monsters in AHL action on Sunday. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/ .Y. - Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs didnt flinch in the face of adversity.Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Devin Booker scored 19 points and top-ranked Kentucky put on a defensive clinic in an 83-42 obliteration of UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic. The Wildcats opened the game on a 24-0 run and allowed just three field goals on 37 shots from the Bruins in the first half en route to building a startling 41-7 lead at the break. The seven points were the lowest total in a half in UCLAs storied history and the fewest Kentucky has permitted in a period since 1943. UCLA finished a miserable 25.4 percent from the field and 1-of-4 from the foul line, committed 15 turnovers and had 13 shots rejected by the Wildcats suffocating defense. Aaron Harrison chipped in 15 points and Andrew Harrison dished out eight assists to help Kentucky (12-0) dominate from start-to-finish in its final test before next Saturdays showdown with No. 4 Louisville. Bryce Alford finished with 13 points and Isaac Hamilton had 12 for UCLA (8-4), though neither scored during the Bruins humiliating opening half. UCLAs dubious performance began with the Bruins misfiring on their first 17 attempts with three early turnovers mixed in, while Kentucky conversely started off red-hot to quickly turn this matchup between two of college basketballs all-time great programs into a laugher. The Wildcats went 6-of-9 from the floor to open the contest, including a pair of Aaron Harrison 3-pointers that had Kentucky up 16-0 just over 3 1/2 minutes in. AAfter a temporary cold spell from Kentucky, Booker knocked down a pair of treys in front of a transition dunk that extended the lead to 24-0 with still 12:40 left in the first half. Cheap Athletics Jerseys. Kevon Looneys layup 12:17 before intermission finally got the Bruins on the board, but UCLA didnt record its second basket for nearly five more minutes as the Wildcats stretched the margin to 28-2. Kentucky ended the half on a 7-0 run to account for the 41-7 spread, with the Wildcats getting 16 fast-break points and swatting eight shots over the initial 20 minutes. The Bruins were more competitive in the second half but continued to lose ground, with Kentuckys lead swelling to 46 points following a 12-2 spurt highlighted by two more Booker threes. The second preceded Dakari Johnsons dunk off an Aaron Harrison feed that had UCLA down by a whopping 66-20 score with 9:15 to play. Game Notes UCLAs previous record for fewest points in a period was 14 ... Kentucky also allowed seven first-half points in a 61-14 rout over Carnegie Tech on Dec. 28, 1943 ... UCLA guard Norman Powell, averaging 17.4 points per game coming in, was held to two on 1-of-13 shooting ... Kentucky has started a season with 12 consecutive double-digit wins for the first time in school history ... The Wildcats had 20 fast-break points to UCLAs none ... Kentuckys eight national titles are second only to the Bruins 11. ' ' '