DETROIT -- Michael Fulmer is one of the biggest reasons the Detroit Tigers are still in the mix for a postseason spot.At the start of the teams final homestand, the rookie right-hander came through with his sharpest performance in weeks.Fulmer pitched seven strong innings for his first win in over a month and the Detroit Tigers homered three times in an 8-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night. Justin Upton, Victor Martinez and Cameron Maybin went deep for the Tigers, who won their fifth game in a row to remain in the lead in the race for the ALs second wild card.Detroit remained a half-game ahead of Baltimore, which beat Arizona in 12 innings.I think theres a little bit of a sense of urgency now, Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. This is our last homestand. This is the last chance at home to try and do something in the standings, and were playing against two teams ... in Kansas City and Cleveland, we know very well. Maybe I was the only one that felt it, but I felt there was more energy.Fulmer (11-7) allowed a run and eight hits, striking out nine with no walks. It was the first victory since Aug. 14 for Fulmer, who emerged around midseason as a Rookie of the Year candidate but is now having to fight off a torrid challenge from Gary Sanchez of the New York Yankees.Danny Duffy (12-3) allowed six runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He walked four and struck out four.The Tigers jumped ahead right away against Duffy. The Royals made two errors in the first inning, and Uptons RBI double made it 2-0.Martinez and Upton each hit solo shots in the third, and Maybins two-run homer in the fourth made it 6-0.Upton has 27 homers on the season, including 14 in his last 29 games.Kansas City has lost nine of its last 12.DISPUTED CHALLENGEKansas Citys only run off Fulmer came after replay overturned the second out of an apparent double play, which would have ended the top of the sixth. Ausmus complained to the umpires, saying the Royals had waited too long before challenging.I said I wanted to protest, which, even going into it, when I said it, I knew instant replay wasnt protestable, Ausmus said.After the review revived the rally, Paulo Orlando hit an RBI single.ON THE BORDERLINEFulmer is the ALs ERA leader at 2.95 -- his 155 2/3 innings are enough to qualify at this point. Hell need to throw 6 1/3 more to qualify for the title at the end of the season.The Tigers have taken steps to limit his workload, and this latest start was a positive sign.I still feel good, so I guess its working, Fulmer said. Hopefully Im able to still pitch beyond the regular season. Thats our goal as a team.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals: Kansas City C Salvador Perez sat out with what manager Ned Yost described as a very minor knee issue.Tigers: 2B Ian Kinsler returned to the lineup from a concussion after missing three games. He had a single, a double, two walks and three runs. ... SS Jose Iglesias left in the top of the seventh with a bruised right hand. X-rays were negative.UP NEXTRoyals: Kansas City sends RHP Yordano Ventura (11-11) to the mound for Saturdays game at Detroit. Ventura is coming off a complete game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday.Tigers: Detroit starts LHP Daniel Norris (3-2) in the middle game of this series.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister Comprar Adidas NMD Baratas . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. Zapatillas NMD Baratas . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. http://www.adidasnmdbaratas.es/ . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. From Pierre LeBrun While Anaheim GM Bob Murray said earlier this season he was not going to trade Jonas Hiller despite the fact hes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, some sources have told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun that Murray might be willing to move another goalie. Adidas NMD Rebajas . On June 12, just as the sun sets on the magnificent historical city of Sao Paulo the inventors, innovators and purveyors of “joga bonitowill” open their campaign. The opponent, Croatia and all its football might and will. As opposites do attract we are set for a corker of an opener. Adidas NMD Originales Baratas . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. DENVER -- Colorado Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu gets little national recognition, despite having won a Gold Glove in 2014 and starting for the National League All-Star team the following year.LeMahieu had his third four-hit game of the season and the fourth of his career Monday night in a 5-4 loss to the Washington Nationals. Hes hitting .337 with a .410 on-base percentage and moved into second place in the race for the NL batting title.When the series continues Tuesday, LeMahieu will try to make up ground on Nationals infielder Daniel Murphy, who went 1-for-4 on Monday and leads the league with a .347 average. He lost one point on his average Monday, while LeMahieu added six points to his.Hes a really good player, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. He gets on base. He has one of the highest averages in the league. Hes had a great year, and hes worked real hard to turn himself into this kind of player.LeMahieu has a career-high eight homers among his career-high 38 extra-base hits and has scored 76 runs and driven in 43. He has nearly as many walks (52) as strikeouts (62) and is hitting .288 (62-for-215) on the road and .390 (78-for-200) at Coors Field.He uses the whole field, Weiss said. Those are the guys that typically you think of as a guy who can win a batting title.The Rockies have lost four straight games and 10 of their past 12 and at 56-63 have slipped seven games below .500 for the first time since July 21. Chad Bettis will start Tuesday for the Colorado Rockies, which might be a good omen. The Rockies have lost just one of the past six games he has started and are 15-9 when he takes the mound.dddddddddddd The Rockies are 10-2 in his past 12 starts with Bettis going 6-1 with a 4.96 ERA in those games.This will be Bettis first start and second career appearance against Washington.Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez, who will oppose Bettis, is 8-9 with a 4.24 ERA. In his last start Wednesday against Cleveland, Gonzalez allowed four runs in five innings but earned the victory in Washingtons 7-4 win. Gonzalez is 4-2 with a 3.00 ERA in his past seven starts, limiting opposing hitters to a .221 batting average and a .684 OPS in that span.Gonzalez is 2-0 with a 3.75 ERA in two career starts against the Rockies and 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA in one career start at Coors Field.Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth, who had a day off Sunday, went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and a walk in Mondays win. He has reached base in 43 consecutive games, tying Ryan Zimmerman for the Nationals longest on-base streak. Zimmerman reached base safely in 43 straight games from April 8-May 25, 2009.During his current streak, Werth is batting .263 (40-for-152) with 31 walks and a .384 on-base percentage.Its a product of my approach, Werth said of his on-base streak. And my approach has been pretty solid now since the early part of June or late May, somewhere in there. I got away from it at the beginning of the season. My focus has always been to get on base. If you get on base, good things can happen to you. ' ' '