NEW YORK -- Kansas City players tipped their caps to Derek Jeter when the retiring New York Yankees captain walked up to the plate in the first inning. Then the Royals went back to work trying to make some history of their own. Yordano Ventura pitched three-hit ball into the seventh inning, and the AL Central leaders beat the Yankees 2-0 Sunday on a pair of unearned runs for their second shutout in the three-game series. Trying for its first playoff berth since winning the 1985 World Series, Kansas City maintained a two-game lead in the AL Central over the second-place Tigers, who defeated San Francisco 6-1 on Sunday night. The Royals headed to Detroit for a three-game series that starts Monday. "Were playing great baseball," manager Ned Yost said. "Were pitching, and were playing defence and scoring runs and winning ballgames, and thats all I can ask." Kansas City scored due to errors by pitcher Shane Greene in the second inning and right fielder Carlos Beltran in the third. The Royals won 1-0 Friday night on an unearned run following third baseman Chase Headleys error and went 4-3 against the Yankees this year to take the season series for the first time since 1999. And they won on Derek Jeter Day, when many Yankees stars of the past returned for a 45-minute ceremony that also included NBA great Michael Jordan and baseball ironman Cal Ripken Jr. Video messages from athletes, celebrities and even astronauts in space were shown throughout the day. "Oh, man! That was, honestly, one of the coolest things Ive ever seen," Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas said. "Any time anyone came on that board or anyone they announced, I got chills." Royals pitcher Jeremy Guthrie suggested to his teammates that they tip their caps. "He was my favourite player growing up," Guthrie said. "I was there for the final game at (the original) Yankee Stadium. I was there when he recorded his 2,723rd hit that broke the hits record for the Yankees. ... And now to be here for this -- Ive seen quite a few really cool moments." Kansas City, which hasnt been in first place this late in a season since 1989, hopes to give its fans a reason to celebrate this fall. Ventura (12-9) won his third straight start, leaving after a leadoff walk in the seventh -- his fourth of the game. "When I was able to throw the curve for a strike, it really helped all of the other pitches and made for quick innings," he said through a translator. "When the curveball wasnt getting over for a strike, that could have been the difference in the walks." With closer Greg Holland sidelined by a strained right triceps, Aaron Crow, Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis combined for one-hit relief. Kansas City went ahead in the second when Josh Willingham reached on an infield single near the mound, advanced on Moustakas single and scored with two outs when Nori Aoki hit a slow roller that Greene (4-3) threw wildly past first base. Beltran dropped Alex Gordons easy fly leading off the third, and Gordon stole second before scoring on a single by Eric Hosmer, his first RBI since July 29. "Any way you can score runs is a good way," Moustakas said. "It doesnt matter how they get across as long as youre scoring." TRAINERS ROOM Royals: LHP Danny Duffy headed back to Kansas City for an MRI of his sore left shoulder. Yost said Holland played catch, "felt much, much better today" and will have his status re-examined Monday. Yankees: OF Brett Gardner missed his second straight game because of a lower abdominal strain. UP NEXT Royals: RHP Jeremy Guthrie (10-10) is slated to pitch Monday, with Justin Verlander (12-12) on the mound for the Tigers. Yankees: RHP Hiroki Kuroda (10-8) starts Tuesdays series opener against Tampa Bay RHP Chris Archer (8-8). BIRTHDAY BOY Pitching on his 29th birthday, Davis got his second save of the series -- and his big league career. After Beltran singled over first leading off the ninth, Davis struck out Brian McCann on a 3-2 pitch, retired Mark Teixeira on a soft grounder to third and fanned Stephen Drew on another full-count pitch. Davis has 94 strikeouts in 63 1-3 innings this season and has allowed one run in 53 innings dating to late April. That run scored when he hit the Los Angeles Dodgers A.J. Ellis with a bases-loaded pitch on June 25. ROAD WARRIORS Kansas City is 6-0-1 in its last seven road series. Fake Diamondbacks Jerseys . - After sewage backups, toilet overflows and foul smells surfaced the past two years, nothing at the Oakland Coliseum surprises the home team anymore. Arizona Diamondbacks Pro Shop .K. Subban and Matt Duchene will be the two skaters sitting out the teams opening game. https://www.cheapdiamondbacksjerseys.us/ . His team rose to the occasion Sunday with a 3-1 victory over Sweden in the bronze-medal game. "The sting from yesterday is not something we hid from or pretend didnt happen," Dineen said. Custom Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys . “Im not sure well get Melky Cabrera at all,” said Gibbons. The 29-year-old left fielder struggled all season with knee and hamstring problems. Cabrera was first on the disabled list from June 27-July 20 with tendinitis in his left knee. Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys . Once again, the third baseman delivered in a big spot. Ramirez kept up his torrid hitting with a two-run homer to help back Wily Peraltas solid start, and the Brewers extended their winning streak to seven with a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- The Texas Stars snapped a three-game winless streak the best way they know how -- by scoring a bushel of goals in quick succession. The Stars are the highest scoring team in the American Hockey League and showed it by thumping the Abbotsford Heat 7-2 on Sunday. Colton Sceviour scored his first of the night just 53 seconds into the game, but it was his second that capped a six-goal second period for the Stars. "We were able to get a goal early and we buried our chances," said Sceviour. "In yesterdays game (a 3-2 Abbotsford shootout victory), (Heat goalie Olivier) Roy made some big saves and we werent able to capitalize. Today we were able to capitalize and that was the big difference." Lopsided victories are nothing new between these two clubs. Abbotsfords largest margin of defeat this season was a 9-3 loss in Texas Oct. 20, which it followed with a 7-3 win. The Stars also toppled the Heat 5-0 in January. "Its kind of strange," said Sceviour. "The second game they played us in Texas they beat us pretty handily. Its weird how teams that are so tight in the standings that when they play one team seems to control the other a little bit. But fortunately its been us more times than not." Scott Glennie had a pair of goals, while Brett Ritchie, Jyrki Jokipakka, and Mike Hedden also scored for Texas (29-15-6), which moves the club to within two points of the Heat for first in the Western Conference. "Its good for us, but we know theyre a good team," said Glennie. "The games, it seems, have been one-sided this year, one way or another. Its been fun playing them and well have a tough matchup in the future." The Stars boast the top-two goal scorers in the AHL in Sceviour and points leader Travis Morin. "(Sceviour) is such a big part of the team," said Glennie. "We need those guys to be scoring for us to be successful, and they bring it every single night. But obviously when we get the secondary scoring, like tonight, its huge for us as well. When youre playing a team like Abbotsford you need that." Cristopher Nilstorp made 33 saves for the win. "(Nilstorp) was fantastic," added Glennie. &quoot;They had a lot of good opportunities to get back in the game and he was there to stop them every single time and that was great.dddddddddddd" Max Reinhart and Shane OBrien replied for Abbotsford (31-15-4), which had a five-game winning streak snapped. Olivier Roy allowed four goals on 24 shots before being replaced by Joni Ortio, who was reassigned to the Heat by the Calgary Flames for the Olympic break. Ortio let in the first shot he faced and three of the first six shots that went his way. "The second period was a big outburst and that was kind of a shock for both teams," said Glennie. The Stars opened the scoring when Dustin Jeffreys pass deflected in off Sceviours skate, and after review the goal stood. The Heat tied the game at 11:19. Corban Knight jammed at the puck down low, and with the puck sitting on the goal line Reinhart swooped around the net to tuck it in for his 12th of the season. OBrien gave the Heat their only lead of the game at 2:14 of the second. After leading a shorthanded rush he dropped the puck to Markus Granlund and went to the net. Granlund had two assists on the night. Ritchie tied the game a little more than a minute later on a power play. His wrist shot from the left face-off dot found its way through a pair of bodies into the top right corner for his 11th of the season, beginning the offensive onslaught. "We knew we let it snowball on us, and give them credit - they smelled some blood and they took advantage," said OBrien. Glennie then scored two goals in a three-minute span. First he one-timed a feed from Chris Mueller while shorthanded. Then he was the beneficiary of a lucky bounce, with the puck going off a defencemans backside and in. Ortio came in to play goal, but allowed Jokipakka to score on the first shot he faced. "Goals four and five were the absolute backbreakers for me and our team," said Heat head coach Troy Ward. "The ones that were on the power play after, thats a frenzy of wolves feeding. They just smelled blood, and they went for it and they got it." Hedden and Sceviour then scored on successive power plays for their 18th and 29th goals respectively to round out the scoring. ' ' '