on catchers interference for the 11th time this season, ex

MILAN -- It was meant to be the match where Mario Mandzukic showed he could be more than an understudy to Gonzalo Higuain this season.Instead, the Croatia forward again appeared off form and disinterested as Juventus labored past Palermo 1-0 in Serie A on Saturday.This was the first time the duo played together in a tactical experiment that appears to have failed. Juventus looked thoroughly unimpressive.Their job was to give options to the midfielders and I think they played well, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said. They didnt link up much between themselves, but thats normal given their attributes. They worked hard and sacrificed themselves at the end.Juventus found it hard to break down a resilient Palermo side, and the only goal came about thanks to a slice of fortune for Allegris side three minutes after the break. Dani Alves long-range effort took a massive deflection off Edoardo Goldanigas heel, sending the ball past Palermo goalkeeper Josip Posavec.Mandzukic netted 10 goals in his debut season at Juventus but has been overshadowed since Higuain arrived from rival Napoli for an Italian-record fee of 90 million euros ($99 million) in the offseason. He has yet to score in six matches, including four starts.In Sicily, Mandzukic again failed to impress, wasting a free header in the first half and seeing a tame effort saved in the 70th, when he should have done better from close range.The former Bayern Munich forward did have the ball in the back of the net moments later but he was offside when Dani Alves free kick was floated in. Video replays showed Mandzukic should have left it for Alex Sandro, who was in a similar position but onside.Mandzukic, who played only the final 10 minutes of the midweek 4-0 victory over Cagliari, started in last weekends 2-1 defeat at Inter Milan, but Juventus looked much more threatening when he was replaced by Higuain with a quarter of an hour remaining.Juventus remained a point clear of Napoli, which is the only unbeaten team in the league.Next up, Allegris side is at Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday, when it needs a win after drawing with Sevilla 0-0 in their opening Champions League match.---NAPOLI 2, CHIEVO VERONA 1Manolo Gabbiadini and Marek Hamsik proved Napolis attack is not all about Arkadiusz Milik and Jose Callejon as they fired the Partenopei to victory.Napoli is a team which has even more cards to play this season than last, Chievo coach Rolando Maran said.Milik and Callejon have scored nearly all of Napolis goals to grab the headlines and help ease the pain of Higuains departure.Milik, who also scored a double against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League, was rested ahead of Wednesdays match against Benfica, although the Poland forward was brought on in the second half.Callejon provided the assist for the 24th-minute opener, latching onto Hamsiks chipped pass and cutting the ball back to Gabbiadini, who curled into the bottom left corner.The second goal also came about from a delightful team move, with Lorenzo Insigne threading the ball through for Hamsik to finish off his 100th for Napoli.Its a great achievement, Hamsik said. Im very happy but results matter more than this. We are high in the table and thats whats important. Adnan Januzaj Belgium Jersey . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Dries Mertens Belgium Jersey .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. http://www.soccerbelgiumteamonline.com/Jan-Vertonghen-UEFA-European-Belgium-Jersey/ . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Koen Casteels Jersey . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. Romelu Lukaku Belgium Jersey . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- With two runners aboard in the sixth inning, the Royals Alcides Escobar was just trying to put the pitch from Yankees reliever Blake Parker in play Monday night.He wound up slapping it right over the wall.The three-run homer broke open a nip-and-tuck game, and backed by a strong pitching performance by Dillon Gee, Kansas City went on to beat New York 8-5 to open their three-game series.I knew I hit it good, Escobar said, but I wasnt 100 percent sure it was gone.Everybody else was sure, the way things have been going for Kansas City lately.The reigning World Series champions won for the 18th time in 22 games, closing within two games of the second AL wild card. The Royals (69-62) were seven games below .500 as recently as Aug. 6, nearly left for dead 11 games behind the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.Gee (6-7) allowed four hits and a run over six sharp innings.The results just werent coming but Ive been throwing the ball well, said the Royals fifth starter, but tonight I got an early lead and just tried to stick to it.Lorenzo Cain, Kendrys Morales and Alex Gordon drove in runs off Michael Pineda (6-11) during a five-hit salvo in the first inning. Pineda then retired 15 straight before getting into a two-on, no-outs jam in the seventh that led to Escobars homer.It really broke the game open for us, Royals manager Ned Yost said.Starlin Castro drove in two runs for the Yankees, the second in a four-run eighth inning that forced Yost to summon fill-in closer Kelvin Herrera to make a four-out save.He retired Mark Teixeira to get out of his initial jam, then put runners on the corners in the ninth. Herrera calmly struck out Castro for his 11th save.It was a frustrating night for the Yankees, who had elbowed their own way back in the playoff chase. They were a half-game behind Kansas City at the start of the night, but their second straight loss on the heels of a four-game winning streak was costly against a fellow contender.Yankees manager Joe Girardis frustration was evident when he was tossed by plate umpire Brian ONora for arguing balls and strikes with thee bases loaded and no outs in the eighth inning.ddddddddddddDidi Gregorius proceeded to deliver a two-run double, and the Yankees tacked on two more runs against the Kansas City bullpen before Herrera put a stop to their rally.Two different strike zones. Its unfortunate, Girardi said of his ejection. Even the broadcasters were talking about it in the eighth and ninth inning. I dont know why. Im frustrated by it. I dont know if you give the catchers credit. I know the last inning and the inning before that Im watching on TV and I see it. Oh-1 is a lot different than 1-and-oh a lot of times.STATS AND STREAKSThe Royals have cut 7 1/2 games from their wild-card deficit in 22 games. ... All nine players in the Royals starting lineup had a hit. ... Pineda lost for the first time since July 31 at Tampa Bay, snapping a four-start winning streak. ... Yankees CF Jacoby Ellsbury reached base on catchers interference for the 11th time this season, extending his major league record.AWARD WINNERSYankees C Gary Sanchez won his second straight AL player of the week award. He hit .522 with three doubles, five homers and nine RBI while walking five times in six games. ... Royals 1B Eric Hosmer and Yankees SS Gregorius were chosen from their teams for the Heart and Hustle Award from the Major League Baseball Players Association.ROYALS TRADEThe Royals acquired INF/OF Daniel Nava from the Angels for a player to be named or cash considerations. He is not on the Angels 40-man roster and will be assigned to Triple-A Omaha.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals RHP Luke Hochevar said he experienced instant relief after surgery for symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome. The reliever will begin rehab with hopes of being ready for spring. The swelling, the coldness is gone, he said. I havent had any of that happen since surgery.UP NEXTYankees RHP Masahiro Tanaka has tossed 14 2/3 scoreless innings over his last two starts. He takes on Royals RHP Edinson Volquez, who has won his last two decisions. ' ' '