to take a clear head into the clash with the CowboyS

DETROIT -- Jarrod Saltalamacchias drive to right field sailed toward the wall, and the Detroit catcher immediately raised his right arm in celebration.Saltalamacchia hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Tigers a 4-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. Those were the only two RBI of the day for Detroit, which scored its first two runs of the game on a balk and a wild pitch.It felt really good, because I was starting to get a little gassed, Saltalamacchia said. Its been seven or eight days since Ive played, so I was ready to get out of there.After Tyler Collins hit a leadoff single, Saltalamacchia won it with a homer off Joakim Soria (3-4) that easily cleared the wall in right. Francisco Rodriguez (1-0) pitched a perfect top of the ninth for the win.Detroit hasnt gotten much offense from its catchers lately. Saltalamacchia is batting .206 even after his big hit Sunday, and James McCann is even lower at .199. Saltalamacchia does have nine homers, though, and his power handed the Royals a tough loss the day before the start of their big series with AL Central-leading Cleveland.That was an inside fastball, right where I wanted it, but hes a professional baseball player, too, and he hit it hard, Soria said. You dont want to lose, but I made the pitch I wanted and he hit it. Nothing you can do about that.Detroit rookie Michael Fulmer allowed two runs and six hits in eight innings. Kansas City starter Yordano Ventura allowed two runs and eight hits in seven innings.The Royals led 2-0 when Detroit began chipping away in the third. With the bases loaded and one out, Ventura struck out Miguel Cabrera, but with Victor Martinez up, the Kansas City right-hander was called for a balk, allowing a run to score.Ventura struck out Martinez to end the inning, but with two outs in the sixth, he gave up a drive to the gap in right-center by Nick Castellanos that became a triple when the Royals had issues getting the ball back in. Castellanos came home on a wild pitch.Kansas City opened the scoring in the second on an RBI double by Cheslor Cuthbert, and Eric Hosmer added a run-scoring single in the third.STREAK SNAPPEDFulmer allowed more than one earned run for the first time in 10 starts, but he was able to pitch deep into the game after the Tigers used several relievers the previous night. Mike Pelfrey, their starter Saturday, didnt make it out of the second inning.The bullpen was taxed yesterday, Fulmer said. My goal was seven innings, and to run back out for the eighth was pretty cool.SHAKEN UPPlate umpire D.J. Reyburn was hit around the neck when a third strike eluded Saltalamacchia in the eighth. The Tigers caught a break when the ball didnt go to the backstop -- after it hit Reyburn, Saltalamacchia was able to pick it up and throw to first to retire Hosmer.Reyburn stayed in the game after a brief delay.I feel terrible. His kids were in the stands watching, Saltalamacchia said. Yanked changeup. I probably should have done a better job getting to it, but thankfully hes OK.TRAINERS ROOMTigers: RHP Warwick Saupold (right groin strain) made a rehab start Saturday night for Class A Lakeland. He allowed four unearned runs and three hits with three walks in 2 2/3 innings.UP NEXTRoyals: RHP Edinson Volquez (8-8) starts against Clevelands Corey Kluber (9-8) on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series against the Indians.Tigers: Detroit starts a three-game set against Minnesota with LHP Matt Boyd (0-2) on the mound against Ricky Nolasco (4-7).---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister Cheap Authentic Vans Shoes . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Vans Shoes Cheap Online . Thats about all he can do right now, so hes trying not to think about when he might be able to play again for the Los Angeles Lakers. http://www.cheapvanssale.com/ . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Wholesale Vans Shoes From China . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. Cheap Vans Shoes Wholesale . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. Chad Townsend shunned the outside world as he bounced back from his playoffs benching to play a lead role in Cronullas preliminary final win.And the Sharks halfback will do the same in the lead up to Sundays NRL grand final against Melbourne.Townsend was dragged by Sharks coach Shane Flanagan in the qualifying win over Canberra.For the two weeks in the lead-up to the preliminary final clash with North Queensland the Sharks junior tuned out of social media, turned off the TV, shunned the internet and ignored the newspapers.It enabled Townsend to take a clear head into the clash with the Cowboys and he will take the same approach to avoid the hype of grand final week.Ive cut out the social media, Ive cut out the news and everything like that for a couple of weeks now. Its cleared my head. Mentally and physically, Ive felt pretty good ever since, Townseend said.dddddddddddd.Ill continue to do that until the end of the season. Its an exciting time of the year but its also very easy to be distracted by the hype I guess.I can change that by focusing on what I do with the training and the time I put in.Townsend paid credit to halves partner James Maloney, who will play in his third decider in six years on Sunday, for helping him regain his confidence.Jimmy has a lot of big game experience and thats something Ive drawn off him, Townsend said.Hes played Origin and grand finals and to me - at the clutch moments - hes really been there for me.Im really trying to learn off him in those moments. 100 per cent he helps ease the pressure on me - thats been a key factor in my season. ' ' '