Alcides Escobar and Rosell Herrera singled before Herrera stole second

CHICAGO (AP) — Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani says he plans to finish this season as the team’s designated hitter and hasn’t decided yet if he’ll have Tommy John surgery.The 24-year-old rookie maintains he’ll be able to return next season as a DH Carlos Zambrano Jersey , even though he might not be able to throw again until 2020. He homered in his first at-bat Friday night against the Chicago White Sox, giving him four homers over three games and 19 for the season.“Nothing’s set right now,” Ohtani said through a translator. “I have a few options out there. I’m still trying to look into every option. And I will end up making a decision hopefully sometime toward the end of the season.”The Angels announced Wednesday that an MRI showed Ohtani had new damage in his pitching elbow, and that Tommy John surgery was the recommended course of action. Ohtani, who throws right-handed and bats left-handed, later hit two home runs that night in Texas.“Swinging doesn’t affect my elbow in any way,” Ohtani said. “I feel like I’m progressing as a hitter right now. I’m getting as many experiences as I can while the games count.”Ohtani entered Friday hitting .287 with 47 RBIs. As a pitcher, he’s 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA in 10 starts.Ohtani was diagnosed with a sprained right ulnar collateral ligament after a start on June 6. After receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection and an injection of stem cells, he was hitting again in early July, and returned to the mound with a start last Sunday at Houston.Ohtani lasted only 2 1/3 innings against the Astros, and he had a drastic drop in velocity during the game. He had been scheduled to throw a light bullpen session Wednesday http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-mark-grace-jersey , but never did after reporting that his elbow was sore. The medical staff then decided that he should get the new MRI in Texas.Ohtani said he wasn’t surprised by the recommendation for reconstructive elbow surgery.“I also got hurt in the middle of the season and had the PRP stem-cell shot and I knew it wasn’t going to work 100 percent, so somewhere in the back of my mind, I was preparing for the Tommy John, having to get Tommy John,” Ohtani said. DETROIT (AP) — When the Kansas City Royals acquired Brad Keller during last winter’s Rule 5 draft, they committed themselves to keep him on the roster all season.As it turned out, that hasn’t been a problem.Keller pitched seven strong innings as the Royals held on to beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 on Sunday.Keller (9-6) allowed one run on three hits, walking three and striking out two. He improved to 5-1 with a 2.25 ERA in his last eight starts.“The first three or four innings, he was dead-on mechanically and just banging in strike after strike,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “After that, he was still fighting it a bit Javier Baez Jersey , but he hung in there and gave us seven more strong innings.”Keller has only allowed more than two earned runs once since August 7.“I was attacking them with my fastball, mostly,” he said. “They were sitting on my slider a little, so I went after them with the heater.”The teams split the four-game series that finished Detroit’s home season. The Royals won the season series 11-8.The Tigers finished 38-43 at home, four games better than 2017, but drew 1.86 million fans — the fewest since they had 1.37 million while losing 119 games in 2003.“We wanted to win this one for our fans,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We’ve got 90-some losses, but they were still standing and cheering until the last pitch.”The Royals led 3-1 in the ninth. Niko Goodrum led off the inning with a bunt single off Wily Peralta. Ronny Rodriguez added a one-out base hit, and Grayson Greiner walked to load the bases.Victor Reyes hit a sacrifice fly to pull the Tigers within 3-2 before Peralta struck out Jim Adduci to earn his 13th save.“Wily makes it a tightrope walk, but he’s 13-for-13,” Yost said. “They got a perfect bunt and a big walk Kyle Schwarber Jersey , but he didn’t panic. He just kept making pitches.”Daniel Norris needed 98 pitches to complete five innings, allowing one run on six hits and two walks. He struck out three.“I didn’t have any kind of command, so I was in three-ball counts on almost every hitter,” he said. “The only thing I could count on was my slider, so I just kept trying to spin that in there to get out of trouble.”The Royals took a 1-0 lead in the first on Adalberto Mondesi’s 12th home run and could have added to the margin in the third. Kansas City loaded the bases with one out, but Hunter Dozier grounded into an inning-ending double play.Kansas City stranded two more batters in the fourth but had pushed Norris’ pitch count to 84.“That’s the thing with Daniel — he might get into trouble, but he’s always going to give everything he’s got to get out of it,” Greiner said. “We were trying to find pitches that would work.”Jeimer Candelario led off the fourth with a single — Detroit’s first hit — and Christin Stewart moved him to third with a hit-and-run single before Nicholas Castellanos tied the game with a sacrifice fly.The Royals regained the lead with two runs in the sixth off Drew VerHagen (3-3). With two out, Alcides Escobar and Rosell Herrera singled before Herrera stole second. Cam Gallagher blooped a ball to shallow left, and Stewart couldn’t make a sliding catch.“When (Keller) is dominating like that, you just want to get him some runs http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-kerry-wood-jersey ,” Gallagher said. “I hit that ball pretty weakly, but it got down in front of the outfielders. That’s how this works.”GET IN THEREHarold Castro made his major league debut, entering as a pinch-runner for Greiner in the ninth.TRAINER’S ROOMTigers: CF JaCoby Jones missed the game after aggravating a shoulder injury while attempting a diving catch on Saturday.UP NEXTRoyals: Start a two-game series in Cincinnati on Tuesday. Eric Skoglund (1-5, 5.60 ERA) starts the opener against Matt Harvey (7-9, 4.92).Tigers: Begin a three-game series in Minnesota on Tuesday, with Spencer Turnbull (0-1, 10.80) taking the mound.