are expected to make it to the Final Four for the sixth time in the past seve

SAN DIEGO -- Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez made sure the Kansas City Royals will start at home, sweet, home if they get a chance to defend their World Series title.The Royals duo homered off former Kansas City teammate Johnny Cueto during a six-pitch span in the second inning, Hosmer added an RBI single and the American League beat the Nationals 4-2 Tuesday night for their fourth straight win in the All-Star game.David Ortiz found himself in the middle of the most touching moment at Petco Park, embraced by his AL teammates near first base after exiting his final All-Star Game. The popular Big Papi plans to retire at 40 after this season with Boston.Kris Bryant of the Cubs led the parade of sparkling young talent with a first-inning home run. Dellin Betances flashed his 100 mph heat and Astros reliever Will Harris came on to throw a called third strike past Cardinals rookie Aledmys Diaz on a 3-2 pitch on the outside corner with the bases loaded to end the eighth.Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera pitched a hitless sixth for the AL, which will open the Series at home for the 11th time in 14 years since the All-Star winner was used to determine the hosts for Games 1 and 2.Kansas City became baseball royalty last fall, bursting to a 2-0 lead over the New York Mets at Kauffman Stadium, where Cueto pitched a two-hitter in the second game. The Royals won in five games for their first title since 1985.This year, Kansas City is languishing at 45-43, seven games off the AL Central lead and in the middle of the wild-card race as attention turns to which teams will be buyers and sellers as the Aug. 1 trade deadline approaches.Clevelands Corey Kluber pitched a 1-2-3 second inning for the win, and Zach Britton got the save for the AL, which cut its deficit to 43-42 with two tiesOrtiz, Bostons beloved designated hitter, wore spikes with gold-colored bottoms and matching batting gloves to mark his 10th All-Star selection and delivered the AL batting order to umpires at home plate.Ortiz hit a smash down the first-base line that Anthony Rizzo snagged to rob him of a potential RBI double in the first and walked against Jose Fernandez in the third.When Edwin Encarnacion came out to pinch run for him, Ortiz waved to the crowd and then spent his AL teammates came out of the dugout to exchange hugs as the crowd of 42,386 rose in tribute.I was supposed to hit a home run in my second at-bat. My boy told me he was going to throw me a fastball, and the first pitch was a changeup, Ortiz said.Then 3-2 he threw me a slider and Im like, Are you trying to break my back? But he said it was the catchers fault.Fernandez admitted I couldnt believe that I was actually pitching to him. We both looked at each other and smiled.He signed the jersey I brought for him, the 23-year-old Miami Marlins ace said.Ortiz delivered a pregame speech to his mates.You dont get here with a good name or a good family, he said. You have to put up the numbers. I told them that they have to do that for their whole career.The All-Star Game returned to San Diego for the first time since 1992 at Jack Murphy Stadium. Just before this first pitch, commissioner Rob Manfred joined Rod Carew, his family and the family of late Padres great Tony Gwynn and named the batting titles after the two Hall of Famers, giving Gwynn the NL honor and Carew the AL championship.Gwynn died of salivary gland cancer two years ago at age 54.Sailors dressed in white lined the foul lines and outfield warning tracks for the national anthems. The Tenors, a British Columbia-based group, changed an O Canada lyric to Were all brothers and sisters. All lives matter to the great, and one held up a sign reading All Lives Matter.Randy Jones threw out the ceremonial first pitch and former Padres All-Star closer Trevor Hoffman helped open, bringing the game ball to the mound from the bullpen accompanied by AC/DCs Hells Bells.With an NL ballpark hosting for the second year in a row in a streak of at least four, the AL wore white uniforms, hit last and used the Padres clubhouse on the first-base side. Ball boys in retro-style mustard-and-mud Padres uniforms lent a San Diego feel to Petco, which opened in 2004.There was a home run on the games fourth pitch for the second straight year; Bryant connected on a 96 mph Chris Sale fastball with two outs as hitters swung early in the count to beat the shadows creeping in from the left-field corner in the late-afternoon start.Bryant, who had struck out in all of his regular-seat at-bats against Sale, was part of an all-Cubs infield -- the first starting infield quartet from a single team since the 1963 St. Louis Cardinals.I think a lot of us were looking first pitch, said Bryant, who played college ball for the University of San Diego. A lot of pitchers are coming into the game trying to light up the radar gun a bit.That was the highlight for the NL Central-leading Cubs, whose fan base was pumped up by a fast start and dreams of the teams first title since 1908.Mike Trout, the All-Star MVP in 2014 `15, singled in the first for a five-All-Star Game hitting streak -- only Mickey Mantle, Joe Morgan and Dave Winfield (seven each) and Stan Musial, Willie Mays and Nellie Fox (six apiece) strung together more.The lead was short-lived, with Hosmer and Perez going deep for a 3-1 lead in the second, sandwiched around Mookie Betts single. Cueto was hard to miss in the center of the field, wearing lime green and orange spikes.This morning I got up and didnt feel well. That is not an excuse, Cueto said. I just left two pitches up, and that was the story.Hosmer, the first Kansas City player to homer in an All-Star Game since Bo Jackson in 1989, made it 4-1 in the third against Fernandez when he hit a one-hopper off Bryants left arm and into left field for an RBI single.Marcell Ozuna cut the gap with an run-scoring single off Aaron Sanchez in the fourth. Adidas NHL Jerseys Autographed . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Signed Adidas NHL Jerseys . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. http://www.cheapnhljerseyssigned.com/ . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. Wholesale Adidas NHL Jerseys . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. Adidas NHL Jerseys From China . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. No. 1 Notre Dame women loaded with talentBy The Associated Press=Notre DameLast season: 33-2, lost in the third round of NCAA Tournament.Coach: Muffet McGraw.Nickname: Fighting Irish.Conference: Atlantic Coast.Whos gone: G Madison Cable, G Michaela Mabrey, G Hannah Huffman, F Taya Reymer, who quit the team after five games last season and has transferred to Michigan State.Whos back: F Brianna Turner. McGraw calls the 6-3 junior the best nations best player. Turner averaged 14.6 points, 7.3 rebounds despite being slowed by a shoulder injury for which she had surgery in April. McGraw believes Lindsay Allen is the nations best point guard. The 5-8 senior has started all 112 games since arriving in South Bend and averaged 5.8 assists and 9.3 points. The other returning starter F Kathryn Westbeld, who averaged 7.9 points and 5.6 rebounds.Whos new: F Erin Boley, a 6-2 McDonalds All-American with a quick release who McGraw said is the teams best 3-point shooter.dddddddddddd G Jackie Young, a 6-0 McDonalds All-American who could be a player who does all the little things. G Ali Patberg, another former McDonalds All-America, who missed last season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee and could keep the Irish offense running smoothly if Allen gets in foul trouble.The Skinny: The Irish lost gritty players in Cable and Huffman and an outside shooter in Mabrey, but McGraw believes this might be the deepest, most talented team shes had in her 30 years as coach. 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