el Correa, Juanfran Torres and Fernando Torres.It was important to win our last game of the year here in our stadium, Atletico d

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Royals finished this season a long way from where they finished last season.In time, location and record.Instead of capping a World Series championship on a crisp November night in New York, the Royals ended their year with a 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians on a mild Sunday afternoon in early October.It left them 81-81, their first non-winning season in four years.We were just one win away from having a winning season, Royals manager Ned Yost said. We had four cracks at it at the end of the year and just couldnt get it. Offensively, we just couldnt do it.The Tigers loss to the Braves coupled with the Red Soxs loss to the Blue Jays gave Cleveland (94-67) homefield advantage in the divisional round. The newly minted AL Central champions open against Boston (93-69) on Thursday at Progressive field with Trevor Bauer slated to take the hill.You get to the last weekend of the year, you see a lot of guys kind of tailing off, said Francona, who has yet to win a postseason game in Cleveland. Our guys never did that.Not even in their regular-season finale.Josh Tomlin (13-9) dueled with the Royals Ian Kennedy (11-11) into the eighth before finally pulling ahead. Carlos Santana drew a walk off Kennedy to start the inning, Jason Kipnis followed with a double and Francisco Lindor hit a fly ball deep enough to right field for the lead.Tomlin got the first batter in the eighth before Andrew Miller finished it up, and Cody Allen handled the ninth to earn his 32nd save and give the Indians a nice boost heading into the playoffs.Ive never really experienced the postseason, said Tomlin, the expected Game 3 starter, so I know Ill be ready when that time comes. We knew we put ourselves in good position.It was a frustrating finale to an injury plagued season for the Royals, who had been to the past two World Series and were coming off their first championship since 1985. A dismal July nearly buried them, an inspired August got them back into contention, and a stumbling finish left them at .500.Meanwhile, there were so many playoff permutations riding on the final day of the regular season that Francona was still trying to sort everything out 3 hours before first pitch.The only thing he knew was his club was playing Boston on Thursday -- somewhere.So, the Indians chose to focus solely on a club theyve dominated this season.They fell into a 1-0 hole when Jarrod Dyson and Whit Merrifield opened the game with doubles off Tomlin, the expected Game 3 starter in the divisional series, but the lead didnt even last the two innings.The Indians answered in the third when Tyler Naquin was plunked by a pitch from Kennedy, and Yan Gomes went deep to left field on the first big league pitch hed seen since July 17.Kansas City tied it up when Cheslor Cuthbert homered leading off the fifth inning.Tomlin wound up allowing two runs on six hits in 7 1/3 innings, retiring the final 10 he faced. Kennedy retired 13 in a row during a similar stretch, giving up three runs on four hits in 7 2/3 innings.One mistake, I gave up a home run and it kind of cost me, Kennedy said. Overall, I was really happy how the outing went. At least, I gave our team a real solid chance.TRAINERS ROOMIndians: Gomes, activated from the 60-day DL on Friday, started for the first time since breaking his right hand in a rehab game Sept. 14. Its been a long way back, Gomes said. They said I cant hurt it any more. Youll just have to play through it, play through the pain.Royals: 1B Eric Hosmer missed the finale with a wrist issue hes been battling for weeks. C Sal Perez was the DH to protect an ailing hamstring. ... RHP Dillon Gee is scheduled to have another procedure Oct. 11 for blood clots in his shoulder and lung. The issue popped up during a start in Detroit.UP NEXTIndians: The chase begins for their first playoff victory since 2007, when they lost to the Red Sox -- managed by Francona -- in a seven-game AL championship series.Royals: Time to think about next season. General manager Dayton Moore has some roster decisions to make, including whether to exercise team options on SS Alcides Escobar and RHP Wade Davis. Curry 6 Cheap . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. Curry 5 Shoes For Sale . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. http://www.curryshoesclearance.com/ . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Stephen Curry Shoes Cheap . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. Curry 6 Shoes For Sale . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. MADRID -- Atletico Madrid cruised into the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey by defeating third-division Guijuelo 4-1 on Tuesday for a 10-1 win on aggregate.Atletico secured the victory in its final match of 2016 with first-half goals by Nicolas Gaitan, Angel Correa, Juanfran Torres and Fernando Torres.It was important to win our last game of the year here in our stadium, Atletico defender Stefan Savic said. Its always important to win and hopefully we will keep this momentum going into next year.Antonio Pino scored a consolation goal in the 80th minute for Guijuelo, which played a man down from the 33rd minute after defender Raul Luiz was shown a second yellow card at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.The second half included an incredible miss by Fernando Torres, who was just a few paces from the goal line when he tried to fire home in the 63rd minute.The city of Guijuelo in northwestern Spain is known for the high quality of its ham, and the teams players had the picture of a huge ham leg on the front of their jerseys on Tuesday.Atletico has struggled this season and is only sixth in the Spanish league going into the winter break, nine points behind leader Real Madrid, which has a game in hand.ddddddddddddhe round of 16 of the Copa del Rey will begin in the first week of January.--ELSEWHEREMalaga became the first top-flight team to be eliminated after a 4-3 home loss to second-division club Cordoba, going out 6-3 on aggregate.Real Sociedad drew 1-1 with second-division team Valladolid to advance 4-2 on aggregate, while Villarreal beat third-division Toledo 4-1 over two legs after a 1-1 draw at home, with Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato scoring Villarreals goal.Las Palmas beat second-tier Huesca 2-1, advancing with a 4-3 win on aggregate.Barcelona will be without Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar -- who were given time off to rest -- when it hosts third-division Hercules on Wednesday. The teams drew 1-1 in the first leg.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni ' ' '