Moderatoren » pretty. I definitely prefer to put it on the right, bu

Austin Bibens-Dirkx earned his first victory of the season Trysten Hill Jersey , shutting down a struggling Kansas City Royals squad that’s wondering when it will get its next win.

Bibens-Dirkx pitched effectively into the seventh inning, Rougned Odor homered and the Texas Rangers extended their winning streak to a season-high five games with a 3-2 victory Wednesday night.

Bibens-Dirkx (1-1) allowed one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings for his first win since last Sept. 6 in a relief appearance at Atlanta – and sent the Royals to their ninth straight loss.

”The first two starts didn’t quite go as I had wanted,” Bibens-Dirkx said, ”so to get another opportunity and to come out here and do what I feel like I can do on a pretty consistent basis was nice.”

Kansas City’s slump is its longest this season, and the Royals have dropped 15 of 16 overall and been outscored 102-38 while losing 16 of 18 in June. Their worst June in franchise history was 7-19 in 1970, the team’s second year in existence. The Royals will wind up June with nine games against the Astros, Angels, Brewers and Mariners, clubs above .500.

Bibens-Dirkx, a 33-year-old right-hander, spent 12 years in the minors, including two seasons with independent league teams before making his big league debut last year. He was called up to replace Yohander Mendez, who was sent to Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday after violating team rules.

Jake Diekman worked the ninth for his second save, but not before yielding a leadoff homer to Mike Moustakas. The game ended when Hunter Dozier was thrown out at second on a delayed steal.

”It’s perfect timing,” Royals manager Ned Yost said to steal. ”You probably haven’t noticed that we’ve been having trouble bunching some hits together. It’s a chance to maybe hopefully catch them by surprise and get into scoring position and one hit will tie the ballgame up and keep us going.”

Yost acknowledged that Isiah Kiner-Falefa making his first big league start behind the plate factored into the decision to send Dozier. His throw nearly hit Diekman in the head.

”It was kind of scary, a crazy, crazy way to end the game,” Kiner-Falefa said. ”It worked out. Everything worked out. That was close. I was kind of in shock that he was out. I was just glad it didn’t hit Jake, honestly. I tried to adjust my throw last second and saw it bounce, but that was close.”

Diekman just avoided being hit.

”I was shocked – that the ball was thrown, that he was running at all – but it was my bad for not getting out of the way,” Diekman said. ”It ended the game and it didn’t hit me Connor McGovern Jersey , so we’re good.”

Odor homered into the Royals’ bullpen with two outs in the sixth on a 1-2 pitch from Royals starter Jakob Junis, who has lost his last five starts and has not won since May 18. Junis (5-8) has given up 19 home runs to tie for the American League lead. He allowed three runs and five hits with four walks and a hit batter.

”I’ve given up a lot of home runs this year,” Junis said. ”It’s something I’m conscious about. I’m trying to keep in the ball park because when I do that’s when I have more success. I can’t pinpoint on it on one exact thing.”

Shin-Soo Choo led off the game with a single, extending his on-base streak to 34 games. He stole second, moved to third on Elvis Andrus‘ high chopper back to Junis and scored on Nomar Mazara’s fly out to center,

The Rangers loaded the bases with no outs in the second on singles by Jurickson Profar and Odor and Joey Gallo’s first of three walks. The Rangers, however, converted that into only one run when Kiner-Falefa grounded into a double play.

Alex Gordon singled with one out in the Kansas City second and scored on Dozier’s double.

HYPHENATED BATTERYMATES

Bibens-Dirkx and Kiner-Falefa became the first starting pitcher and catcher in big league history with hyphenated last names.

WHO’S CLOSING?

After the Royals traded closer Kelvin Herrera to Washington, who will inherit that role? ”All of them,” Yost said of his relievers. ”Opportunity exists down there. We’ll have to see who takes advantage of it. I’ll look at different guys, but I would prefer one guy to emerge, take advantage of the opportunity. But it’s wide-open right now.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: LHP Martin Perez (elbow discomfort) threw batting practice to C Robinson Chirinos and OF Carlos Tocci. He is hopeful to begin a minor league rehab assignment Monday. ”There were some quality pitches inside the set, like a guy that was getting ready to take the next step of the rehab process,” Banister said. … RHP Chris Martin (right calf strain) also threw to hitters. He is eligible to come off the disabled list Friday. ”He’s close,” Banister said.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Off on Thursday before opening a weekend series Friday at Minnesota with LHP Mike Minor (4-4, 5.35) starting.

Royals: Travel day on Thursday to Houston, where LHP Danny Duffy (3-7, 5.55) will start the series opener Friday.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Let’s talk quarterbacks. As in potential backup quarterbacks in the NFL, and maybe starters down the road.Eleven quarterbacks were chosen in the three rounds of the draft. The trio that went in the opening round — No. 1 overall Kyler Murray to Arizona, No. 6 Daniel Jones to the Giants, and No. 15 Dwayne Haskins to Washington — figure to be starters someday Foster Moreau Jersey , perhaps soon.Murray goes to a team that traded away its first-round QB from last year, Josh Rosen, to clear the path for the Heisman Trophy winner. New coach Kliff Kingsbury was an offensive mastermind at Texas Tech with an offense that fits Murray’s dynamic skills.Jones will sit, though no one knows for how long, behind Eli Manning in New York. He was chosen to succeed the two-time Super Bowl winner, of course.Haskins could grab the job in D.C. because incumbent Alex Smith is not expected to recover sufficiently from major leg injuries to be available in 2019. Last season’s backup, Colt McCoy, also broke his leg. So the Redskins traded for Denver’s Case Keenum, but that looks like a stopgap.As for the rest of those 11 passers, they all went to clubs with established veteran starters except for Trace McSorley. The resourceful Penn State QB landed Saturday in Baltimore, which moved from Joe Flacco to 2018 first-rounder Lamar Jackson in the middle of last season.McSorley is a similar player in style to Jackson, so the marriage there could result in a second-string job for him.“I’ve seen him play against Michigan a few times and looked pretty good,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh, whose brother, Jim, coaches the Wolverines. “I hated him then, now I love him. He’s our kind of guy. … He’s gritty and tough and that’s what we look for.”Playing time for the others is, well, a long shot.Missouri’s Drew Lock went to Denver, which recently acquired Flacco. West Virginia’s Will Grier was taken by Carolina, where Cam Newton reigns. North Carolina State’s Ryan Finley will be behind Andy Dalton in Cincinnati. Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham is with New England, where he might have to wait a decade for Tom Brady to retire. North Dakota State’s Easton Stick Anthony Nelson Jersey , the successor to Carson Wentz at that school, wound up with the Chargers. Northwestern’s Clayton Thorson went to Philadelphia, where Wentz is ensconced.Jacksonville selected Washington State’s Gardner Minshew, and the Jags now have the guy who so memorably replaced an injured Wentz in Philadelphia and won a Super Bowl, Nick Foles. The Jaguars actually have five QBs now: Foles, Cody Kessler, Tanner Lee, Alex McGough and Minshew.The Jags noted how smart Minshew is. He certainly can count.“Yes, you will sit down with him and (realize) this guy could be a coach. It is impressive,” Jaguars director of college scouting Mark Ellenz said. “We interviewed him at the combine, a formal interview, and he was at the Senior Bowl also, but he is a sharp dude.”Stidham goes where the league’s oldest quarterback resides, of course.“I don’t think I feel any pressure,” he said. “It’s an awesome opportunity to learn from a guy like Tom. He’s played so much, he’s seen everything, he’s won a lot, there’s just so many intangibles that I want to soak up from him. I’m sure everybody wants to be as good as Tom Brady someday …”Thorson compares his situation to previous experiences.“It’s kind of just like high school,” he said. “Going to college, you come in as the guy and obviously there are other guys there. I learned from Trevor Siemian my freshman year of college. I’m really looking forward to getting in there and learning from Nate (Sudfeld, the current backup) and Carson. … Just keeping myself ready to go at any moment.”His peers would do well to have the same approach wherever they wound up.The third and final day of this NFL draft as memorable for the scene, the music and the passion of the folks in Nashville began Saturday with Arizona selecting Iowa State wide receiver Hakeem Butler. The last four rounds rarely have much intrigue Jeffery Simmons Jersey , but still drew thousands of folks to downtown Nashville.Approximately 500,000 people attended the three days of the draft, packing Broadway to hear the picks, listen to the tunes in the honky tonks — and by Tim McGraw in a rousing concert Friday night — and make this “selection meeting” unlike anything the NFL has seen. Later Saturday, following the final pick, Dierks Bentley took the stage.Nashville’s performance likely puts it firmly in the NFL’s mind for a repeat; Las Vegas is on tap next year for the draft.“Far outkicked our coverage, our dreams, our thoughts,” said Butch Spyridon, president and CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. “Way bigger than anything we could’ve imagined.”The first special teamer went to San Francisco, which drafted Utah punter Mitch Wishnowsky at No. 110. Oddly, the next such player taken was his teammate, placekicker Matt Gay by Tampa Bay 35 spots later.Wishnowsky actually can punt with both legs.“I mean, I can kick with my left foot decent,” he said. “It’s nothing pretty. I definitely prefer to put it on the right, but if necessary, I can throw it on the left and maybe get something out of it.”Tight end Caleb Wilson got something out of the very end of the draft. He was Mr. Irrelevant, the 254th and final selection. The pick was announced by Titans kicker Ryan Succop, who was the last pick in 2009 and, with a decade in the pros, has been the most successful Mr. Irrelevant.