KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In all likelihood there will be no postseason for the defending champion Kansas City Royals this year.Chris Sale pitched his American League-leading sixth complete-game to pick up his 16th win, Carlos Sanchez hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Royals 7-4 Friday night.Kansas City has lost five straight and are 1-9 in their past 10 home games, so they will need a miracle to return to the playoffs after winning the past two American League championships.Everybody in here is frustrated, said Royals starter Ian Kennedy, who left with a 4-2 lead after six innings. You just dont expect to lose five in a row at home. It doesnt matter who it is, who were playing. We play great at home and now we havent done that.The bullpen, however, could not maintain the lead.Its been a tough go for our bullpen the last week, Royals manager Ned Yost said.Sanchez had struck out in his first three at-bats before hitting a pitch from Kelvin Herrera out to right with J.D. Shuck and Avisail Garcia aboard. It was Sanchezs first home run since last Sept. 21 at Detroit.I wanted it up and in, but it was obviously in the middle, Herrera said of Sanchezs home run.Todd Frazier doubled with one out and scored on Alex Avilas single for the first run of the inning.Sale (16-8), 1-6 in his previous 11 starts, limited the Royals to four runs, three earned, while striking out 10 and walking one.Herrera (2-5) blew his third save in 14 chances.I had trouble with my release point, Herrera said. It was a little off. I felt a little off with my command for some reason. This is a tough league.Kennedy, who held the White Sox to one hit over six innings Sunday to beat Sale in a 2-0 win, threw 74 pitches in the first three innings, but made it through six, allowing two runs, five hits, three walks and a sacrifice fly. He retired 11 of the last 12 batters he faced.I had to talk my way into going out for the sixth inning just because the bullpen had been so taxed the last couple of days, Kennedy said. I wanted to stay in at least one more inning. It was a grind.Kennedy walked the bases loaded with none out in the second, but escaped by allowing just one run, with Frazier scoring on Leury Garcias grounder.Sale retired the first 13 batters he faced before giving up seven hits and four runs to the next 10 batters.Salvador Perezs single with one out in the fifth was the Royals first hit. Cheslor Cuthberts double moved Perez to third. Hunter Dozier, who was making his first major league start, had an infield single, scoring Perez, and Cuthbert raced home on shortstop Tyler Saladinos throwing error, to tie the score at 2.Billy Burns opened the Royals sixth with a bunt single and scored when Whit Merrifield drilled a triple to left-center. Kendrys Morales singled home Merrifield.Jose Abreu, who singled in his first two at-bats for his 12th multi-hit game in his past 18 games, scored in the third on Fraziers sacrifice fly.Melky Cabrera homered in the ninth off Peter Moylan, while Saladino had three of the White Sox 11 hits.TEPESCH OUTRIGHTEDRHP Nick Tepesch, who was designated for assignment, cleared waivers and Royals sent him outright to Triple-A Omaha. Tepesch, who is a Missouri alumnus, is 7-15 in 35 games, including 33 starts, in the majors with the Rangers and Dodgers.TRAINERS ROOMWhite Sox: DH Justin Morneau missed his fourth straight game with a stiff neck.Royals: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (right biceps tendinitis) said his arm feels good after throwing two bullpen sessions. He was scheduled to throw batting practice Friday, but a pregame rain canceled that.UP NEXTWhite Sox: RHP Miguel Gonzalez, who is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in two September starts, will start Saturday.Royals: LHP Jason Vargas makes his first start since July 21, 2015, and rehabbing from reconstructive elbow surgery.TreQuan Smith Youth Jersey . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Taysom Hill Womens Jersey . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. http://www.authenticsaintssportsonline.com/saints-rickey-jackson-gold-jersey/ . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Saints Jersey . A big centre with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. Erik McCoy Womens Jersey . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary.Nick Saban likes to tell all his four- and five-star recruits that if Alabama succeeds, all the individual accolades they crave will come with it.Good call. Last season, no players from a team that did not make a bowl game made the AP All-America first team. There was one each from a non-bowl team on the second and third teams.Of course, there are some excellent players on losing teams, such as New Mexico State running back Larry Rose III. The 185-pound junior was a third-team All-American and ran for 1,651 yards and 14 touchdowns for a team that won three games.Here are some of the best players in college football playing for teams that did not reach the postseason last year. And it doesnt look particularly promising for those teams to get there this season, either.Chidobe Awuzie, CB, ColoradoDid you know the Buffaloes had one of the better pass defenses in the Pac-12 last year? Yes, really. Awuzie switches between cornerback and nickel and became the first CU defensive back to lead the team in tackles for loss (13). The senior is a legitimate NFL prospect.Quin Blanding, S, VirginiaOne of the best safeties in the country, Blanding ranked second in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 115 tackles last season. New coach Bronco Mendenhall plays the type of aggressive defense that could set up the 215-pound Blanding to spend a lot of time in opponents backfields. If Mendenhall had a few more like Blanding, this rebuild would go much faster.Charles Harris, DE, MissouriThe latest in a recent string of excellent pass rushers for Missouri. The junior had 11.5 tackles for loss, including seven sacks, and 10 quarterback hurries. Harris led aa solid defense last season, though Missouris offense was anemic.ddddddddddddCould be more of the same this year.Brian Hill, RB, WyomingThe Mountain Wests leading rusher at 135.9 yards per game. The Cowboys are still looking for a turnaround under third-year coach Craig Bohl, who led North Dakota State to three straight FCS national titles before coming to Laramie. Wyoming will lean heavily on the 219-pound Hill to break a four-year bowl drought.William Likely, CB, MarylandThe senior is a solid corner and one of the best return men in the nation. Likely averaged 17.7 yards per punt return last season and led the nation with 1,197 total return yards. He also played some offense late last season and new Maryland coach DJ Durkin has said he expects to use the senior in all three phases of the game.Mike Warren, RB, Iowa StateWarren should be right at home in new coach Matt Campbells spread offense. Campbells Toledo teams ranked either first or second in the Mid-American Conference in rushing the last three seasons. Warren ran for 1,339 yards as a redshirt freshman last season, tops in the nation among freshman. The Cyclones will need a few upsets and some big performances by Warren to get bowl eligible.EXTRA POINTSix more players set to star on teams that could struggle to make the postseason: Boom Williams, RB, Kentucky; Jake Replogle, DL, Purdue; Fish Smithson, S, Kansas; Matt Milano, LB, Boston College; Matt Davis, QB, SMU; Devonte Boyd, WR, UNLV.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP ' ' '