KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- With two runners aboard in the sixth inning, the Royals Alcides Escobar was just trying to put the pitch from Yankees reliever Blake Parker in play Monday night.He wound up slapping it right over the wall.The three-run homer broke open a nip-and-tuck game, and backed by a strong pitching performance by Dillon Gee, Kansas City went on to beat New York 8-5 to open their three-game series.I knew I hit it good, Escobar said, but I wasnt 100 percent sure it was gone.Everybody else was sure, the way things have been going for Kansas City lately.The reigning World Series champions won for the 18th time in 22 games, closing within two games of the second AL wild card. The Royals (69-62) were seven games below .500 as recently as Aug. 6, nearly left for dead 11 games behind the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.Gee (6-7) allowed four hits and a run over six sharp innings.The results just werent coming but Ive been throwing the ball well, said the Royals fifth starter, but tonight I got an early lead and just tried to stick to it.Lorenzo Cain, Kendrys Morales and Alex Gordon drove in runs off Michael Pineda (6-11) during a five-hit salvo in the first inning. Pineda then retired 15 straight before getting into a two-on, no-outs jam in the seventh that led to Escobars homer.It really broke the game open for us, Royals manager Ned Yost said.Starlin Castro drove in two runs for the Yankees, the second in a four-run eighth inning that forced Yost to summon fill-in closer Kelvin Herrera to make a four-out save.He retired Mark Teixeira to get out of his initial jam, then put runners on the corners in the ninth. Herrera calmly struck out Castro for his 11th save.It was a frustrating night for the Yankees, who had elbowed their own way back in the playoff chase. They were a half-game behind Kansas City at the start of the night, but their second straight loss on the heels of a four-game winning streak was costly against a fellow contender.Yankees manager Joe Girardis frustration was evident when he was tossed by plate umpire Brian ONora for arguing balls and strikes with the bases loaded and no outs in the eighth inning.Didi Gregorius proceeded to deliver a two-run double, and the Yankees tacked on two more runs against the Kansas City bullpen before Herrera put a stop to their rally.Two different strike zones. Its unfortunate, Girardi said of his ejection. Even the broadcasters were talking about it in the eighth and ninth inning. I dont know why. Im frustrated by it. I dont know if you give the catchers credit. I know the last inning and the inning before that Im watching on TV and I see it. Oh-1 is a lot different than 1-and-oh a lot of times.STATS AND STREAKSThe Royals have cut 7 1/2 games from their wild-card deficit in 22 games. ... All nine players in the Royals starting lineup had a hit. ... Pineda lost for the first time since July 31 at Tampa Bay, snapping a four-start winning streak. ... Yankees CF Jacoby Ellsbury reached base on catchers interference for the 11th time this season, extending his major league record.AWARD WINNERSYankees C Gary Sanchez won his second straight AL player of the week award. He hit .522 with three doubles, five homers and nine RBI while walking five times in six games. ... Royals 1B Eric Hosmer and Yankees SS Gregorius were chosen from their teams for the Heart and Hustle Award from the Major League Baseball Players Association.ROYALS TRADEThe Royals acquired INF/OF Daniel Nava from the Angels for a player to be named or cash considerations. He is not on the Angels 40-man roster and will be assigned to Triple-A Omaha.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals RHP Luke Hochevar said he experienced instant relief after surgery for symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome. The reliever will begin rehab with hopes of being ready for spring. The swelling, the coldness is gone, he said. I havent had any of that happen since surgery.UP NEXTYankees RHP Masahiro Tanaka has tossed 14 2/3 scoreless innings over his last two starts. He takes on Royals RHP Edinson Volquez, who has won his last two decisions. Harold Carmichael Womens Jersey . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. Shareef Miller Youth Jersey . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. http://www.eaglesrookiestore.com/Eagles-Brian-Dawkins-Jersey/ . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Jerome Brown Jersey . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51. Fletcher Cox Jersey . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. The New Orleans Saints and Drew Brees agent, Tom Condon, have resumed talks over a possible contract extension, a league source told ESPNs Ed Werder.However, there has been minimal progress so far as the clock ticks down toward Brees self-imposed Sunday deadline.Brees, 37, has repeatedly stressed that he wont talk about his contract anymore once the regular season kicks off with a Week 1 home date against the Oakland Raiders.Brees has just one year left on his current contract. And if an extension isnt reached, he could become an unrestricted free agent next spring. It would cost the Saints nearly $43 million to use the franchise tag on Brees for the third time in his career (a 44 percent raise over his current salary-cap cost of $30 million).Brees became the highest-paid player in NFL history when he signed a five-year, $100 million contract in 2012. However, his $20 million average has been passed up 11 times since then -- including twice by Balltimore Ravens QB?Joe Flacco.ddddddddddddFlacco signed for a record $22.13 million per year in new money in March. Then Colts QB Andrew Luck shattered that mark with $24.6 million per year in new money last month.However, the biggest sticking point in Brees contract will likely be the guaranteed money because of his age. If Brees wants more than $60 million in guarantees like other top quarterbacks, that guarantee him money into his age-39 or age-40 season.Brees is still going strong. He led the NFL in passing for the fourth time in five seasons last year with 4,870 yards in just 15 games played.However, the Saints have not been going strong, with back-to-back 7-9 seasons. And theyll need to decide if they want to re-up with their future Hall of Fame quarterback or reboot.ESPNs Mike Triplett contributed to this report. ' ' '