KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Yordano Ventura kept his pitch count down, which enabled him to go nine innings for the first time in the majors.Ventura picked up his first complete-game victory, Kendrys Morales hit a three-run homer and the Kansas City Royals defeated the Chicago White Sox 8-3 Monday.The Royals have won three straight, keeping their faint playoff hopes flickering with 12 games remaining. The Royals went 14-5 against the White Sox this year.My goal today was try to get as many outs as I can as quick as I can and go deep in the game and thats what I did today, Ventura said with catching coach Pedro Grifol as his translator. Im happy with it.Ventura (11-11) gave up nine hits, struck out five and walked one. His only other complete game in the majors was a 3-2 loss July 28 at Texas.He was outstanding, Royals catcher Drew Butera said. He was efficient with his pitches. He had great movement, great life. He was really good.Ventura had allowed 10 runs, 17 hits and six walks in 11 1/3 innings in losing his previous two starts. He threw only 16 pitches in a 10-batter span to end the fifth and into the seventh.He did a phenomenal job of managing his pitch-count, Royals manager Ned Yost said. He put himself in a position with a five-run lead to have a complete-game. He got through eight with 92 pitches. He just pitched a great game.Morales homered off Carlos Rodon (7-10) in a four-run fifth. Morales homered in back-to-back games, bringing his total to 29. The last Royal to hit 30 home runs in a season was Jermaine Dye, with 33 in 2000.Paulo Orlando and Alcides Escobar homered in the second for the Royals. Eric Hosmer drove in two runs with a pair of singles, giving him 97 RBI.Billy Burns had three hits, was hit by a pitch, stole a base and scored two runs.Theyre a good ballclub, Rodon said. Guys that have been in the game for a while and just understand that, make me throw pitches and get deep in the count, and they did a really good job of that. They swing the bat well, but our guys swung the bat well, too. Some hard balls hit and some home runs, and thats baseball.Jose Abreu and Carlos Sanchez hit solo home runs for the White Sox. Todd Frazier added an RBI single and had two hits off Ventura.Hes throwing 97, 98 (mile per hour), Frazier said late in the game. Thats tough to pick up, tough to lay off, too, as well, because it looks like a strike and comes off. He had good command, basically.DUAL EJECTIONSPlate umpire Toby Basner ejected Escobar in the fifth for arguing balls and strikes. When Yost interceded, Basner thumbed him, too.TRAINERS ROOMWhite Sox: INF Tyler Saladino (sore left calf) was out of the lineup for the third consecutive game. We could play him, but I think an extra day would be best for him, White Sox manager Robin Ventura. ... DH Justin Morneau (neck discomfort) returned to the lineup after missing the previous six games.UP NEXTWhite Sox: RHP James Shields, who is 0-5 with a 9.37 ERA in his past nine starts, will start Tuesday at Philadelphia. RHP Jake Thompson will start for the Phillies.Royals: RHP Edinson Volquez, who gave up nine runs on seven hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings in a Thursday loss to Oakland, will start the series opener at Cleveland. The Indians will counter with RHP Josh Tomlin. Malcolm Subban Jersey . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. Cody Eakin Jersey .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. http://www.goldenknightssale.com/authentic-mark-stone-golden-knights-jersey/ .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. Alex Tuch Jersey .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. Cody Eakin Golden Knights Jersey . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3. FARGO, N.D. -- North Dakota State quarterback Easton Stick sat in a deer stand. Defensive end Greg Menard enjoyed home cooking. Offensive lineman Zack Johnson watched Netflix. Running back Lance Dunn did nothing, as in what he called zero exercise.Those were the rewards of the bye that goes to the top seeds for the first week of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. It has translated into an annual three-day hiatus for the five-time defending national champion Bison, who have played more games than any other college football team since 2010.Football is year-round for us, Dunn said. You dont really get that many days off.And when they get back to business, the Bison are nearly unbeatable. They have won 23 straight games after open weeks in the regular season and playoffs since a 2005 home loss to UC Davis. That streak includes 13 home games, five road games and five title games in Frisco, Texas.The No. 1-seeded Bison (10-1) open their quest for six straight Saturday at the Fargodome against the San Diego Toreros (10-1). If the after-bye week numbers werent daunting enough, North Dakota State is 16-0 at home in the FCS playoffs.Bison coach Chris Klieman said the week off is important in a grueling playoff run for FCS teams, which have fewer scholarships and players than their Bowl Subdivision counterparts. Klieman would prefer an FCS playoff system that has 16 instead of 24 teams and ends before Christmas.I just think its an awful lot of football, he said. They arent doing that anywhere, other than at the professional level. Its difficult for guys to keep their bodies fresh, nonstop, from end of July through Christmas.Kliemaan gave his players and coaches three straight days off, beginning with Thanksgiving Day.dddddddddddd Stick took some time to work on his newest hobby, bow hunting. It was too foggy to spot many deer, but the sophomore from Omaha, Nebraska, said the outdoor activity suits his laid-back personality.Ive got no problem just sitting out there and relaxing a little bit, Stick said. It was my first time out there with a bow. Im really excited about that.Stick has started 19 games since his redshirt season, winning all but one. He took over last year when Carson Wentz went down with an injury, and went 8-0, including three playoff victories. Wentz came back to guide the Herd in the championship game.More comfortable, obviously. Been through it before, Stick said about his second postseason run. At playoff time its amped a little bit. But at the same time, its just a game. You have to treat it that way. You cant make it too big. You just go out there and play.Johnson, the left guard who is a candidate for the NFL draft, said about the only move he made during the break was to a store to buy the movie Sausage Party. While he admitted that the respite was pretty nice, he downplayed the toll of playing a nonstop schedule.I dont get sick of it. I love playing football. Its why Im here. Its what I love to do, Johnson said. And now its playoff football. Its win or go home. We want to prove ourselves against the rest of the country.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. ' ' '