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. Bill Bates Womens Jersey . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. Tony Romo Youth Jersey . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. http://www.cowboysrookieproshop.com/Cowboys-Connor-Mcgovern-Jersey/ . 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LONDON -- Andy Murray looked up and soaked it all in as he walked out into the O2 Arena. This was a new feeling.He had waited a while for it -- seven years and 89 days, to be precise, since first becoming world No. 2 in August 2009.Given a standing ovation, the Scot stepped onto court as the top ranked player in the world for the first time Monday evening. Shaking off a few early nerves, he delivered a 6-3, 6-2 win over Marin Cilic.He could only smile as the crowd showed him their love.A big thank you for all of the support. I really appreciate it, the Scot said in his on-court interview. Ill keep working hard to give you moments like this on the court.His debut as No. 1 -- the first Briton to achieve the feat since the debut of the ATP rankings in 1973 -- fittingly came on home soil, and just an hours drive from his house in Surrey, where he has opted to stay during this tournament for the first time.Murray extended his win streak to 20 matches, just two shy of his career-best total. That particular run was set this summer, and was ended by none other than Cilic in the Cincinnati Masters final.When you start winning, you gain confidence, Murray added. In the important moments of break points, I was a little bit more solid. He had some chances in the first set, but I took my opportunities. Thats what winning matches does for you.The 2014 US Open winner was a dangerous opponent, having won the title in Basel last month and recorded his first win over Novak Djokovic to reach the Paris Masters semifinals.Aside from an early break back in the first set, the Croat had no answers here, despite the presence of Murrays former assistant coach Jonas Bjorkman in his players box. Cilic and his new coach were simply unable to cook up a game plan to throw Murray off.Making the final here would push Murray to a personal-best 23rd consecutive win. He may need to make it 24, though, if he wants to finish year-end No. 1.There are several permutations whereby either he or Novak Djokovic can finish the year on top, and the simplest for Murray is to win his first Tour Finals title.It was a great atmospphere here, Murray said.dddddddddddd I played one of my best matches Ive played here over the years. Ill just try and keep going until the end of the year now.Murray, still unbeaten in London this year having won Queens Club and Wimbledon, halted a run of three consecutive breaks to take a 4-1 lead in the first set against Cilic before taking it in 46 minutes.He then broke the Croat twice in the second set and served it out in an hour and a half.Earlier Monday, Stan Wawrinka was bounced 6-2, 6-3 by Kei Nishikori in just 67 minutes.His match stats didnt make for good reading -- failing to create a single break point, Wawrinka committed 31 unforced errors and three double faults.One of those handed Nishikori a double break and a 5-2 lead in the first set, which the Japanese player closed out in less than half an hour.The Swiss was self-deprecating with his trademark sense of humour in his post-match press conference. Asked if the quicker courts were better than last year at the O2 Arena, he quipped with a smile: So far not, because I just lost the match, but I will see at the end of the tournament.Wawrinkas serve deserted him. He made just 52 percent of first serves in the opening set, and won just 38 percent of points on his second serve throughout the match.As impressive as Nishikori was, his serve has never been his strong point but still Wawrinka was unable to capitalize. The world No. 5 made just 47 percent of his first serves, yet managed to win 74 percent of points on his second serve.Nishikori closed out the win by breaking Wawrinka for a fourth time, gaining a measure of revenge for his semifinal defeat at Flushing Meadows.It was not a great match compared to what I can do, thats for sure, added Wawrinka. It wasnt a great day for myself. In general, I think he play well, put a lot of pressure from the beginning.I dont think I find anything on the court today. I was a little bit slow on everything. I was hesitating a lot with my game, my movement. ' ' '