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SAN FRANCISCO -- The up-and-down Giants are going down to the wire in a bid to keep their even-year magic going.With three games left, manager Bruce Bochys ballclub is sandwiched between the Mets and Cardinals in the race for the two NL wild-card spots with two games separating the three teams.Its not exactly how Bochy envisioned it, not after the Giants went into the All-Star break with the best record in the majors. Given the alternative, however, San Franciscos skipper certainly isnt complaining.We certainly wish we were in a better position but you dont stop fighting, Bochy said following San Franciscos 7-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday night. It is what it is as far as our situation that we created. We know that.The Giants -- who won the World Series in 2010, 12 and 14 -- are one game behind the idle Mets and one game ahead of St. Louis. The Cardinals beat Cincinnati on Thursday.San Francisco hosts the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning Friday, the Cardinals play Pittsburgh at home and the Mets close out the regular season in Philadelphia.I dont know whats going to happen but theyll keep fighting and well see what happens, Bochy said.Johnny Cueto pitched seven uneven innings for his 18th win to help set up the wild race to the finish.Cueto (18-5) overcame a shaky start in his first appearance since being sidelined more than a week with a groin strain. The All-Star right-hander matched his season high of 11 strikeouts, allowed two runs, nine hits and walked one to beat the Colorado for the third time this season.After we took the lead I just got focused on what I needed to do, Cueto said through an interpreter, adding that hes open to pitching in relief against the Dodgers if needed. Im ready. The last game is on Sunday and if they give me the ball Ill take (it).Conor Gillaspie, Angel Pagan and Brandon Crawford had two hits apiece to help the Giants bounce back after getting shut out a night earlier.Nolan Arenado had two hits and an RBI for Colorado, which was eliminated from playoff contention over the weekend and has dropped eight of 10.(Cueto) found his groove and he was doing his thing, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. Once he gets rolling hes one of those top-of-the-rotation guys that can be tough to get to.On a night when St. Louis rallied to win on a walkoff hit in the ninth, San Francisco staged its own comeback.Arenado hit an RBI double in the first and scored on David Dahls triple to put the Rockies up 2-0.The Giants tied it with two runs in the fourth, then went ahead in the sixth with help from Colorados defense. The Rockies committed two errors, including a wild throw by third baseman Arenado on Cuetos one-out bunt single that allowed two runs to score.Colorado starter Jon Gray (10-10) allowed five runs over 5 1/3 innings and left shortly after he appeared to get hit in the right ankle by Crawfords line drive in the sixth.It hurt pretty bad but Ill be all right. Nothing serious, Gray said.TAKING NO CHANCESBochy used four relievers to record the final six outs. One-time closer Santiago Casilla was not among them. Instead, Sergio Romo pitched the ninth and retired Charles Blackmon on a fly ball to end it. Youre in a situation where you have to win now, Bochy said.TRAINERS ROOMGiants: INF Eduardo Nunez is making slight progress from a mild hamstring strain but could still miss the wild-card round of the playoffs if San Francisco makes it that far. Nunez has not played since Sept. 25.UP NEXTRockies: RHP Chad Bettis (13-8) makes his final start of the season against Milwaukee on Friday. Seven of Bettis wins this season have come at Coors Field.Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner (14-9) pitches the series opener against the Dodgers on Friday night. Bumgarner is winless over his previous four starts and has a 4.21 ERA during that span. Air Max 97 Outlet . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. Cheap Air Max 97 Wholesale . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. http://www.outletairmax97.com/air-max-97-mens-clearance.html . -- Jacksonville wide receiver Cecil Shorts will likely be a game-time decision whether hell play Sunday in the Jaguars home game against the San Diego Chargers. Racer Pink Air Max Plus 97 . Ancelotti says Ronaldo has recovered from a hamstring injury but "but he doesnt feel comfortable yet so we wont risk him." Madrid is third in the Spanish league, six points behind leader Barcelona, going into Saturdays game against Valladolid. Nike Air Max 97 Just Do It Black . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The reigning World Series champions had been rendered an afterthought as the calendar flipped to August, the Kansas City Royals so far out of playoff contention that some were wondering whether they might begin jettisoning their stars and rebuilding.They proceeded to have one of the best months in franchise history.Despite back-to-back extra-inning losses to the Yankees, the Royals still finished 20-9 in August to climb back into the postseason chase. Theyve won seven of their past eight series and 18 of their past 24 games as they head into an important series against the Detroit Tigers this weekend.The Tigers are among the teams standing between Kansas City and an AL wild-card spot.It really shows the character and how resilient they are, said Royals outfielder Billy Burns, whose arrival in late July coincided with their recent run. I saw it two years ago in the wild-card game when I was with Oakland, and we had them down with Jon Lester on the mound.Nothing with this team really surprises me.Still, the Royals went just 7-19 in July. Their starting rotation was atrocious, they had one of the most impotent lineups in the majors and a series of injuries had scuttled any sort of chemistry.There was nothing to indicate that such an about-face was about to happen.Then the praying mantis showed up.On a team that believes wholeheartedly in karma, the arrival of the bug-eyed insect during a win over Toronto on Aug. 6 came with deeper meaning. The Royals adopted the Rally Mantis and took him on the road, where they won five of six games. And when the bug died in Minnesota -- the Royals lost that day, by the way -- they were unsurprised when another mantis flew in during a game in Detroit.This time, Rally Mantis Jr. was given a proper cage complete with food, greenery and, well, insect versions of all the trappings that major league ballplayers have in their clubhouses.Burns is the caretaker of the bug. And since his arrival, the postseason charge has pressed on. The Royals win total in August was their best since 1989, when they won 21 games.That shows you the makeup of this club, said reliever Luke Hochevar, one of the longest-tennured Royals.dddddddddddd When you have really, really good talent combined with great makeup, thats the recipe.The Royals have done it despite the injury trouble they steered clear of last year.They lost right-hander Kris Medlen, one of their projected starters, to rotator cuff inflammation in May. Then they lost third baseman Mike Moustakas to a torn ACL in a freak collision with left-fielder Alex Gordon, who wound up missing several weeks with an injured wrist.Hochevar was shelved with season-ending surgery for symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome, which had caused pain and coldness in his pitching arm. All-Star closer Wade Davis followed him to the disable list with a flexor strain, though he is expected to rejoin the club this weekend.Just in time for the final push for the playoffs.Kansas City has appeared in the past two World Series, but in reality the once-downtrodden club has been playing meaningful baseball this time of year four straight years. The core group understands what it takes to be successful when the temperatures start to fall and the pressure starts to rise.Were just taking each day as a new day, first baseman Eric Hosmer said. Were not worrying about scoreboards or who is ahead of us in the standings. You know theres so much time left and another team can get hot like we did. We just need to stay consistent.Much of the credit for the turnaround is owed to general manager Dayton Moore. He was hearing from plenty of folks in late July that it was time to sell off. The Royals were 11 games back in the AL Central and 9 1/2 games back in the wild-card race, and the window for contending appeared to have closed.Moore instead decided to stand pat, confident that a bunch of scuffling guys could turn it around.Now, the question is whether they did it in time.The experience of this team, we all realize that a lot of crazy stuff can happen, Hosmer said. We set out for the fact that its a 162-game season. So no matter what, if were having a good time or a bad time, were going to be ready for the next day. ' ' '