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A ARLINGTON, Texas -- Yordano Ventura still reverts to being the rookie pitcher he is for the AL Central-leading Kansas City Royals. The hard-throwing right-hander also keeps winning. Ventura struck out six in six innings for his 10th victory, he walked three and got help from inning-starting homers by Billy Butler and Josh Willingham to beat the Texas Rangers 6-3 on Friday night. "There was kind of two Yordanos," manager Ned Yost said. "There was one that was within himself, and he was banging strikes, staying downhill. And then there was one when he was just throwing out there, raring back, and struggled to keep the ball down. "All in all, I thought he threw a good ball game for us." Greg Holland worked a scoreless ninth for his MLB-leading 40th save in 42 opportunities, becoming the first Royals pitcher since Dan Quisenberry in 1983-84 to have consecutive 40-save seasons. That came after Wade Davis retired all three batters he faced to extend the majors longest active scoreless streak to 22 2-3 innings. Lorenzo Cain had three hits after a 2-for-14 slump for Kansas City, which won for the 23rd time in 29 games. Cain doubled and scored in the seventh for the final Royals run. Butler led off the second with his eighth homer, tying the game at 1-all. Cain and Alcides Escobar, the bottom two batters in the Royals lineup, had consecutive RBI singles in that inning against Colby Lewis (8-11) to put Kansas City ahead to stay. Willingham made it 4-1 when he homered in the fourth, his 14th overall and second in 10 games since the Royals acquired him on Aug. 11 from Minnesota, the AL Centrals last-place team. "Obviously, its awesome being in a pennant race, and every game, every at-bat means something," Willingham said. Adrian Beltre had two hits and drove in the first Texas run with a groundout in the first. Lewis pitched exactly one year after right hip resurfacing surgery. The 35-year-old right-hander is the first known major league pitcher to come back after such an operation. Lewis retired the last eight batters he faced, and his only strikeouts came against the final two. He allowed four runs and six hits without a walk over six innings -- four being 1-2-3 frames. "Early in the game, he just couldnt get the ball down. But then after that he settled in, and when he left the ballgame we were still in it," manager Ron Washington said. "Hes been a huge factor (this season). I think when you look at it, it just shows you his professionalism." CONTRASTING NUMBERS: Kansas City has the second-best road record in the AL at 38-28, including 5-2 on this trip. The Rangers have the worst home record in the majors at 23-39, including losses in 31 of their last 44 in Arlington. ... The Royals (71-56) moved back to 15 games over .500, a mark they hadnt reached in 20 years before doing so earlier this week. The Rangers (49-78) are a season high-matching 29 games under .500, something they hadnt done since 1985. ANNIVERSARY NIGHT: The one-year mark of Lewis hip surgery wasnt the only Rangers-related anniversary Friday. It was seven years ago that Texas scored a modern-day MLB record with its 30 runs against Baltimore in the first game of a doubleheader, and 25 years after Nolan Ryan got his 5,000th strikeout (Oaklands Rickey Henderson). TRAINERS ROOM Royals: C Salvador Perez was back in the lineup after being scratched from the lineup in Wednesdays game because of discomfort in his right knee. An MRI showed nothing but inflammation. Yost said the sore knee initially concerned Perez, who had surgery two years ago for a torn meniscus in his left knee. Rangers: LHP Derek Holland is scheduled to make his sixth rehab start Sunday for Triple-A Round Rock at Las Vegas. The Rangers havent listed a starter for their series finale that day against Kansas City, but seem intent on Holland making at least one more start in the minors before his 30-day rehab assignment ends Thursday. UP NEXT Kansas City native Nick Tepesch (4-7), who has a 1.83 ERA over his last three starts, pitches for Texas. Kansas City RHP Jeremy Guthrie (9-10) goes for his fourth consecutive road victory. Air Max 95 Rebajas . The ongoing funk on penalty kill and an unusually quiet night on home ice for the power play divided the Leafs from the Bruins at the ACC in a rare Sunday night affair. Nike Air Max 95 España .Derrick Rose scored 23 points, and the Bulls pulled away from the Nets for a 105-80 victory on Wednesday night. Chicago held Brooklyn to 29 points on 26. http://www.airmax95baratas.es/. Bach, a 59-year-old German lawyer, was elected Tuesday as president of the International Olympic Committee. He succeeds Jacques Rogge, who stepped down after 12 years. Bach, the longtime favourite, defeated five candidates in a secret ballot for the most influential job in international sports, keeping the presidency in European hands. Zapatillas Air Max 95 Baratas . -- Miami Dolphins defensive co-ordinator Kevin Coyle defended the management style of coach Joe Philbin in the wake of the teams bullying scandal. Air Max 95 Baratas . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings (3) - Early goal against was on the power play. LINCOLN, Neb. -- Tim Miles is tired of hearing about the old Nebraska program that made a habit of bumbling and stumbling its way through the past two decades. His players must be tired of it, too. Shavon Shields and Terran Petteway scored 26 points apiece, and the Cornhuskers beat No. 9 Wisconsin 77-68 on Sunday night to strengthen the schools chance for its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1998. The Huskers (19-11, 11-7) won for the 10th time in 12 games to clinch fourth place in the Big Ten for their highest conference finish since 1997-98. The Badgers (25-6, 12-6) had their longest conference win streak since 1940-41 end at eight games. "Thats what we want Husker basketball to be about and thats what we want it to continue to be about," Miles said. "Weve had a good run, a really good run. But were only halfway through the journey." Miles, in his second year at Nebraska, said the hard times the previous two coaches endured dont exist in his mind. "This is my program. We dont carry any baggage," he said. "Everywhere weve been, Ive been surrounded by great people and we win, and were going to keep doing it. So all that cursed crap, all of the hexing and vexing and all that (stuff) that goes with it is exactly that." The whole season has seemed like a new era for the program, and never more than Sunday night. The game was billed as "No-Sit Sunday," with Miles imploring fans to stay on their feet the whole game. The amped-up sellout crowd of 15,998 at Pinnacle Bank Arena lived up to the occasion, helping the Huskers beat Wisconsin for the first time in five meetings since they joined the Big Ten three years ago. Nebraska picked up a second win against a top-10 team for the first time since 1993-94. The other one was at then-No. 9 Michigan State on Feb. 16. The Huskers won 11 conference games for the first time since 1965-66. "We have to keep it going and not let our heads get big and just stay modest and keep humble," Shields said. "Keep our underdog thing going." Shields made a couple free throws, Ray Galleggos hit a 3 and Shields dunked in transition to start a 12-1 run that turned a 52-48 deficit into a 60-53 lead with 5 minutes left.dddddddddddd "Win the game, get in the tournament," Shields said, describing the Huskers mindset coming into the day. When the buzzer sounded, Nebraskas student section rushed the court and bounced to the music. Now the Huskers go to Indianapolis for the Big Ten tournament, where theyll play Ohio State or Purdue on Friday. Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan wasnt interested in discussing his teams NCAA seeding possibilities. "I dont even know what youre talking about," he said. "You guys dont know me. No. 1 seed for what? Were the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament. Thats the only thing I know." The Badgers were runners-up to Michigan in the regular season and will open the Big Ten tournament on Friday against Minnesota or Penn State. Frank Kaminsky led Wisconsin with 14 points. Nigel Hayes added 12, Josh Gasser had 11 and Ben Brust finished with 10. On top of a Nebraska defence that held Wisconsin to 43-per cent shooting, the Badgers struggled at the free-throw line, making just 11 of 21. "We just didnt do the things necessary to win the basketball game. Thats what it boils down to," Kaminsky said. "We had a scouting report and we let them get away with some things." Kaminskys 3-pointer gave Wisconsin its last lead before the Huskers went on their decisive run. "Once we got the lead, we werent going to give it back," Petteway said. The stage was set early on for a big night at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Gallegos and fellow senior Mike Peltz were honoured, with Peltz taking the festivities to the next level when he got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend at centre court with his teammates jumping around behind him. She said yes. Miles narrated a video tribute to the fans and, for the first time, the team ran onto the court through a fog machine. A card section was set up in the south end zone, with students raising a giant red "N" against a white backdrop before tipoff. ' ' '