KANSAS CITY, Mo. Vinnie Hinostroza Jersey . -- The World Series champions have failed to make the postseason for the fourth year in a row.Kendrys Morales and Alex Gordon keyed an eighth-inning rally and Kansas City beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2 on Wednesday night, but the Royals were still knocked out of playoff contention.The defending World Series champs were eliminated when Baltimore beat Toronto 3-2 earlier Wednesday.Obviously wed like to be playing a lot more baseball, but the reality of it is were not, said Eric Hosmer, who hit a two-run homer in the third.Morales ground-rule double to right scored Jarrod Dyson, who had doubled and stole third. Gordons single scored Whit Merrifield and pinch-runner Billy Burns.Dyson said he would not be watching postseason games.Its kind of sad and tough to watch postseason when youre not in it, Dyson said.The Twins, who have lost 10 of 11, have dropped 102 games, tying the 1982 team for its highest total since moving to Minnesota for the 1961 season. The Washington Senators lost a franchise-worst 113 games in 1904.Were trying to win games, but its becoming difficult, Twins right-hander Ervin Santana said. But, I think we just try to do too much and we forgot about the little things. Its a game. You just have to prepare to be better for the next year.Taylor Rogers (3-1), the fourth of five Twins pitchers, took the loss after allowing three runs, three hits and two walks while retiring only one of the six batters he faced.Joakim Soria (5-8) worked a scoreless eighth to pick up the victory. Wade Davis got his 27th save in 30 chances.Royals left-hander Jason Vargas tossed five shutout innings, allowing four hits, striking out six and walking one. He threw 53 strikes in 87 pitches, leaving with a 2-0 lead in his third start since having Tommy John surgery in 2015. Vargas finishes with a 2.25 ERA, allowing three runs and eight hits while striking out 11 and walking three in 12 innings.It was nice to have a reward as far as having some success once I was able to step underneath the lights and really get out there for real, Vargas said. Going into the offseason, I was just hoping for health as far as being able to have the normal offseason. So to have a nice outing like this before is a nice comfortable feeling.Rookie Kevin McCarthy, however, did not hold the lead for long. McCarthy yielded a two-run two-out home run to Kennys Vargas in the sixth. After McCarthy walked the next two batters, Peter Moylan was summoned to face John Ryan Murphy, retiring him on a comebacker.The Vargas homer snapped a Twins streak of 106 innings without more than one run. According to Elias, it is the longest such streak in the majors since the Philadelphia Phillies went 109 innings in 1942 without scoring multiple runs.We just kind of stagnated from there, Twins manager Paul Molitor said.Hosmer hit a two-run homer, his 25th, off Santana in the third. The Royals did not get another hit until Dysons one-out double in the eighth.NO REPEATThe Royals follow the San Francisco Giants (in 2013 and 15) and Boston Red Sox (in 2014) in failing to reach the playoffs after winning the World Series.ATTENDANCE DECLINEThe Wednesday attendance of 23,437 pushed the Royals season total to 2,445,361 after 77 home dates. After 77 Kauffman Stadium dates last year, the Royals had pulled 2,564,750 through the turnstiles, a decline of 119,389.ZERO AT KCThe Twins dropped to 0-9 at Kauffman Stadium. They have never finished a season winless at Kansas City.TRAINERS ROOMTwins: 1B Joe Mauer (hamstring injury) was not in the lineup, but Molitor said he was available to pinch hit.Royals: OF Lorenzo Cain, who has played only one game in September because of left wrist inflammation, will not play again this season. There is no need to push him, Royals manager Ned Yost said.UP NEXTTwins: RHP Kyle Gibson, who went to the University of Missouri, will make his 11th career start against the Royals.Royals: LHP Danny Duffy is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in three outings against the Twins this season. Derek Stepan Jersey .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. Jeremy Roenick Coyotes Jersey . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. http://www.officialcoyotesfanstore.com/a...coyotes-jersey/ . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. LEXINGTON, Ky. -- As top-ranked Kentucky develops in small steps, the on-court relationship between Malik Monk and DeAaron is clearly off and running.Monk scored 23 points and Fox had 16 points and 11 assists to propel the Wildcats to a 101-70 rout of Cleveland State on Wednesday that was impressive on several fronts.With leading scorer Isaiah Briscoe sidelined by a back injury, the freshman duo picked up the slack and did it quickly, helping Kentucky (5-0) roll to a 16-2 lead that was never threatened in its first game this season as the nations No. 1 team. They combined for 31 first-half points alone, with 19 from Monk, whose 4-for-4 start from long range and 8-of-12 shooting overall helped him match his career scoring best set last week against Michigan State.We played well, Fox said. Without Isaiah today, people stepped up and we ended up getting the win.They combined for 15 assists -- including 10 in the first half -- and seven rebounds with two steals apiece, looking to each other when Kentucky was in transition.Which was often.We have great chemistry, Monk said. Although we never played that much together, we know where we are on the court. Thats another thing that makes this team so close.Their chemistry was evident in the first half when Monk stole the ball near midcourt and drove toward the basket before bouncing the ball off the glass perfectly back to the trailing Fox, whose thunderous dunk brought a roar from the crowd of 22,441 at Rupp Arena.It was just a great pass, Fox said. In transition if a guy plays you, you give it up and thats what happened. The guy played him, he threw it off the glass and I dunked it.Bam Adebayo added 14 points and seven rebounds while Mychal Mulder matched a career high with 13 for Kentucky, which shot a season-best 52 percent from the field and broke 100 points for the first time this season. Wenyen Gabriel had 10 points and 10 rebounds as Kentucky won the second of three games in the Bluegrass Showcase.Rob Edwards 28 points on 12-of-21 shooting led Cleveland State (1-3), which couuldnt keep up with the Wildcats on either end. Wayne Gretzky Coyotes Jersey. The Vikings committed 19 turnovers, shot 39 percent and were outrebounded 47-36.Were trying to do everything from the outside and thats hard against a team like Kentucky because their guards really come after you and play defense, Vikings coach Gary Waters said. And you know what the crazy part about it is? They enjoy doing it.THE BIG PICTURECleveland State: The Vikings appeared headed for a big improvement over their 38 percent shooting effort against UT Martin, with 48 percent accuracy in the first half. But they made just 11 of 35 shots after the break and finished close to their season low. Bobby Word added 14 points.Kentucky: Senior guard Dominique Hawkins started in Briscoes place along with Fox, Monk, Adebayo and Derek Willis (seven points, five rebounds), and that lineup was energetic from the start. Briscoes absence allowed coach John Calipari to use several combinations that were encouraging, though he quickly noted that its still early.I told them after the game, theyre a November team, he said. I dont want my team in November to look like its January or February. ... Were a ways away from where we need to be.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Wildcats should remain atop the rankings through next weekend, with their only major upcoming test on Monday against Arizona State in the Bahamas.IN THE HOUSEFormer Kentucky standout and NBA veteran Tayshaun Prince was among the crowd for the Thanksgiving eve matinee. Prince thanked fans for their support during his time here before looking up at a video of the latest Wildcats in the NBA.UP NEXTCleveland State: Visits Duquesne on Sunday in its final Showcase game.Kentucky: The Wildcats wrap up play in the Showcase on Friday night against UT Martin in the first meeting between the schools since Nov. 26, 1994, when they rolled to a 124-50 win.---More AP college basketball at: www.collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '