2, a game Brady missed while serving his suspension.Steelers: Wide receiver Antonio Brown left briefly in the third quarter with a left quadriceps injury but returned, though he was largely in

TORONTO -- Right now, offensive production is at a premium for the Kansas City Royals.Michael Saunders hit a solo home run in the fourth inning and singled home the winning run in the eighth as Toronto completed a three-game sweep of Kansas City, beating the Royals 4-2 on Wednesday night.The Royals have dropped four straight, scoring nine runs in that span.Offensively, theres just not much going on right now with us, manager Ned Yost said.Kansas City struggled against Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman, who allowed two runs and three hits in eight innings to win for the first time in four starts.Thats as good as youre ever going to see him, manager John Gibbons said. He had everything working.It was the third straight strong outing by a Blue Jays starter. Aaron Sanchez allowed one run in eight innings to beat the Royals on Monday and R.A. Dickey allowed two runs, none earned, in seven innings to win Tuesday.Three tough outings that we saw from their guys, Kansas Citys Eric Hosmer said. They did a good job of pumping strikes and mixing both sides of the plate. They had a pretty good game plan coming in against us and they definitely executed it.Roberto Osuna finished for his 17th save as Toronto won its season-high fifth straight.One of five AL candidates for the Final Vote, Saunders opened the scoring with a one-out drive off Ian Kennedy in the fourth, his 16th.He did a pretty good job of hitting that one, Kennedy said. Hes seeing the ball really well. Thats the reason hes on the Final Vote. Hes having a good year.Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-out double off Kelvin Herrera (1-2) in the eighth and scored when Saunders lined a single to center. Russell Martin followed with an RBI double.Saunders raised his average to .296. Hes three home runs shy of his career-high, set with Seattle in 2012.Hes had a tremendous year, Gibbons said.Stroman was perfect through five innings, throwing 44 pitches. Kansas City didnt hit a ball out of the infield until Paulo Orlando flied to center to end the fifth.Brett Eibner broke Stromans streak when he walked on a 3-2 pitch to begin the sixth. The next batter, Alcides Escobar, broke up the no-hitter and ended Stromans shutout bid with an RBI triple.Toronto led 2-1 on Ezequiel Carreras RBI single in the fifth, but Eibner tied it 2-all when he connected off Stroman in the eighth.Kennedy allowed two runs and four hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out 10, one shy of his season high.WHOLE LOTTA LONG BALLSOpponents have hit 21 home runs off Kennedy this season, tied for second-most in the majors. Hes surrendered at least one homer in seven consecutive starts, giving up 13 in that span.DOME DEVELOPMENTSThe retractable roof was open when the game began but started to close during the top of the sixth. It was still sliding shut when a light rain began falling in the bottom of the seventh. Play was not interrupted.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals: DH Kendrys Morales (back) was held out of the starting lineup.Blue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada was placed on the 15-day DL, one day after being named to the All-Star team for the first time. Estrada will still attend the game in San Diego but wont be able to pitch. ... RHP Drew Hutchison will start for Toronto in the opener of a four-game series against Detroit on Thursday. ... RHP Bo Schultz was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo.UP NEXTRoyals: LHP Danny Duffy (4-1, 3.11) starts as Kansas City returns home for a four-game series against Seattle. Hes 0-1 with a 1.69 ERA in five games against the Mariners, including three starts. LHP James Paxton (2-3, 4.24) starts for Seattle.Blue Jays: Hutchison is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two games, one start. He went 6-3 with a 2.78 ERA in 15 starts at Buffalo. RHP Justin Verlander (8-6, 4.11) starts for Detroit.Custom Oklahoma City Thunder Jerseys .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Andre Roberson Thunder Jersey . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. https://www.thunderrookiesshop.com/Danilo-Gallinari-City-Edition-Jersey/ .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. Darius Bazley Jersey . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. D.J. Augustin Thunder Jersey . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91.PITTSBURGH -- On the road in one of the toughest places to play no matter whos at quarterback for the hosts, the New England Patriots never trailed in a 27-16 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.And still, it wasnt nearly good enough for Tom Brady.Not that it ever is.Though New Englands control of the game was only sporadically threatened, what struck Brady the most were the missed opportunities. The two dropped passes on third downs in the first half that cut drives short. The two fumbles that gave the Steelers possession in New England territory. The lack of any downfield passing game to someone not named Rob Gronkowski.Our execution, when it was good we made a lot of good plays, Brady said. I think there were self-inflicted wounds that really hurt us. Its still really good to come in here and get the win.One that left little doubt about where the balance of power lies in the AFC as the season reaches its midway point.New England (6-1) remained perfect since Bradys return from his four-game Deflategate suspension. He improved to 9-2 all-time against Pittsburgh even on a day when he wasnt as sharp as he would have liked.Then again, the standards are pretty high. Bradys thrown 26 touchdowns against just three interceptions when facing the Steelers. While Pittsburgh pressured him at times, the Steelers failed to record a sack and twice let the 39-year-old scramble for first downs. Yes, really.I feel like we definitely had some hits on him, Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats said. When youve got Brady back there running around, thats a good sign but weve got to get him on the ground.Or any other important Patriot for that matter. Brady threw for 222 yards with two scores, LeGarrette Blount finished with 127 yards and two touchdowns of his own and Gronkowski added his 68th career touchdown reception to tie Stanley Morgan for the most in club history.Were looking like garbage right now, Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier said. This is terrible right now.Not so much in New England, which responded emphatically whenever the Steelers made a push. Just like always.It was ... good to make plays in the second half when we needed to, Brady said. They certainly made it tough for us.LANDRYS LAUNCHPittsburgh backup quarterback Landry Jones played well at times while filling in for injured Ben Roethlisberger, who wore sweats on the sideline over his surgically repaired left knee and offered wwhat advice he could.ddddddddddddWhile Jones wasnt perfect while completing 27 of 49 passes for 281 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his third career start , he was hardly the only reason the Steelers (4-3) dropped their second straight and fell to 11-10 in games not started by Roethlisberger since 2004.The bigger issue for the Steelers wasnt Jones but an inability to stop the Patriots when it mattered and too many miscues in the red zone. The Steelers crossed the goal line just once, had a touchdown called back due to a penalty and watched normally reliable kicker Chris Boswell miss two field goals.BLOUNTS RETURNBlount received a loud chorus of boos during his first touch in the first quarter, a reminder of the ill will he generated when the Steelers cut him two years ago for insubordination . He had the last laugh, ripping off 74 yards in the second half alone to prevent Pittsburgh from focusing exclusively on Brady.To see him come in, run the ball super hard downhill, its just awesome, Gronkowski said of Blount.INJURIESPatriots: escaped Pittsburgh largely unharmed, good news as they prepare for a visit to Buffalo next week. The Bills beat the Patriots 16-0 on Oct. 2, a game Brady missed while serving his suspension.Steelers: Wide receiver Antonio Brown left briefly in the third quarter with a left quadriceps injury but returned, though he was largely ineffective late on a day he finished with seven receptions for 106 yards.WELCOME BREAKPittsburgh is off next week, a much-needed respite for a team that had five regular contributors unavailable on Sunday due to injury. Its uncertain when Roethlisberger may return, though Pittsburgh is hopeful to have defensive end Cam Heyward (hamstring) and right tackle Marcus Gilbert (ankle) back when it visits Baltimore on Nov. 6.Regardless of what happens during the bye, the Steelers will still have at least a share of first place in the AFC North when they face the Ravens. For now, thats little solace.It you want to look at the records thats nice, wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey said. I guess the team that wins the division goes to the playoffs but after that loss I cant really think about that. Weve got to get better, get healthy.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '