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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Ervin Santana plans to give the ball from his 100th career win to his mother. Its a gift thats been a long time coming. Santana pitched seven snappy innings in his seventh attempt to reach the milestone, and the Royals finally gave him enough support in a 7-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday night that also gave Kansas City its fourth consecutive win. "Its a dream come true. Im just very excited for it," Santana said of the win. "Its a long process, a lot of bad outings and a lot of good outings. It feels good to get there." Santana (4-5) entered the game with the worst run support among qualifying pitchers in the American League, a big reason why he already had six fruitless tries to win his 100th game. He finally made thanks to a seemingly endless series of singles and doubles off the Astros Erik Bedard (1-3), who failed to make it through the fifth inning. "Santana pitched good. He was throwing strikes, getting people off balance and getting outs," Bedard said. "On the contrary, when I pitched they got hits and scored runs." Santana allowed five hits in seven innings, striking out six without a walk. The only damage he allowed came on an RBI single by Jose Altuve and a solo homer by Chris Carter. "He was commanding his fastball extremely well, good slider he kept down and on the outside of the plate. Good speed on his breaking ball. But command more than anything else," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He just looked dominant at times." Kansas City had been averaging 2.68 runs per nine innings in games Santana started, and it hadnt scored more than four runs for him before Saturday night. But the offence has been coming alive in the nine games since Hall of Famer George Brett took over as interim hitting coach. The Royals have put up at least four runs in each of their four wins, and thats no negligible feat: They improved to 20-5 when scoring at least four times. The result of the Royals recently improved production has been just their third four-game winning streak of the year and their first since April 30-May 5. It didnt take long for them to strike Saturday night, either. David Lough led off the game with a single and motored into second when centerfielder Brandon Barnes bobbled the ball. Lough scored on a base hit by Salvador Perez, and he in turn came around on a double by Hosmer that was helped into the left-field corner by some gusting wind. The Royals added three more in the fourth when Bedard put the first five batters on base. The runs came on an RBI single by Miguel Tejada, a runs-scoring double by Jeff Francoeur and a bases-loaded, double-play groundout by Lough that made it 5-0. Kansas City tacked on another in the fifth when Hosmer worked a two-out walk and Lorenzo Cain hit a two-out pitch into the gap in right, knocking Bedard from the game. It was a forgettable 200th career start for the left-hander, who gave up six runs in 4 2-3 innings. It certainly bore little resemblance to his last time out, when Bedard allowed just one run over seven innings in a win over the Angels. "I think Erik, even though he battled, there were some plays that probably should have been made that were not made," Astros manager Bo Porter said. "Make no excuse about it, he battled." Santana had no such trouble against the light-hitting Astros, who only had one hit over the first five innings and didnt push a run across until there were two out in the sixth. Carters homer came in the seventh inning. Otherwise, Santana was in control all night. He struck out at least one in each of the first five innings, and picked up his first victory since beating Cleveland on April 27. "Most of us just found out tonight. A hundred wins, thats unbelievable, man," Hosmer said. "This is a tough league. If you get to 100 wins, that means youve had a long career." Notes: Houston CF Brandon Barnes left in the sixth with tightness in his left hamstring. ... The Astros claimed LHP Wade LeBlanc off waivers from Miami. Manager Bo Porter plans to use him out of the bullpen when he arrives Sunday. ... Royals LF Alex Gordon got his first night off of the season. Hes in a 3-for-30 slump. ... Houston RHP Lucas Harrell goes to the mound in the series finale Sunday against Royals RHP Luis Mendoza.Blake Martinez Super Bowl Jersey . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Jaire Alexander Super Bowl Jersey . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. http://www.shoptheofficialpackers.com/Elite-Bryan-Bulaga-Packers-Jersey/ .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. Josh Jackson Super Bowl Jersey . 9. Price, heading to the 2014 Olympics for Canada, was named the First Star after posting wins in three starts with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage. Aaron Jones Super Bowl Jersey . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday.BERLIN -- While Germany eased to its second win in World Cup qualifying on Saturday, England showed it has much to do to placate fans frustrated that their expectations are not being met.Germany comfortably defeated the Czech Republic 3-0 and might have won by more, earning plaudits from supporters who indulged in Mexican waves and created a carnival atmosphere in Hamburg.England could manage only a 2-0 win over lowly Malta, a side ranked 176th by FIFA, for an uninspired start following coach Sam Allardyces dismissal over comments in a newspaper sting that called his integrity into question.Elsewhere, Robert Lewandowski scored for the seventh straight qualifying game, this time hitting a hat trick for Poland to beat Denmark 3-2 in Warsaw.Heres a closer look at Saturdays qualifying games and their respective groups. Only the group winners automatically qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.GROUP CThomas Mueller scored twice for the second game running as Germany produced a polished performance to see off the Czech Republic.Mueller, who scored twice in the opening 3-0 win in Norway, is yet to score in six Bundesliga games for Bayern Munich this season, but he opened the scoring early and completed it in the second half after Toni Kroos doubled the lead.Germany had almost three-quarters of the possession in the first half, seemingly almost all of it in the Czechs half, while 93 percent passing accuracy was an indication of the home sides dominance.The only quibble coach Joachim Loew could have had was that his side did not add to its goal tally despite the glut of chances before the break.Loew previously suggested the Czech Republic, which drew with Northern Ireland 0-0 in its opening group game, was Germanys toughest group opponent, but on this display it seems the World Cup champion will have little trouble in qualifying.Elsewhere, Northern Ireland defeated San Marino 4-0 in Belfast, and Maksim Medvedevs early goal was enough for Azerbaijan to beat Norway 1-0 in Baku, giving the team two wins in a World Cup group for the first time.ddddddddddddGROUP FGareth Southgate enjoyed a straightforward but unchallenging introduction to international management as a second new England era in a month opened with the victory over Malta.Daniel Sturridges header from Jordan Hendersons cross, and Dele Allis strike in the first half sealed it, but England lacked dynamism and urgency up front, especially in the second half.Regardless, this performance is unlikely to be a factor when the Football Association decides whether to entrust Southgate with the job as Allardyces permanent successor.Southgate was rapidly promoted from the under-21s last week after Allardyce was dismissed, his tenure lasting only 67 days.Scotland substitute James McArthur scored late to salvage a 1-1 draw with Lithuania in Glasgow, while another substitute, Rok Kronaveter earned Slovenia a 1-0 win at home over Slovakia.GROUP ELewandowski again met high expectations by scoring for the seventh consecutive qualifier with his third hat trick of the season to beat Denmark.He netted a cross by Kamil Grosicki in the 20th minute, and converted a penalty 16 minutes later. The hat trick was completed two minutes into the second half of a matchup between the two leading contenders to advance from Group E.An own goal by Kamil Glik gave Denmark its first goal, two minutes after Lewandowskis third, and substitute Yussuf Poulsen added the second in the 69th.Poland, chasing its first World Cup finals since 2006, is tied atop the group with Romania, which routed Armenia 5-0 away, and Montenegro, which grabbed its first win in qualifying with a 5-0 win over Kazakhstan in Podgorica. Denmark trails by a point. ' ' '