KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Perhaps it simply took a whirlwind trip to the White House for the Kansas City Royals to remember that theyre the reigning World Series champions.Danny Duffy scattered four hits while pitching into the seventh inning, the Royals scratched out three runs off the Rangers Yu Darvish, and Kansas City shrugged off a sluggish start to the second half to beat Texas 3-1 on Friday night in the opener of their three-game series.I think being around the guys on an off day was a positive, said Duffy, who along with the rest of the Royals slipped out of town to see President Barack Obama in the midst of a long homestand. We got to do something not a lot of people get to do.The Royals had dropped four of six since the All-Star break before Friday night, when Duffy (6-1) gave up only Rougned Odors homer in the fourth inning. The left-hander struck out four, walked two and gave his bullpen a breather on a steamy evening that began with a heat index of 108 degrees.Luke Hochevar wiggled out of Duffys jam to end the seventh, Kelvin Herrera pitched a perfect eighth and Wade Davis worked around a two-out single in the ninth for his 21st save.The victory kept the Royals (48-47) from dropping below .500 for the first time since May 17.Duffys got a big fastball with a quality changeup and breaking ball. He was really tough on us, Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. A quality start, a quality starter, hes been doing that all year.Darvish (2-2) nearly matched Duffy in his third start off the disabled list. He allowed single runs in each of the first three innings, struck out 11 and made only one big mistake -- Cheslor Cuthberts home run.I feel really good about where Yu is at and what he showed us tonight, Banister said.Still, it wasnt good enough to keep the AL West-leading Rangers from losing for the eighth time in nine games. The slide has been marked by poor pitching, inconsistent hitting and a series of devastating injuries -- sluggers Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo went on the DL earlier this week.Without them, the Rangers certainly struggled to create scoring chances Friday night.Duffy carved through the lineup without allowing a hit the first time through, the only baserunner a walk to Elvis Andrus. He went on to load the bases on a single and hit batter in the third inning, but Duffy calmly struck out Ian Desmond on three pitches to leave them stranded.His only other trouble came when he put runners on the corners with two outs in the seventh, forcing Hochevar in from the bullpen. He got pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland on a liner to preserve a 3-1 lead.They built it in typical Royals fashion: They scored a run in the first on a single, stolen base, error and groundout then scored again in the second on a walk, stolen base and consecutive singles.It wasnt until Cuthbert went deep leading off the third that they made Darvish look fallible.Darvish is a really good pitcher, Royals manager Ned Yost said. To scratch out two runs early is perfect situational baseball, to give us that lead early.ROSTER MOVESThe Rangers reinstated LHP Jake Diekman (cut left index finger) from the DL and designated LHP Cesar Ramos for assignment. Diekman last pitched July 5 at Boston.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: Fielder will see neck specialist Dr. Drew Dossett on Monday. The DH/1B is facing the prospect of season-ending neck surgery after an MRI earlier this week revealed a herniated disk near an area that was repaired two years ago. Dossett also performed that procedure.Royals: CF Lorenzo Cain (left hamstring strain) hoped to begin a rehab assignment his weekend, but it has been pushed back to early next week. Hes been on the DL since June 29. He was pushing it too hard two days ago and just kind of fatigued his leg, Yost said. Not a setback by any stretch.UP NEXTRangers LHP Cole Hamels, who tossed eight sharp innings in a win over the Cubs his last time out, makes his first career start at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday. He faces Royals RHP Yordano Ventura.Cheap Clippers Jerseys . 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Cheap Custom Clippers Jersey . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim.HOUSTON -- Josh Reddick never expected to hear from the Houston Astros.I didnt know if I was on these guys radar, the outfielder said Wednesday after finalizing a $52 million, four-year contract. It was something that came out of nowhere for me, not in a bad way. I was very excited to hear from them. Texas is something that brings me a little closer to home.Reddick, who is from Georgia, was drafted by Boston in 2006, traded to Oakland after the 2011 season and dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers at last summers trade deadline on Aug. 1. Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said Houston and Oakland talked about a possible deal.This is going to be a winning environment for the next four years, Luhnow said, describing his pitch to Reddick. We were willing to commit to the length of the deal early. Really felt like he fit in well with the culture that were trying to build here. It spoke to him because hes seen it firsthand.Reddick, who gets $13 million in each of the next four seasons, appealed to the Astros as a free agent because he bats left-handed, won a Gold Glove and does not turn 30 until February.In eight big league seasons, Reddick has 96 homers, 346 RBI and a .dddddddddddd255 batting average.Get to stay in the same division. Very comfortable being in this division, Reddick said. I know how things work. I know the stadiums. I know the pitching staffs. I know the hitters. So its going to make this a very easy transition for me.Minute Maid Park was considered to be hitter friendly, even before renovations this offseason moved the center field wall in from 436 feet to 409. Reddick is looking forward to hitting more home runs in Houston than he did at the Oakland Coliseum.Hopefully some of these fly balls Ive hit at the Coliseum over the last 4 1/2 years can maybe be 10 rows deep here, he said.Reddick did not want to drag out contract talks.I think it was good before the winter meetings so you didnt have to worry about all the hype, he said. Go home and for the next 2 1/2 months train and get ready. Relax a lot better knowing I have a home and a good home once it comes around to February. ' ' '