ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Anther one-run loss for the Tampa Bay Rays, another sleepless night for manager Kevin Cash.Salvador Perez hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning off left-hander Xavier Cedeno that carried the Kansas City Royals to a 3-2 win over the Rays on Tuesday night.Cash had right-hander Kevin Jepsen warming up, but didnt bring him in until after the decisive homer by the right-handed hitting Perez.I dont know why he left (Cedeno) in, but Ill take it, said Perez.Perez obviously is a very good hitter, said Cash. (I was) looking for him maybe to expand out of the zone and it looked like maybe we left a pitch that was something he could hit. Thats probably a decision that Ill lose a little sleep over tonight, for sure.Perezs 16th homer came off Cedeno (3-3) after a single by Eric Hosmer. It lifted the Royals to their 12th win in their last 13 games against Tampa Bay.Chris Young (3-8) got the win in relief, and Kelvin Herrera pitched the ninth for his third save.The Rays scored twice in the fifth off starter Yordano Ventura without hitting the ball to the outfield. Logan Forsythe walked and later scored on Kevin Kiermaiers bunt single. After Brad Millers infield single, Desmond Jennings scored Kiermaier with a groundout to shortstop.Forsythe had three hits for the Rays, who left 11 on base and went 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position.We just came up short with runners on base, Cash said.Five of the Rays last six losses have been by one run, and they are betting .141 with runners i scoring position in their nine losses since he All-Star break.Ventura pitched five innings, giving up two runs, six hits and four walks.Rays starter Matt Andriese pitched four innings in his first start since June 25, giving up one run on three hits while striking out three. Andriese returned to the rotation following Mondays trade of Matt Moore to the San Francisco Giants.I knew I wasnt going to be able to go that deep in the game, but to get four quality innings out there, it was good, Andriese said. Its a good one to build off of.DISAPPOINTED LONGOTampa Bay slugger Evan Longoria said it was disappointing to see Moore, INF Steve Pearce and OF Brandon Guyer traded in separate deals Monday that netted SS Matt Duffy from San Francisco and five prospects.You see three guys like those three guys leave sometimes its a little tough to stomach, Longoria said. Well move forward and hopefully the guys we got in return will be the players that we expect.TRAINERS ROOMRays: OF Mikie Mahtook (fractured left hand) went 1 for 3 with a walk in his first rehab game with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Rays. ... Touted shortstop prospect Daniel Robertson has been placed on the disabled list with Triple-A Durham.UP NEXTEdinson Volquez (8-9) will make his team-leading 23rd start for the Royals on Wednesday night against Jake Odorizzi (5-5), who is working on a steak of 14 2/3 scoreless innings for the Rays.Cheap Custom Jerseys . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Custom NFL Jerseys . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. http://www.customjerseysnearme.com/custom-soccer-jerseys-186h.html . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. Cheap Custom Wear .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. Custom Uniforms Outlet . And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges.MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- There was a time this summer when a seventh championship seemed out of reach for Jimmie Johnson.Hendrick Motorsports was struggling and Johnson wasnt at the top of many lists to contend for the title.Then the Hendrick organization flipped a switch, built better, faster cars, and Johnson turned it up a notch. Now, that slot in NASCARs record books is absolutely within reach.Johnson earned one of four spots in next months title-deciding season finale Sunday with his ninth career victory at Martinsville Speedway . The six-time NASCAR champion will race for his seventh championship, which would tie him for the record with Hall of Famers Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt.Ive been trying to ignore this conversation about seven, and now I cant, said Johnson, who doesnt particularly want to start thinking about the stakes just yet.Ill probably lie to all of you guys and say Im not going to think about it at all. But its inevitable. Fortunately, I dont have to think about it for three weeks. But were going to enjoy this and savor it. Were going to get our ducks in a row for Homestead.The victory blocked Joe Gibbs Racing from placing all four of Toyota drivers in the final round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup title . There are only three spots still open in the Nov. 20 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and JGRs hope of sweeping the final four ended Sunday.Most likely to miss the final? Carl Edwards, who had a tire problem and finished 36th at Martinsville -- lowest of the eight Chase drivers. Also in trouble: Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch, who finished 20th and 22nd.Brad Keselowski, eliminated from the Chase last week , finished second and was irritated by a lengthy caution earlier in the race when NASCAR struggled to figure out the running order. Had those laps not been wasted under yellow, Keselowski absolutely believed he could have beat Johnson.We dont need to run 100 laps under yellow with the field, not trying to figure out where theyre at, and it probably cost us the race, Keselowski said.The caution took 29 laps, and left some grumbling the order still wasnt correct when the race restarted.I think the stakes are so high, I really wish we would have red flagged the race, gone, reviewed it and gotten it right, said third-place finisher Denny Hamlin. Theres a 100 percent chance it was not right at the end. It changed the running order.Hopefully, that doesnt change what happens going into Homestead. I know that NASCAR is doing everything they can with the scoring they have and things like that. But you have to get it right. It definitely was not right.JGR finished third, fourth and fifth as Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch are insiide the top-four as the series heads to Texas Motor Speedway.dddddddddddd But all was not well in the Gibbs camp after the race.Busch felt Hamlin -- finished the highest by holding up Kenseth and Busch in the waning laps. Although the teammates worked well together on restarts, Busch felt that Hamlin not getting out of the way allowed Johnson to win and Keselowski to finish second.We work so good together that we just gave the win to (Johnson). So, JGR all the way, Busch said. At the end, you had the slowest Gibbs car holding up the rest of the line, and all we did was let somebody else from another organization pass us and go up there and chase down (Johnson).Hamlin disputed Buschs view.I may have held those guys up for a little bit of that final run, but definitely dont think I was holding anyone up at the end, for sure, Hamlin said.Jeff Gordon finished sixth in his final scheduled race as the replacement driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. It is presumably the final race of Gordons career. He retired last season, but was pressed into eight races when Earnhardt suffered a concussion.Martin Truex Jr. finished seventh and was followed by Jamie McMurray and Joey Logano, winner last week at Talladega but now the first driver below the cutline in the Chase.It was an unusually fast race for Martinsville standards, and the five cautions were the fewest since April of 1989.SCARY SCENE: Track officials said 22 pedestrians were struck by a motorist in a parking lot outside the speedway after the race.A track official said there were no life-threatening injuries, although seven were transported to Memorial Hospital in Martinsville, Virginia, and two more were transported to Morehead Memorial Hospital in Eden.One person was taken into custody after the incident for questioning.JOHNSON VS. HAMLIN: There was mid-race aggression between Johnson and Hamlin , as Hamlin moved Johnson out of his way for a pass for position.He thinks hes a (expletive) king, doesnt do anything wrong, Hamlin radioed.Johnson didnt understand Hamlins lack of patience, and Hamlin said it stems from incidents in the first two rounds of the Chase.DEHYDRATED DRIVERS: It was the warmest fall race at Martinsville since 1999 and temperatures in the mid-80s caused overheating for at least two drivers.AJ Allmendinger and Michael McDowell had to be treated for dehydration after the race, and both were released from the care center.Michael Annett also was treated after the race, but NASCAR did not disclose his symptoms.UP NEXT: A Sunday stop at Texas Motor Speedway, where Johnson has won the last four November races. ' ' '