Other than setting the stage for 2019 http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-cozart-jersey , the Pittsburgh Pirates might be the only team with something to play for in a series with the Kansas City Royals that is scheduled to beginabove .500 comes with great rewards compared with a strong finish.“We want to play good baseball to the end,” Pittsburgh outfielder Corey Dickerson told AT&T Sportsnet, adding that the team wants to “have good vibes going into the offseason.”Article continues below ...The Royals will be starting their final road trip and the Pirates are opening their final homestand — although the weather forecast is not in their favor for Monday based on the fallout from the storm named Florence.Pittsburgh (74-74) reached .500 with a 3-2 win Sunday at Milwaukee. The Pirates have won two in a row, three of four and eight in 11.“To be able to get a series win against a division rival this late in the year, it’s good for us,” Pirates winning pitcher Trevor Williams said Sunday. “It’s good for us to carry this momentum into our final homestand.”Kansas City (52-97) would have to be nearly flawless down the stretch to avoid 100 losses for the fifth time in team history and first time since 2006, The Royals had won three in a row and five of six and were 14-6 since Aug. 24 before falling 9-6 on Sunday to Minnesota.Pittsburgh is 12-5 in interleague play, second best in the major leagues.Kansas City has not played in Pittsburgh since 2012.In the series opener, Kansas City right-hander Brad Keller (8-6, 3.04 ERA) is scheduled to face Pirates right-hander Joe Musgrove (6-9, 3.87 ERA).Keller has been a bright spot for the Royals. He leads qualifying American League rookies in ERA and his name has circulated in Rookie of the Year discussions.“I don’t really look at that,” Keller said of the award, according to MLB.com. “It’s cool to be in the talks. But the team winning is what matters. It’s cool, but it doesn’t matter much.”He joined the Royals’ rotation on May 30 and is 7-5 with a 3.26 ERA since.On Tuesday, Keller gave up a run and four hits, with six strikeouts and two walks, in seven innings of a 6-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. It was his sixth straight start giving up two runs or fewer.The run he allowed was in the third Reggie Jackson Jersey , and he followed that by retiring 13 of the last 14 batters he faced, the exception being a walk in the sixth.“I felt like I didn’t have my best stuff, but I settled down and gave the team a chance to get the lead and then go deep into the game,” said Keller, who will face Pittsburgh for the first time.Musgrove, who has never faced Kansas City, has a 3.65 ERA in nine starts and 56 1/3 innings since the All-Star break, and has lasted at least seven innings in half of his past 10 starts.On Tuesday, he struck out eight but gave up four runs in six innings of an 11-5 loss at St. Louis. ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The only thing Shohei Ohtani couldn’t do Wednesday night was pitch.Ohtani homered twice during a huge night at the plate after getting bad news about his injured elbow, and the Los Angeles Angels cruised to a 9-3 victory over the Texas Rangers.Perhaps headed for Tommy John surgery, the two-way rookie sensation went 4 for 4 with three RBIs, four runs and a stolen base to power the Angels. About two hours before the game, the team announced Ohtani has new damage in his right elbow and ligament-replacement surgery has been recommended.“Obviously, disappointment in the news today,” manager Mike Scioscia said.Scioscia wasn’t surprised that Ohtani could keep his composure, though.“He’s mentally tough in any situation he’s ever in http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-cozart-jersey ,” the manager added. “Tonight, he was a hitter. He didn’t think about what the future is and what the decision is he’s got to make for his elbow. He was out there playing baseball and hitting the ball.”Ohtani didn’t speak with reporters after the announcement about his injury — or following the game.“There’s more questions out there right now than answers. We’ll take it one step at a time,” Scioscia said before the game. “There’s a lot of consulting that Shohei will do with doctors and just see what the best course of action is, and we’ll see where we are.”The club said the Japanese star had an MRI earlier in the day that revealed the problem in his ulnar collateral ligament.Angels general manager Billy Eppler said Ohtani hasn’t formally decided to have Tommy John surgery. Eppler and Ohtani plan to have an in-depth conversation about his future Monday after the Angels return from their road trip.“We committed to each other in this process, and we will get through it together as a team,” Eppler said. “But I do feel disappointment for the people in that clubhouse, and primarily Shohei.”The latest development has been dreaded by the Angels and Ohtani’s many fans since he was diagnosed with a sprained UCL following a start June 6. After receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection and an injection of stem cells, he was hitting again in early July, and returned to the mound with his start Sunday at Houston.Ohtani lasted only 2 1/3 innings in that outing against the Astros, and he had a drastic drop in velocity during the game. He had been scheduled to throw a light bullpen Wednesday, but never did after reporting his elbow was sore. The medical staff then decided he should get the new MRI in Texas.Although Ohtani is enjoying success as the Angels’ designated hitter, Eppler flatly declared that the Angels still see Ohtani as a two-way player, however long they must wait for his pitching career to resume.Last fall, Ohtani was diagnosed with a sprained elbow ligament while in Japan. Major League Baseball teams were advised of his condition before they could bid on his rights.The Angels paid the $20 million posting fee to Ohtani’s previous club, the Nippon Ham Fighters. Ohtani, who is under the Angels’ contractual control for six years, signed a minor league deal and got $2 Yunel Escobar Jersey ,315,000 in international bonus money from the Angels.In 10 starts on the mound, the right-hander was 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA this season. He struck out 63 with 22 walks in 51 2/3 innings.Ohtani’s homers on Wednesday were both towering drives pulled into the right-field seats against right-handed relievers Austin Bibens-Dirkx and Eddie Butler. With his second two-homer game, Ohtani tied Kenji Johjima’s 2006 major league record of 18 homers in a season by a Japanese rookie.Andrelton Simmons also homered for the Angels and drove in three runs.Los Angeles rookie Jaime Barria (10-8) beat Texas for the third time and 45-year-old Bartolo Colon (7-12) for the second. Barria has not beaten any other team more than once but has a 0.86 ERA against the Rangers in 21 innings over four starts.Barria allowed two hits and three walks while striking out five in five innings.TRAINER’S ROOMAngels: If not for the injury announcement about Ohtani, it would have been bigger news that CF Mike Trout wasn’t in the lineup a night after being hit on his right leg by a pitch. “His calf is tight,” Scioscia said. “I don’t think we need to push it tonight. We’ll give him (Wednesday) and (Thursday) to recover, and he’ll be ready to play.”Rangers: OF Willie Calhoun was not available because of what manager Jeff Banister called “a little bit of a chest cold.”BELTRE’S BLASTAdrian Beltre hit a two-run shot for Texas, the 472nd homer of his career, in the sixth inning against Jim Johnson. Three of Beltre’s 10 homers this season have come in the last five games.UP NEXTAngels: Resume their road trip Friday in Chicago. RHP Felix Pena (1-4, 4.19 ERA) will pitch for Los Angeles, and LHP Carlos Rodon (6-4, 2.89) for the White Sox.Rangers: Play on Friday at Oakland, with RHP Yovani Gallardo (8-3, 5.97 ERA) opposing RHP Chris Bassitt (2-3, 3.19) of the A’s. Sixteen of Texas’ final 22 games will be on the road.