KANSAS CITY -- Alex Gordon keeps pumping up the power as the season dwindles down.Gordon pounded a two-run homer to fuel the Royals' 4-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night in front of 15,771 at Kauffman Stadium. The win boosted Kansas City's lead in the American League Central to 1 1/2 games over Detroit.The Royals swept the three-game series from the Rangers and won the season series, five games to one.Jason Vargas pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings for his 11th victory, ending a personal two-game slide. 
There was Gordon thunder in the fourth inning as the outfielder drove a shot high over the center-field wall against Nick Tepesch, a right-hander from suburban Blue Springs, Mo.Omar Infante was on first base with a single, so Vargas had a 2-0 lead.This homer was Gordon's 19th, the club high this season. He's belted 10 of them in the 27 games since Aug. 7. Thirteen of his blasts have either given the Royals a lead or tied a game.The Royals added two runs in the seventh inning after Salvador Perez led off with a double to left field. After an out, Billy Butler drilled a double past third base and Perez scored.Terrance Gore, the Minor League speedster who was called up to be a pinch-running specialist, took over for Butler at second. After the second out, left-hander Alex Claudio relieved Tepesch.With Mike Moustakas at the plate, Gore broke for third base and was sliding in as catcher Tomas Telis' throw bounced into left field. Gore scored on the error. Gore, in his second game, had his first steal and his first run.Vargas is never allergic to baserunners, it's just runs that make him sneeze. For six innings, he pitched past and around four hits and an error and held the Rangers scoreless.He got two outs in the seventh, but then singles by Leonys Martin and Luis Sardinas prompted a switch to the guardian of the seventh inning, Kelvin Herrera. He got Daniel Robertson on a soft liner to end the inning.Vargas' line showed six hits, no walks and five strikeouts. He threw 102 pitches.Royals reliever Louis Coleman, after issuing the game's first walk, got two outs in the eighth, but Elvis Andrus got to third on an out and a wild pitch. When he scored on Ryan Rua's single, shrinking the Royals' lead to 4-1, a summons went out to the guardian of the eighth inning, Wade Davis.Adam Rosales drilled a single to right field, sending Rua to third. That brought the potential tying run to the plate, but Davis retired Telis on an easy grounder.Greg Holland, guardian of the ninth inning, was next out of the Royals' bullpen. Easy as 1-2-3, he had his 42nd save.Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
There was Gordon thunder in the fourth inning as the outfielder drove a shot high over the center-field wall against Nick Tepesch, a right-hander from suburban Blue Springs, Mo.Omar Infante was on first base with a single, so Vargas had a 2-0 lead.This homer was Gordon's 19th, the club high this season. He's belted 10 of them in the 27 games since Aug. 7. Thirteen of his blasts have either given the Royals a lead or tied a game.The Royals added two runs in the seventh inning after Salvador Perez led off with a double to left field. After an out, Billy Butler drilled a double past third base and Perez scored.Terrance Gore, the Minor League speedster who was called up to be a pinch-running specialist, took over for Butler at second. After the second out, left-hander Alex Claudio relieved Tepesch.With Mike Moustakas at the plate, Gore broke for third base and was sliding in as catcher Tomas Telis' throw bounced into left field. Gore scored on the error. Gore, in his second game, had his first steal and his first run.Vargas is never allergic to baserunners, it's just runs that make him sneeze. For six innings, he pitched past and around four hits and an error and held the Rangers scoreless.He got two outs in the seventh, but then singles by Leonys Martin and Luis Sardinas prompted a switch to the guardian of the seventh inning, Kelvin Herrera. He got Daniel Robertson on a soft liner to end the inning.Vargas' line showed six hits, no walks and five strikeouts. He threw 102 pitches.Royals reliever Louis Coleman, after issuing the game's first walk, got two outs in the eighth, but Elvis Andrus got to third on an out and a wild pitch. When he scored on Ryan Rua's single, shrinking the Royals' lead to 4-1, a summons went out to the guardian of the eighth inning, Wade Davis.Adam Rosales drilled a single to right field, sending Rua to third. That brought the potential tying run to the plate, but Davis retired Telis on an easy grounder.Greg Holland, guardian of the ninth inning, was next out of the Royals' bullpen. Easy as 1-2-3, he had his 42nd save.Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
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