CLEVELAND -- Theyre alive, barely, but it beats the alternative. The Indians playoff hopes are fragile, and theyre doing all they can to keep them from shattering. Yan Gomes hit a three-run homer, Michael Brantley got three more hits and Cleveland stayed in the AL wild-card chase for at least one more day with a 6-4 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night. A loss would have eliminated the Indians, but after blowing a 3-0 lead, they rallied and moved within 3 1/2 games of Kansas City and Oakland in the wild-card standings. There are four days left in the regular season. "We said all year long as long as we have life, were going to keep battling and thats exactly what we did tonight," outfielder David Murphy said. "Weve had some good moments. Weve had some bad moments this season, but hopefully were going to be going into the last series of the season still alive." The Royals, who havent made the playoffs since 1985, fell two games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central. Zach McAllister (4-7) pitched 2 1-3 scoreless innings and Cody Allen worked the ninth for his 23rd save as the Indians kept their season relevant. Theyre off on Thursday, but the Indians will closely monitor Kansas Citys game in Chicago and Oaklands visit to Texas. "It has all to do whether or not we have life coming into Friday," Murphy said, "so regardless were going to come ready to play, but hopefully were going to be playing for something." Brantley has hit safely in 15 straight games and needs one more hit to be the first Indians player with 200 in a season since Kenny Lofton in 1996. The Indians took the lead in the fifth off rookie Brandon Finnegan (0-1) on Carlos Santanas RBI groundout. Cleveland added a run in the sixth on Murphys pinch sacrifice fly. Cleveland entered the unusual series -- the teams completed a suspended game on Monday -- 3 1/2 games behind the Royals and the Indians ended in the same place. Unfortunately for them, they wasted a chance to pull closer and now have to win their final three games and hope for help from other teams to play in the post-season. Billy Butler had three RBIs for Kansas City, which can lock up one of the two wild cards by winning one of four games in Chicago against the White Sox starting Thursday. "I know things are close, were close," Butler said. "Weve got four games left. If we could do it right now, wed be in a playoff spot. You cant help but realize that its right around the corner, but you have to keep grinding and keep your head down." Their flimsy playoff hopes fading, the Indians scored twice in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead. Jason Vargas hit Michael Bourn with a pitch to open the inning and Royals manager Ned Yost pulled the left-hander, who has just one win in his last seven starts. Jose Ramirez doubled off the wall and the speedy Bourn, waved around by third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh, scored the tying run on a headfirst dive into the plate, reaching in with his left hand to avoid catcher Salvador Perezs tag. "When you see a guy dive into home like that you realize nobodys playing out the string," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "He was pretty fired up." Gomes two-out shot, his 21st homer, to straightaway centre gave the Indians a 3-0 lead in the first. WALK THIS WAY Santana walked three times, giving him 112 this season, the sixth most in club history. Santana has walked more than any major league switch-hitter since Lance Berkman (127) for Houston in 2002. NO RELIEF Indians reliever Bryan Shaw tied the club record with his 79th appearance, matching the mark set by Bobby Howry in 2005. K KINGS Clevelands pitchers have combined for 1,419 strikeouts, nine shy of the major league record set by Detroit in 2013. TRAINERS ROOM Indians: Nick Swisher rejoined his teammates after undergoing surgery on both knees last month. Swisher tried to play through pain for several months before deciding to have his knees "cleaned out." He expects to be ready for the start of spring training. UP NEXT Royals: RHP James Shields (14-8) makes his team-leading 34th start as Kansas City tries to clinch a playoff spot in Chicago. Shields is 20-5 with a 2.48 ERA on the road since the start of 2013. Indians: The Indians end a stretch of 30 games in 30 days with their final off day of 2014. They open a three-game series vs. Tampa Bay on Friday as Corey Kluber (17-9) tries to strengthen his case for the Cy Young. Cheap Shoes Free Shipping . And I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of my experiences gained through International competition and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. 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I ran pretty angry too though, but I have fun doing it," Lumsden said. Discount Shoes For Sale .com) - Many people at Eastern Washington are waiting to see if star quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. Wholesale Nike Shoes .com) - Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is set to return Tuesday against Nashville after sitting out the past two games because of a minor upper body injury. MINNEAPOLIS -- Sometimes the game can shift with one swing. Carlos Beltran took a big cut, sent a fastball soaring into the seats in right field and snapped the foundering New York Yankees out of their funk. Beltrans three-run homer Thursday night lifted Masahiro Tanaka to his majors-leading 12th win and helped the Yankees stop a season-worst five-game losing streak with a 7-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins. "We have to find a way to score more runs. Theres no doubt about that. We played very poor at home," Beltran said. Zelous Wheeler homered in his big-league debut after nearly eight years in the minors. David Robertson notched his 19th save by striking out the side in a hitless ninth inning, and the Yankees started an 11-game road trip with a sigh-of-relief performance that put their record back at the .500 mark. "It felt great. Ive been waiting for this moment for a long time, and hopefully I can take advantage of it," Wheeler said. Phil Hughes (8-5) was rolling along against his former team, leading 2-0 until Beltran cleared the tall wall in right following consecutive singles to start the fifth. Wheeler went deep two batters later. "Not knowing much about him, in a 3-1 count, Im going to challenge him," Hughes said. "He put a good swing on it." Wheeler had a big smile on his face afterward. "Every time you see a story like that, a guy thats spent a lot of time in the minor leagues and all of a sudden comes to the big leagues and being able to do what he did today, its just special," Beltran said. So was Beltrans big hit, considering the slump the Yankees brought with them on the road. "Those are the type of things we need to be successful in the American League," manager Joe Girardi said. Tanaka (12-3) allowed a season-high four runs. He finished seven innings with nine hits and no walks while striking out a season-low three. "Theyre not going to be perfect every time. Hes been about as consistent as you can be as a starting pitcher. He just wasnt quite as sharp," Girardi said. Through his interpreter, Tanaka said this was one of his worst starts of the season.ddddddddddddThrowing only 85 pitches, at least, allowed the star Japanese rookie to maintain some freshness for the next turn. "Not too much pressure, but I obviously understood where the team was," Tanaka said. With Eduardo Escobar on first after an RBI single in the seventh, Tanaka dodged serious trouble. Sam Fulds screaming line drive went straight to Mark Teixeira, who easily stepped on first base for the double play to preserve the three-run lead. Chris Parmelee drove in a run with a double in the first and Kurt Suzuki and Kendrys Morales had RBI groundouts, but the sputtering Twins missed their opportunities to put bigger numbers on the board like the Yankees did against Hughes. The Twins have lost eight of 10 and fell a season-worst eight games under .500. Wheeler had a single to help spark the three-run rally in the seventh, too, scoring on Brett Gardners single after a one-out RBI double by Brendan Ryan chased Hughes. Derek Jeter drove in a run with a groundout. The Yankees havent been nearly as potent at the plate as they are paid to be, ranking 12th in runs and 10th in homers in the American League. They totalled one run over Tanakas last two starts, both losses, but this was the breakout they needed. "Hes very competitive. Hes in control of the game," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. NOTES: Beltran passed Lance Berkman for fourth place on the career list for home runs by switch hitters. With 367, hes behind Mickey Mantle (536), Eddie Murray (504) and Chipper Jones (468). ... Parmelee stretched his hitting streak to 13 games. Hes hitting .440 (22 for 50) during the run. ... Yankees assistant GM for pro personnel Billy Eppler interviewed Thursday for San Diegos vacant GM spot. ... The Yankees will send Chase Whitley (3-2, 4.70 ERA) to the mound Friday afternoon for the 10th start of his rookie season, and Kyle Gibson (7-6, 3.77 ERA) will pitch for the Twins. The Yankees are 5-1 in Whitleys six turns on the road. Gibsons 1.54 ERA at home is the best among qualifying AL pitchers. ' ' '