TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Former K-State standout and Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman practiced for the first time since breaking the thumb on his throwing hand and expects to play in the Buccaneers’ season opener against the Cleveland Browns. The second-year pro missed the last two weeks of the preseason after banging his right thumb on the helmet of a pass rusher during an exhibition against the Kansas City Chiefs on Aug. 21. The Bucs were confident all along that he would return before the start of the regular season. Freeman did not wear a bandage or protective splint on the thumb Tuesday.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Jim Thome hit another towering homer, Delmon Young drove in four runs and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 10-3 on Tuesday night to take their largest AL Central lead in 10 days. Francisco Liriano (13-7) raised his second-half record to 7-0 in 10 starts, giving up seven hits and two runs in seven easy innings. J.J. Hardy had three RBIs for the Twins, who scored six times in the third against Brian Bannister (7-12) and moved 4.5 games ahead of Chicago in the division race. The White Sox lost to Detroit 9-1, ending their seven-game winning streak. The Twins have won five straight, 10 of their last 12 and 33 of 45.

Jason Kubel hit a go-ahead homer and Jim Thome launched his 585th career home run moments later, powering the Minnesota Twins past the Kansas City Royals 5-4 Monday. The fifth-inning shots by Kubel and Thome kept the Twins 3.5 games ahead of Chicago in the AL Central. The White Sox beat Detroit 5-4 in 10 innings. Thome’s blast hit off the top of the American flagpole beyond the right-field bleachers at Target Field. He is one homer shy of Frank Robinson for eighth all-time.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) C.J. Wilson allowed two hits over 7 2-3 innings to lead the Texas Rangers to a 3-0 win over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night. Wilson (14-5) improved to 7-0 in nine starts since the All-Star break. It is the most victories in the majors in that span, one ahead of Minnesota’s Francisco Liriano (6-0). Wilson allowed only a scratch hit to Willie Bloomquist until the eighth inning, when Jai Miller singled to center. The left-hander, who had a complete-game win over the Royals in May, struck out six and walked four. Neftali Feliz worked the ninth for his 33rd save in 36 opportunities, giving Texas its third win in its last 10 road games in the opener of a 10-game trip. Kyle Davies (6-9) went 8 1-3 innings, allowing three runs, two earned on ten hits with six strikeouts and a walk.

DETROIT (AP) Willie Bloomquist’s one-out home run in the 12th inning gave the Kansas City Royals a 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday. Kansas City, which also got a homer and two RBIs from Kila Ka’aihue, rallied from a 3-0 deficit to snap Detroit’s five-game winning streak and avoided being swept in the three-game series. Phillip Humber (1-0), who pitched three innings of scoreless relief, got the win for the Royals and Joakim Soria got his 36th save in 38 chances. Alfredo Figaro (0-1) surrendered Bloomquist’s home run and took the loss.

DETROIT (AP) Ryan Raburn drove in three runs and scored twice to help the Detroit Tigers continue a strong homestand with a 12-3 rout of the Kansas City Royals on Monday night. Jhonny Peralta and Brandon Inge also drove in three runs for Detroit, which is 4-0 since returning home and have outscored its opponents 31-6. Four of Detroit’s runs came immediately after the three intentional walks ordered by Royals manager Ned Yost in the fifth and sixth innings. Jeremy Bonderman (7-9) got the win, ending a three-start losing streak by allowing two runs on eight hits in six innings. Bruce Chen (8-7) lasted just 4 1-3 innings for Kansas City, allowing five runs on five hits and five walks.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Jason Kendall hit a game-ending single with two outs in the 10th inning, giving the Kansas City Royals a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday in the teams’ third extra-inning game in less than 24 hours. Gregor Blanco walked with two outs and stole second and third before Kendall delivered the hit to left-center off Scott Linebrink (1-1). The Royals and White Sox played three games totaling 9 hours, 32 minutes and 31 innings. They split a doubleheader Saturday night, the first game going 11 innings and the second 10, that did not end until 1:11 a.m. Sunday morning. The last time the Royals played three consecutive extra-innings game was June 9-11, 2000, against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Former K-State quarterback Josh Freeman’s preseason is over, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can only hope his injured thumb doesn’t lead to another slow start when the real games begin. The second-year signal caller fractured the tip of the thumb on his throwing hand during the opening quarter of Saturday night’s 20-15 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. He will be sidelined at least until the opening week of the regular season. Freeman’s backups, Josh Johnson and Rudy Carpenter, each threw for a touchdown. Micheal Spurlock scored on a 53-yard reception in the second quarter, and Carpenter snapped a fourth-quarter tie with a 5-yard throw to Terrance Nunn. The third quarterback selected in last year’s draft, Freeman won three of his nine starts as a rookie.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Shin-Soo Choo hit a tiebreaking RBI single in Cleveland’s five-run eighth inning and the Indians rallied to beat the Kansas City Royals 7-3 on Thursday night. Asdrubal Cabrera had two hits and drove in two runs for the Indians, who committed a season-high five errors and had a runner thrown out at every base. Matt LaPorta and Jayson Nix also had two hits apiece. Rafael Perez (4-0), the fourth of five Indians pitchers, pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings and Chris Perez got four outs for his 15th save in 19 opportunities.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Yuniesky Betancourt homered and drove in three runs as the Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians 9-7 Wednesday night. Betancourt had a two-run single in the fourth inning and hit his 12th homer in the sixth as the Royals took a 9-4 lead. Mitch Maier hit a two-run triple and Billy Butler also drove in a pair of runs for Kansas City. It was the Royals’ highest-scoring game since a 10-3 win over St. Louis on June 27.