, who finished tied for the major league lead in victories.Anthony Banda (2-3) picked up the win in relief. Silvino Brancho struck out five in 1 2/3 scoreless innings.FRESHEN UPArizona starter Robbie Ray left after 23 pitches and 1 2/3 innings. Manager Torey Lovullo said he wanted Ray sharp but fresh in case he is needed for the NL wild-card game against Colorado on Wednesday.FINAL STANDINGSThe Diamondbacks finished the season 93-69 after going 69-93 in 2016. The Royals dropped to 80-82, one game worse than in 2016.GOLDSCHMIDT SLUMPINGArizona slugger Paul Goldschmidt went 0 for 2 and ended his season with a .297 batting average, hitless in his final 17 at-bats. He finished August with a .319 batting average, but hit just .171 the rest of the season.TRAINER'S ROOMDiamondbacks: OF David Peralta had a stiff back and did not play. ... SS Chris Owings (fractured right middle finger) is scheduled to play in an instructional league game Monday. He could be used as a pinch runner in the postseason.Royals: RHP Nathan Karns (thoracic outlet syndrome surgery) said he anticipates he will start playing catch in early November after having not picked up a ball since July. He went on the disabled list in late May with a right extensor strain and nerve irritation. ''It won't be an issue in spring training,'' he said. ''I'm not worried about it.'' ... Perez (left groin strain) missed the last three games.UP NEXTDiamondbacks: RHP Zack Greinke will start the wild-card game. He is 2-1 with a 3.41 ERA in five starts against Colorado this season. RHP Jon Gray will be the Rockies starter.Royals: They open the 2018 season at home against the White Sox.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
Royals to celebrate past success while hosting D-backs 2h ago• 3 min read KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- While the Arizona Diamondbacks will continue their season, the Kansas City Royals have a Sunday celebration planned for the regular season finale.After advancing to the World Series in 2014-15 and winning it all in 2015, several members of the Royals' core group will become free agents after the season. That list includes first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas, shortstop Alcides Escobar and center fielder Lorenzo Cain. So will 18-game winner Jason Vargas, who starts Sunday.They helped changed the Kansas City baseball culture after the Royals went 29 years without making it to the postseason."A combination of young and old," Royals manager Ned Yost said would play in the finale. "I don't really expect to play our guys nine innings. We'll just see how it goes. I may mix in some of the younger guys later in the game."I just want to give the fans an opportunity and come out and cheer our core guys one last time." He said he has not yet mapped out his strategy for the finale, expect the four soon-to-be free agents will start and come out some time during the game."We're at the point now where we want to try to get some at-bats for the younger guys, but still provide the fans an opportunity to see our star core players," Yost said.The players know after the final out Sunday they will all never be teammates again."Guys are really enjoying each other, but they enjoy each other every day," Yost said. "There's a lot of laughing." If Vargas wins Sunday, he would lead the American League in victories. He is tied at 18 with Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco of the Cleveland Indians.Vargas (18-10, 3.94 ERA) has won his last four starts, beating Detroit 2-1 in his previous outing, allowing one run and five hits over six innings. Vargas is 9-5 with a 3.59 ERA at home this year.He is 2-1 with a 5.93 ERA in four career starts against Arizona, but has not faced the Diamondbacks since 2012 when he was with Seattle.Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo is not focused on the Royals' game, but Wednesday's National League wild-card contest against the Colorado Rockies in Phoenix. He announced to the surprise of no one that Zack Greinke would start Wednesday.The winner advances to the divisional series beginning Friday against the Dodgers in Los Angeles."We want to evaluate our guys the best we possibly can, piece by piece, situation by situation," Lovullo said. "The hard part, the challenging part is, that one situation on Wednesday could totally change our Friday. But we can't assume that Friday's a Friday until we get through Wednesday."I know it sounds crazy but can you imagine what's going on in our world every single day? We just want to maximize our chance to win that game on Wednesday. That's all we're thinking about right now. I talked about it (the Royals series) being a dress rehearsal for Wednesday, which is the most important game of the year for us. But, to come in here and play good baseball and prep ourselves for that day." Left-hander Robbie Ray, who is 15-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 27 starts, will start Sunday, but come out early in case the Diamondbacks would need him Wednesday. If the Diamondbacks advance and not use Ray, he would start Friday against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.Ray, who has never faced Kansas City, is 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 road starts this season. His 217 strikeouts are the most by a NL left-hander and rank second in the majors to Boston's Chris Sale (308).
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