MASON, Ohio -- Venus Williams left her winning touch in Canada. Williams knocked off sister Serena while reaching the finals in Montreal on Sunday, finishing runner-up. She lost to Lucie Safarova 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4 in the first round Tuesday. "I wish I could have felt today like I did in Montreal, just to make it more competitive," Williams said. The tournament lost its other defending champion when Victoria Azarenka withdrew because of an injured right knee. Williams had an energizing week in Canada and hoped to keep their momentum going in Cincinnati, using it as a springboard to the U.S. Open. But her successful week came with a cost. Williams arrived Sunday night and opened Tuesday morning, leaving little time to recover from her deep tournament run. "Yeah, it was definitely a quick turnaround," she said. "Maybe it would have been a little better to play a little later in the day. But I think she just played so well. No matter what shot I hit, she hit a winner." Safarova led 5-2 in the third set and appeared to have won a match point, but Williams challenged and the call was overturned. Williams rallied to win the set and then another. "Thats a terrible feeling," Safarova said. "You think youve won and you have those emotions, and suddenly, youre back in the match against a great player. Then she broke me, and I thought, Uh, oh. Ive lost matches on challenges before. I told myself, Im not losing this one." Azarenkas withdrawal is the latest setback in a season full of injuries. Shes been sidelined for much of the year with an ailing left foot. She aggravated an injury to her right knee at Montreal, where she lost in the quarter-finals, and hoped a few days of rest would take care of it. She decided to withdraw after practising Tuesday morning. "I started to feel a little bit better and did everything I could, but its just not enough time for me to feel good to play a full match," she said. "Im going to get more treatment and get more work done and should be good for the U.S. Open." Fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova broke Madison Keys to go up 3-0 in the final set and held on for a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win that was gratifying. She was coming off a loss in the third round at Montreal. "I didnt have a great week last week," she said. "No matter who is across the net, its never easy going out in the first round because you want to change that result around. You want to change your attitude and your performance and obviously the result." ------ Freelance writer Mark Schmetzer contributed to this report. Nick Foligno Jersey .C. - Phoenix Suns coach Jeff Hornacek says guard Goran Dragic will return to the starting lineup against the Charlotte Hornets after missing the last two games with a strained back. Pierre-Luc Dubois Jersey . has left the San Jose Sharks to become the Boston Bruins director of player personnel. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia will have surgery on his left shoulder this week and is expected to miss the rest of the season. Oliver Bjorkstrand Jersey . Groves signed with Cleveland as an unrestricted free agent last year after a season with Arizona. He was in the linebacker rotation and had a sack in the season opener against Miami. Scott Harrington Jersey . Hes coming back to fulfil them. One of Europes top coaches, Blatt was hired Friday by the Cavaliers, who ended a sweeping, 39-day search with an out-of-the-box selection they hope changes their fortunes.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Kansas City Royals are back in the American League Championship Series for the first time in 29 years. They will continue their quest toward their first World Series appearance since 1985 when they start the best-of-seven series against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Friday. While its been a generation since the Royals have been back to the Fall Classic, its been an even longer wait for the Orioles, who were last in the ALCS back in 1997, but havent made a trip to the World Series since winning it all back in 1983. Kansas Citys improbable run almost ended in the wild card game against the Oakland Athletics, but the never-say-die Royals rallied to send that game into extra innings, before coming from behind once again to win the game in 12 innings. Ned Yosts crew carried that momentum into the ALDS where they upended the ALs best team, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, in three straight games. The Royals needed more than nine innings to win the first two in Anaheim, before routing the Halos, 8-3, in Game 3 to advance in front of a wild Kauffman Stadium crowd. Im more happy for the fans than anyone else, because they waited a long time to get to this point, owner David Glass said, drenched in champagne in the clubhouse celebration. But listen, were not at the end. Were at the beginning of something that could be really good. No team signified small ball more than Kansas City, which won 89 games this season thanks in large part to its ability to play defense and manufacture runs. The Royals also led the AL with 153 stolen bases, but their 95 home runs were the fewest in baseball. Kansas City, though, has enjoyed the luxury of the home run here in the postseason and won the first two games in Anaheim on the strength of two extra-inning homers and have hit just as many this postseason (4) as the Orioles, a team that blasted 116 more than them during the regular season. Well, you know, it was huge. Won us two games, Yost said of the power hitting after Sundays clincher. Coming into this game, we were hitting .162 as a team, they were hitting .141, but the difference were the two big home runs. That gave us the edge. Tonight the power was huge again. If you are looking for a star on this Royals team, good luck. Eric Hosmer, Alex Gordon, and Mike Moustakas get most of the attention, considering how highly regarded they were coming up through the organization, but Lorenzo Cain might be the most underrated player in the game. Cain is as good of an outfielder as there is and hes not too shabby at the plate either, as he hit .301, drove in 53 runs and swiped 28 bases. Cain didnt offer much in terms of offense against the Angels, but flashed some serious leather in center field. I know now the whole world is starting to see what he can do, Hosmer said. Hes on the big stage now making the plays and doing it with the bat, also. Thats something weve been seeing all year from him, from Gordo (Gordon), from (Jarrod) Dyson and all these guys out there. Theyve been really controlling that outfield. Theres a lot of turf out there obviously to cover out there, and they make the stadium and the field look a lot shorter than it is. Of course, you cant talk about the Royals and not mention their incredible bullpen triumvirate of closer Greg Holland, Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis. The group combined for a 1.28 ERA and 258 strikeouts in 205 1/3 innings in the regular season. It has been more of the same here in the postseason, as the Royals bullpen has accounted for three victories and has pitched to a 2.37 ERA. They have also fanned 21 batters in 19 innings. The Royals also dodged a bullet with Herrera, who left Game 1 against the Angels with a forearm strain. An MRI, though, revealed no structural damage and he returned for the clincher. If there is one perceived weakness within the Royals it could be their starting pitching.dddddddddddd James Shields is the ace and will likely go in Game 1 against the Os. Yost will likely then throw rookie Yordano Ventura and lefty Jason Vargas, who was tremendous in his Game 1 start versus the Angels. Yost could also give hard-throwing lefty Danny Duffy a start in this series. Baltimore, meanwhile, beat the ALs last three Cy Young Award winners to sweep its way past the Detroit Tigers. While the Tigers three aces werent exactly lights out, the Orioles were able to batter the beleaguered Tigers bullpen to the tune of 10 earned runs in just 4 2/3 innings. Theyve got a lot to be proud of, said Orioles manager Buck Showalter, who won his first postseason series. Its a step. Theres different steps during the season that you have to take and this is one of them. Its so hard against a team like Detroit that has a great pedigree and experience at (the postseason). Baltimore slugged its way to the postseason for the second time in three years thanks to its first AL East crown since 1997 after going 96-66. The win total was the most for an Os team since they accumulated 98 in the year of their last division title. The Os had to overcome a pair of serious injuries along the way, as catcher Matt Wieters was lost for the season in June with an elbow injury, while promising third baseman Manny Machado again suffered a serious leg injury that required surgery in August. Then as if that wasnt enough last years home run champion Chris Davis was suspended for the use of amphetamines in September. Davis is eligible to return for Game 6 of this series, but will probably be left off the roster. Regardless, it didnt slow the Orioles down from an offensive standpoint, as they hit a league high 211 dingers, with Nelson Cruz leading the way with an MLB-best 40. Cruz continued to mash against the Tigers, going 6-for-12 with a pair of home runs and five RBI. Eight of Cruzs 16 postseason home runs have come against Detroit. Hes been awesome all year, said Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis. Thats the main reason we got him. I played a lot of games against him and hes done a lot of damage against us. Im just glad hes on our team doing the damage now. Baltimores rotation almost mirrors Kansas City with its lack of star power, but the group did have three 13-game winners (Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris and Chris Tillman) for the first time since 97, when Scott Erickson, Jimmy Key and Mike Mussina helped pitch the Os to their last division title. Norris could be a player to watch this series. He threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings in the Os clincher over the Tigers and is 5-0 since the start of September. Whatever perceived flaws Baltimore may have in the rotation, the Os more than make up for it with one of the better bullpens in baseball. Closer Zach Britton is as underrated as any pitcher in the game and Orioles relievers combined for a 3.10 ERA in the regular season, which was the third-lowest mark in the AL, and a 1.16 WHIP, tied for the second lowest. Left-hander Andrew Miller and righty Darren ODay will set the bridge to Britton. If the Os do get by, you can bet its on the strength of their pitchers late in games. Opponents batted .216 against the Os from the eighth inning on in the regular season. PREDICTION: Baltimores lineup wasnt shut down by the Tigers aces, but still, most of its damage was done against a bullpen that was nowhere near the caliber of the one it will face this series. Still, I think the Orioles offense will continue to hit Kansas City pitching, starting pitching that is. Kansas City may have all the momentum and as exciting as it is, its hard to imagine the Royals being able to hang with the Os from a scoring standpoint. 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