CLEVELAND -- Theyre alive, barely, but it beats the alternative. Josh Allen Stitched Jersey . 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. Marshall Newhouse Stitched Jersey . Therrien would not confirm his lineup for the game, but he did have the same line combinations practicing together for the third straight day which is usually a pretty good indication of what the lineup will be. Bruce Smith Stitched Jersey . Starting from pole, the 26-year-old Vettel turned in a trademark clinical performance to win the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday and join F1 greats Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher as just the third driver to win four consecutive championships. http://www.officialbillsnflauthenticshop.com/wyatt-teller-stitched-jersey/ .4 seconds left and dribbled up court, weaving through Pitts defence.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Once mumps invades a professional sports dressing room, it finds a fertile breeding ground and the NHL is finding that it is not easy to get rid of.Multiple players on multiple teams from coast to coast have come down with the mumps, an illness more typically associated with children.It started in Anaheim and plagued the Ducks, who had three players affected. The Minnesota Wild was next, with five victims. Tanner Glass of the New York Rangers then came down with it, and as recently as Wednesday, the New Jersey Devils had two players turn up sick.It is certainly an outbreak that was unexpected and has caused unwanted disruption at the team level, but it is not something we have any significant control over, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. As long as our clubs are doing what they need to do to minimize risk of contraction, we are hopeful that the wave of cases will run their course and life will return to normal.The Ducks hosted the Wild in mid-October, New Jersey and the Rangers played each other a few days later and Minnesota visited the Rangers not long after that before facing the Devils in mid-November. But it was not clear whether the teams shared the virus with each other or picked it up in other ways.You see the hits that they have, and sometimes the spraying of saliva, said Dr. Judith Aberg, chief of the infectious diseases division at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. I think they are high risk. I am surprised we havent actually seen this before.The illness isnt just hitting hockey players, of course. Students on college campuses have also recently fallen victim in another close environment that promotes spreading of the very contagious virus.It is relatively uncommon since the vaccine was licensed in the early 1960s, but this year weve actually had more cases, Aberg said. In 2013, we had less than 500 cases, and already this year were looking at about 1,000 cases in the United States. One person is expected to infect 10 others.Millions are vaccinated at a young age, but Aberg said the immunity can wane with age and 10 to 20 per cent of individuals who have been vaccinated may not have full protection.The NHL and the players association have provided information to teams and players on ways to protect themselves against the mumpss. Andre Reed Stitched Jersey. Vaccination decisions for any disease are made by club medical staffs and the players themselves.The Rangers quickly moved to give boosters to players, and other teams have done the same. The Ducks cleaned and sterilized their entire operation following the outbreak that hit Corey Perry and others. Everyone was encouraged to get re-vaccinated and most did.Some affected players have already returned to the ice, and all should recover without lasting effects.Each season at training camp, players are encouraged to provide their vaccination records. Childhood vaccine programs are fairly universal and accessible worldwide, although arent mandatory in every country, the NHLPA said.The NHLPA has been actively educating the players regarding the recent outbreak, while providing best practices on how to avoid contracting and spreading mumps, players association spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon said.Many of the recommendations about locker room and bench behaviour are similar to the standard precautions the NHL provides regarding the flu, which is similarly transmitted.Simple coughing and sneezing and getting those respiratory droplets on each other can cause the spread of mumps, Aberg said. The problem is that it is contagious before you have symptoms. Thats where it gets tricky because you dont know youre going to come down with the mumps, and youre contagious. Then you are contagious for five days or so after you have symptoms.The illness even felled Minnesota ironman defenceman Ryan Suter, the rare American-born player to be affected.Every Wild player was offered a booster shot last month when the virus surfaced. Suter decided not to take it, and paid the price. He was the fifth Minnesota player — all defencemen whose cubicles are next to each other — to come down with the mumps.Suter, who hadnt missed a game since joining the Wild in 2012, led the NHL in ice time each of the last two seasons.I probably wash my hands more than anybody, he said. I go out of the way to make sure Im a clean guy. So for me to get it, it stunk. I always tell these guys, Youve got to be mentally strong and youll never get sick. So theyre all giving me a hard time.___AP Sports Writers Greg Beacham in Anaheim, Calif., and Dave Campbell in St. Paul, Minn., contributed to this report. 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