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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The hallmark of a good team, at least in Royals manager Ned Yosts opinion, is the ability to wedge open the smallest of openings that an opponent provides. His club sure did that against Cleveland on Wednesday. The Royals scored all their runs by tying a franchise record with four sacrifice flies, and Yordano Ventura dominated the Indians over seven stingy innings in a 4-1 victory. "Its finding a way to win a ballgame thats important," said Yost, whose team has won four straight. "Good teams find ways to score those runs, and we did it four times today." In doing so, the Royals became only the second team to score four runs all on sacrifice flies since it became an official stat in 1954. The Expos managed to do it against the Cubs on May 28, 1980, according to STATS, although that happened in an 8-4, 14-inning loss. "See?" Yost said. "We made history." Ventura (4-5) allowed six hits while striking out three without a walk to win back-to-back starts for the first time. The only run he allowed came in the sixth, when he gave up consecutive singles to start the inning and Carlos Santana hit an RBI single. By then, Indians counterpart Trevor Bauer (1-3) had already allowed sacrifice flies to Jarrod Dyson, Omar Infante and Alcides Escobar. Billy Butler added another sacrifice fly off reliever John Axford in the seventh to complete the scoring. "Usually Im able to strike out guys in situations like that," Bauer said. "I made a couple of good pitches today, but they fouled them off and put them in play. So it is unusual." The Indians loaded the bases off Wade Davis with nobody out in the eighth, but two strikeouts and a groundout ended the threat. Greg Holland worked a perfect ninth for his 19th save. The Royals (33-32) moved over .500 for the first time since May 18. They also jumped over Cleveland into second place in the AL Central as they embark on a trip that begins with the White Sox and concludes with the division-leading Detroit. Lonnie Chisenhall had a pair of hits for Cleveland, extending his hitting streak to a career-best nine games. Hes had at least two hits in his last five. Prior to the game, Indians manager Terry Francona recalled with disdain the last time his club faced Ventura -- the young flamethrowers debut last September. Ventura allowed one run over 5 2-3 innings, and at one point threw a pitch to Yan Gomes clocked at 102 mph. "Hes got pretty special stuff," Francona said. "Kind of hope we dont see that today." Turns out he did. Ventura kept the ball down in the strike zone and forced the Indians to chop into a series of groundouts. He retired seven straight batters at one point, never allowing a ball to be hit out of the infield. "I went out there with the mentality to throw a lot of strike," Ventura said through a translator. "Something good was going to happen if I threw a lot of strikes." Nobody was more frustrated than Jason Giambi. With the Royals shifting their infield, the Indians DH grounded out to the exact same spot three straight times before popping out. "Hes got great stuff," Giambi said. "When he locates like he did today, hes tough. He really is. Hes got good mound presence and attacks the strike zone." The Royals scored their first run when Dyson followed a double by Mike Moustakas and a single by Escobar with a sacrifice fly in the third. Nori Aoki followed with a single, and Infante hit his sacrifice fly to give the Royals a 2-0 lead. Escobars sacrifice fly came after a double by Salvador Perez and a single by Moustakas in the fourth, and Butler added his sacrifice fly after singles by Infante and Eric Hosmer. That was enough to beat Bauer, who has still never won in seven road outings. The Indians starter allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. "That type of energy and intensity we played with today, thats the way we need to play," Butler said. "Bauer was pitching really well. Every opportunity we had we capitalized on." NOTES: Escobar has hit in 10 straight games. ... Indians OF/1B Nick Swisher (left knee) planned to make a final rehab start Wednesday for Double-A Akron before joining the team Thursday in Boston. Asked if Swisher would be activated immediately, Francona said, "Well see." Fake Vans Old Skool . Head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed on Sunday that his starting goalie has a head injury and the team will take it day by day. Fake Vans Shoes . Villar connected off Joe Saunders (11-14), sending a drive well over the left-field fence for his first career homer. The Astros scored six times in the first three innings to chase Saunders. http://www.fakevans.com/ . 3. Trevor Ariza left them talkin about 40. Ariza made eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 40 points to help the Washington Wizards win their sixth straight game, 122-103 over Philadelphia on Saturday night. Fake Vans For Sale . -- Justin Verlander took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and won his fourth straight decision, leading Detroit over the Kansas City Royals 9-4 Sunday and extending the Tigers winning streak to a season-high five games. Cheap Fake Vans . Keenum will make his first appearance in a regular-season game against the rugged defence of the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, where the fans just set a Guinness record as the noisiest outdoor stadium in the world.MONTREAL -- Guy Lapointe was gardening in his front yard last week when Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson pulled up to his house for an unannounced visit. Lapointe didnt know what was in store for him. As it turned out, the former Canadiens defenceman was about to receive an unexpected honour. From Lapointes kitchen in Saint-Lazare, Que., Molson announced that the Hall-of-Famer will become the 18th player in Canadiens history to have his jersey retired by the team. The retirement ceremony will occur during the course of this coming National Hockey League season. "Its extraordinary," Lapointe said Thursday at the Canadiens Hall of Fame, located at the Bell Centre. "With the people Ill be next to -- Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard -- I just cant stop thinking about it. I was happy with just looking up at those jerseys. I never thought, in all sincerity, that my number would be retired. It never crossed my mind." On Thursday, the Canadiens organization made official the decision to retire Lapointes No. 5, the first jersey to be honoured since 2009 when Elmer Lach and Emile (Butch) Bouchard received whats considered one of the most prestigious honours in sports. Lapointe, 66, will finally be reunited with his Big Three teammates -- Savard and Robinson -- in the Bell Centre rafters. Savards No. 18 was retired in 2006, and Robinsons No. 19 joined the following year. Known as much for their staunch defending and offensive prowess, the Big Three were instrumental in Montreals six Stanley Cup victories in the 1970s. And the three defencemen were on hand at the Bell Centre on Thursday to celebrate Lapointes big day. "Im happy to see you both here," the Montreal native Lapointe told his former teammates before pointing to the rafters. "But Ill be even happier to see you up there when my jersey is going to be retired." Between 1968 and 1984, Lapointe played 16 seasons in the NHL -- 12 of them with the Canadiens before brief stints with the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins. Always a threat on the power play, Lapointe was known for his explosive speed, his inspired bouts of offence, and his rocket of a slapshot. He recorded 622 points in 894 career games, and ranks second in goals by a Canadiens defenceman with 166. Nicknamed Pointu, Lapointe had three consecutive 20-goal seasons, and still holds the Canadiens record for most goals in a year by a defenceman with 28. In his first complete season with the Habs in 1970-71, Lapointes 15 goals set a franchise record for a rookie defenceman. The record still stands today. "A lot of minutes in a lot of situations -- thats the way he was," said Robinson of Lapointe, whom he compared to Montreals P.K. Subban. "Guy could hold his own against anybody. He could play in all situations, play a lot of minutes.dddddddddddd Thats the reason hes in the Hall of Fame. "Its very fitting to have his sweater up there. Im glad I got mine up there first -- I finally beat him at something." Lapointe was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993, two years before Robinson. He won six Stanley Cups -- all with the Canadiens -- including four consecutive championships between 1976 and 1979. "I grew up with this excellent organization," said Lapointe, who also pointed to the 1972 Summit Series in Moscow and 1976 Canada Cup -- both memorable victories for Canada -- as exceptional moments in his career. "The Canadiens helped me become a better hockey player and a better person. The team allowed me to reach goals I didnt even think were possible. "Winning was always our goal. That paid dividends throughout my career. I was a lucky person to make the team. I owe a lot to the Montreal Canadiens. Theyve been very good to me." Off the ice, Lapointe was known as a prankster, notorious for shaking hands with former Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau with a palm covered in Vaseline. After Lach and Bouchard had their jerseys retired in 2009 -- the ninth and 10th such commemorative event in the five years leading up to the Canadiens centennial anniversary -- the teams organization put the process on hold. Fans clamoured for Lapointe to join the Canadiens legends in the rafters, including the defencemans daughter Stephanie, who started a petition last year to have her fathers jersey retired. "Dreams really do come true!" Stephanie Lapointe tweeted on Wednesday when the news was announced. "Never give up! I am beyond proud of my dad! Finally he is being awarded this honour!" Molson says the Canadiens organizations focus over the last five years has been rebuilding the team on the ice. On Thursday, he said the time was finally right to give Lapointe his long-awaited recompense. "Its a name that kept resurfacing when we bought the team in 2009," said Molson of the final Big Three defenceman. "We were in the process of retiring a lot of jerseys at that time. "I feel good about the organization (now). I feel good about the development of our players, the general manager, and our support staff. Were well on our way to having a winning organization year after year. The fans have had a break from the centennial celebrations. And its a nice surprise for Lapointe." Notes: Lapointe is currently the Minnesota Wilds amateur scouting co-ordinator. a Robinson flew up from San Jose, Calif., on two days notice for the event. a Howie Morenzs No. 7 was the first jersey retired by the Canadiens, in 1937. a Lapointes is the second No. 5 to be retired by the Canadiens. He joins Bernie (Boom Boom) Geoffrion, whose jersey was raised to the rafters in 2006. ' ' '