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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It made sense perfect sense that New York Yankees rookie Chase Whitley pushed all the credit toward Brian McCann after earning the first win of his big league career. After all, the veteran catcher not only guided Whitley though a punchless Kansas City lineup, he also drove in three runs with a timely double in the third inning of what turned into a 4-2 victory over the Royals on Friday night. "He told me a game plan before the game and we were able to execute it," Whitley said. "Just follow whatever he has in store because that guy has everything. He does." Brian Roberts also drove in a run for the Yankees, who finally gave their young right-hander some support. Whitley (1-0) had allowed five earned runs in his first four starts, and left two of them with the lead, only for his team to saddle him with a series of no-decisions. Of course, McCann helped take care of that with his bases-loaded double. "Thats a huge hit," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Its a tough at-bat. He fouls off a lot of tough pitches, a change-up, a curveball, a real slow curveball, and he got a ball up in the zone and it turned into a double." Dellin Betances worked around a double by Alcides Escobar in the eighth, and David Robertson retired Salvador Perez with runners on first and second in the ninth to earn his 14th save. Jeremy Guthrie (2-6) wound up with the loss, once again getting very little support. Perez and Lorenzo Cain drove in the Royals runs. "I think I threw the ball all right except for the third inning when I gave up a couple of hits," Guthrie said. "I had McCann down to two strikes and couldnt finish him off. I threw a couple of pitches trying to finish him off and wasnt able to do that." Making their only scheduled visit to Kauffman Stadium, the Yankees won their second straight on the heels of a four-game losing streak. They also established some much-needed confidence as they began a 10-game trip that will take them through Seattle and Oakland. The Royals figured they were catching a break during the four-game series by missing Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka, who pitched his way to a 2-1 win over the Athletics on Thursday. Whitley made them wish they were facing the Japanese star. Mixing his fastball with an effective slider and change-up, the former 15th-round draft pick allowed five hits while striking out three without a walk in the longest start of his career. Whitley had never lasted more than five innings in the big leagues. "Yeah, tonights a big night. Were all happy for him," McCann said. "Hes worked really hard to get here, to do this." The Yankees took a 1-0 lead on a single by Roberts in the second inning, and Kansas City promptly answered when Perez followed a double by Alex Gordon with his own RBI single. New York quickly regained the lead in the third. Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner led off with singles, and Guthrie grazed Mark Teixeira on the shoulder to load the bases with one out. Thats when McCann connected for his double to left, giving the Yankees what turned out to be an insurmountable 4-1 lead. Guthrie kept the Royals in the game, retiring his final nine hitters. His weak-hitting offence even got a run back in the fifth when Cain drove in Gordon with a double. Still, it was not enough for Guthrie to avoid his sixth straight losing decision and his 11th consecutive start without a win. In the last five, the veteran right-hander has received a total of three runs of support. "We just couldnt get that big hit to come through," the Royals Billy Butler said. "We were putting some good at-bats together with no results. Those days are kind of frustrating." NOTES: Yankees SS Derek Jeter got the night off. Asked whether he felt he needed it, he replied: "I never feel like I need a day." ... The Royals traded LHP Justin Marks to Oakland for cash considerations. He was designated for assignment Monday. ... New York RHP David Phelps and Royals LHP Danny Duffy are starting Saturday night. Nike Air Presto Off White . In a series of tweets, it is explained by the Department of Player Safety that Niederreiter makes full body contact with Burrows and although there is head contact, he does not "pick" the head in the course of making the hit. Air Force 1 Outlet .com) - SirDominic Pointer posted career highs of 24 points and seven steals to lead No. http://www.airforce1justdoitschweiz.ch/ .com) - No Sidney Crosby, no problem. Nike Just Do It Schuhe Air Force 1 . They actually finished with a better record in ‘07 than they did in ‘06 but only marginally, going from 61 victories to 66. Air Force 1 Just Do It Weiß . The league-leading New York Rangers outhit and outmuscled the Maple Leafs during a 3-0 victory on Saturday. Backup goalie Martin Biron stopped all 20 shots he faced to complete a nice workmanlike effort by the visitors.FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. - Coach Mike Smith keeps searching for ways to fix the Atlanta Falcons, and nothing seems to work.Since finishing 10 yards shy of the Super Bowl two years ago, the Falcons have been a model of dysfunction on the field.They are 9-21 over the last two years and have lost three of five entering Sundays game at New Orleans.Every time we go out there, we know what were up against and how were going to be evaluated, Smith said on Monday. So it hurts, but weve learned from those losses and weve learned from what happened yesterday.Victories over the Saints and Carolina would make Atlanta 7-9 and give Smith his third NFC South title in seven seasons.That might be hard to imagine considering how poorly the Falcons have played this year, but their division is one of the weakest in league history.We all understand where were at, Smith said. We know we control our own destiny. It doesnt matter what anyone else does. The first thing we have to do is go down and play very well and win the game in New Orleans.Falcons owner Arthur Blank hasnt said publicly if the coach will return next year, but Smith insists that hes not fretting about job security and is focused solely on helping Atlanta beat the Saints.It wont be easy. Smith is 1-5 at New Orleans, 4-9 in the series.The playoffs start for us right away, running back Steven Jackson said. Its going to be a tough one on the road, but well be ready for it.Smith will need to coach a nearly perfect game and avoid clock management gaffes that allowed Detroit and Cleveland to kick last-second winning field gooals.ddddddddddddAgainst the Steelers, Smith decided to punt from the Atlanta 25 on fourth-and-two late in the fourth quarter. Sending the NFLs most porous defence back on the field turned out to be the wrong move as the Steelers consumed the final 4 minutes, 34 seconds to win 27-20.When you dont win, its not fun, Smith said. Its not fun for the players. Its not fun for the coaches. Its not fun for our fans. Ultimately, theres one guy held accountable for it, and thats the head coach.Quarterback Matt Ryan, who threw an interception against Pittsburgh that cornerback William Gay returned for a 52-yard touchdown, could help Smiths cause by playing a mistake-free game.Ryan has thrown a pick in each of the last four games. It marked the third time this year that hes had an interception returned for a TD.It was just kind of a tough play, Ryan said. I let it go and certainly thats a decision you cant make. I cant do that. It stops there.Notes: Starting CB Robert Alford was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a broken wrist. Alford, a second-draft pick in 2013, was injured last month at Carolina and underwent surgery on Monday. ... Smith said he anticipates that WR Julio Jones, the NFLs second-leading receiver, will be ready to go Sunday. Jones suffered a hip injury late in a loss at Green Bay two weeks ago and didnt play in Sundays home loss to Pittsburgh. ... Smith wasnt sure if SS William Moore (foot) and RG guard Jon Asamoah (back) will be able to practice this week.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '