DETROIT -- Prince Fielder went three weeks without a homer, and the Detroit Tigers kept right on rolling. Now that droughts over -- and Fielders team is sitting pretty in the AL Central. Fielders two-run shot in the first inning Thursday night sent the Tigers to a 4-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Andy Dirks added four hits for Detroit, which leads second-place Cleveland by 6 1/2 games in the division. "Prince produces runs. I dont care how he does it," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "Tonight happened to be by way of the home run, but hes a run producer, always has been. Its in the book and itll be in the book at the end of this year." Dirks had two doubles and two singles for the Tigers, who took the opener of this five-game series with third-place Kansas City. The Royals have lost three in a row after a 17-3 stretch that put them in contention for a post-season spot. Kansas City now trails Detroit by 8 1/2 games in the division. The Royals are 5 1/2 behind Oakland in the race for a wild card. Detroits Anibal Sanchez (11-7) allowed a run and seven hits in 7 1-3 innings. Bruce Rondon finished the eighth, and Joaquin Benoit pitched a hitless ninth for his 16th save in 16 chances. Jeremy Guthrie (12-9) allowed four runs and 13 hits in seven innings. Fielder went deep for the first time since July 24, belting a towering drive to right-centre to give Detroit a 2-1 lead. The Tigers scored two more runs in the fifth on RBI singles by Torii Hunter and Miguel Cabrera. Dirks, batting leadoff because Austin Jackson had the night off, scored twice. It was the second four-hit game of the season for Dirks, who is from Kansas and went to Wichita State. "It felt good. Its hard to explain -- its just one of those feel things," Dirks said. "I could feel the path of the bat as I was swinging. My timing was better and everything just clicks. Your legs work with your hands and different things." The Tigers won despite an atrocious night on the bases. Dirks led off the Detroit third with a double, and then was caught in a rundown when Hunter grounded to the mound. After Dirks was tagged out, the Royals got a double play because Hunter had turned too far around first. In the sixth, Brayan Pena took too much of a turn after hitting a single, and he too was caught off the bag. Kansas City, meanwhile, stole three bases, but the Royals couldnt break through against Sanchez after scoring a run in the first inning. "We had a good scouting report today," Kansas Citys Alex Gordon said. "When youre not hitting doubles and home runs, youve got to make something happen." Gordons RBI single made it 1-0, but Dirks singled to start the bottom of the first, and Fielder went deep for his 18th homer of the season. The Royals had a man on second in the second, a man on third in the fourth and then a man on second again in the fifth. But they were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. After a double by Dirks in the fifth, Detroit had men on second and third with one out. Hunter singled to make it 3-1, and Cabreras fly ball to centre dropped in front of Jarrod Dyson for another run. Cabrera, who has been bothered by hip and leg injuries lately, made a nice sliding catch in foul territory near third base on an eighth-inning popup by Gordon. "Hes obviously playing in some pain," Leyland said. "Just a gutty performance, day after day. You know, weve got a lot of guys that go out there all the time -- and I dont want to slight Miggy, because hes been going out there and playing. Theres not too many guys that could do what hes doing, under the circumstances, but weve got a lot of guys that go out there." NOTES: Emilio Bonifacio, acquired by Kansas City on Wednesday in a trade with Toronto, went 1 for 4 with a stolen base. ... 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Melee competitive community collectively raised a grand total of $94,683 for breast cancer research in a contest to be (re-)included as an official Evolution Championship Series (Evo) fighting game. After winning the contest, Melee found the birth of a new era at Evo 2013, shattering its own attendance records with 709 entrants to the singles tournament.Now in its fourth consecutive year at Evo, Melee shows no signs of slowing down with an unprecedented 2,372 singles entrants, and the stage only continues to get bigger. On day three of the event, the top eight finalists will compete at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, where legends such as Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan have fought before.The ContendersIn the last two months, an aura of uncertainty has developed around the pantheon of top players. Adam Armada Lindgren and Juan Hungrybox Debiedma won the lions share of events in the beginning of 2016. Then, William Leffen Hjelte surprised everyone to win Get On My Level 2016 in May and Joseph Mango Marquez took first at WTFox 2 in July after having lurked in the shadows of second place for months. At this point, who is the favorite? Its a tough question to answer. Theyre all coming in strong and have everything to gain. So what are they fighting for?1. ValidationHungrybox has never had an extended reign throughout the course of his career as the greatest in Melee. Hes had moments where he was debatably at the top, only for Armada or Mango to quickly take back the throne. A win at Evo 2016 would cement his place as best in the world, which is a title hes been craving for nearly a decade.2. The Two-Time TieArmada would love to repeat his 2015 feat and earn his second Evo trophy. Having won two Evo trophies is one of the few accomplishments that Maango can boast over Armada.dddddddddddd Winning the largest tournament of all time would safely give Armada the title of best in the world and possibly that of the most accomplished Melee player of all time.3. The 3voAfter Mango won his second Evo trophy, he immediately had his eyes on a third, which he called the 3vo. Last year, his run fell short in fifth place and hes been dying to come back to the Evo stage. A third trophy would establish him in very elite company, as very few in all of the fighting game community have ever accomplished such a task.Gunning for MoreStill, this short list doesnt include the momentum and stories that other players have cultivated in the past few months. Ever since he signed with Echo Fox this past May, Jason Mew2King Zimmerman has seen noticeable improvements in his mindsets and results. He swept Hungrybox 3-0 at WTFox 2, which may be the confidence boost he needs right now going into Evo.Players such as Justin Plup McGrath, Jeffrey Axe Williamson, and Weston Westballz Dennis have been knocking on the heavens door of godhood for years. Can they work their magic and pull off some upsets? Additionally, some players recently resigned with new teams and others are still looking for one; good performances could mean the difference between earning a coveted contract with a new team and going home solo.The Evo tournament series has created classic moments, from Mangos He read that roll! bit on Hungrybox to Axes dirty four-stock on Otto Silent Wolf Bisno. Plenty of new moments will be forged this year, but this time it will be on an even greater scale among a roaring, sold-out crowd in the Mandalay Bay Events Center. ' ' '