NEW YORK -- A flock of newcomers quickly swoops into Yankee Stadium and suddenly a team that wobbled all season turns into a playoff contender.So exactly whos gotten the New York Yankees flying so high? A rookie slugger, a fresh set of pitchers?Sure, theyve helped. But maybe its something more.Pigeon power , outfielder Aaron Judge said. Theyre fueling us.OK, go ahead and laugh. Then look at the Yankees record lately -- against the Blue Jays and Orioles, no less -- ever since dozens and dozens of pigeons began descending for picnics at the park.Besides, if the Royals can have a Rally Mantis, the Angels a Rally Monkey and the Cardinals a Rally Squirrel, why not a good-luck pack of pigeons?Sometimes, these birds arrive early, searching for new seeds that keep the grass so green and fresh. More than 85 of them recently roamed the yard before batting practice.Often, they stick around for the game, hardly ruffled by the balls that go whizzing past them.In the sixth inning last weekend against Tampa Bay, six gray pigeons lounged in medium left-center field, a half-dozen hung out in shallow center and seven others strolled in right-center. No surprise, moments later the Yankees hit back-to-back home runs to break open a scoreless game.Theyre fearless, longtime head groundskeeper Dan Cunningham said.Speedy, too.I dont worry about them too much because theyre pretty fast, star center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury said. They can take care of themselves.No birds have been hit yet. Certainly nothing like that spring training episode many years ago when a fastball by Randy Johnson struck a dove in mid-flight. And they arent pesky, like the seagulls that hover around AT&T Park late during San Francisco Giants games.Scorned and shooed away all around town, these pigeons relax at The House That Ruth Built. Oh, and they seem to prefer day games.When line drives get too close, they simply flap away and settle somewhere else, perhaps on the warning track in deep center or near the foul lines. Or they take off toward the scoreboard and stay there for a while, with a birds-eye view.Weve been watching them fly overhead, more and more of them, reliever Tommy Layne said. You just hope they dont unload on you.Cunningham said the birds come for the seeds that maintain the combination blue and rye grass. The stadium hosts the Yankees and the New York City FC team in Major League Soccer, making for a lot of reseeding late this summer.Plus, players who spit sunflower seeds provide tasty snacks.Overall, thats brought more and more feathered fans in the last month. Not that Cunningham minds.Im not a pigeon hater, he said. Its New York, theyre part of the scene here.A month ago, Judge homered in his first major league at-bat. He fits into the Yankees wave of the future, along with Gary Sanchez, Tyler Austin and the fittingly named Greg Bird.Judge has grown accustomed to sharing his surroundings with the other birds in right field.Actually started noticing them maybe about a week ago. Kind of started showing up in little bunches, he said. Started out with five or 10, now its 20, 30, 40. Just a big bunch of them out there now.I go for a ball in the gap, they start flying everywhere. Could cause a little bit of havoc, he said.Then again, pigeons have always had a place in this city.I dont mind them, Judge said. A little company in the outfield. Swell Water Bottle Sale 17 Oz .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA. Swell Bottles Online Uk .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. http://www.swellbottlesuk.com/swell-17-oz-water-bottle-wholesale.html . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Swell Bottle Clearance . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. Swell Bottle Sale Uk . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Royals catcher Salvador Perez spent Monday evening celebrating the birth of his baby boy.It beat watching his team getting trounced by Oakland.Khris Davis and Marcus Semien hit three-run homers, the Athletics matched a season high with 17 hits while drawing 10 walks, and Oakland rolled to a 16-3 victory in their series opener.Not even Perez would have made a difference in this one.Kansas City starter Dillon Gee (6-8) was battered for five runs on five hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings, though he wasnt the only pitcher to melt down. He was followed by three relievers in a span of four batters in the fourth inning, when the As marched nine to the plate and scored three times.When youre out there trying to find something in a big league game against big league hitters, it makes it real tough, Gee said. They scored a lot of runs, but its just one game.Daniel Coulombe (3-1) earned the win in relief of Ross Detwiler, though it was the Oakland offense that led the way. The As scored their most runs this season for their largest margin of victory.These games are easy to turn the page, a lot tougher is losing a one-run game, Royals manager Ned Yost said. We just got beat. We didnt play good, we didnt pitch good and we got beat.It was a potentially crippling loss for Kansas City (74-69), which began the day four back of the final wild-card spot with 20 games remaining. The Royals were hoping an eight-game stand against lowly Oakland and the scuffling White Sox would allow them to make up some ground.There are still five teams they must leap in the wild-card race.Theres not much to say, Yost said. Its just one of those nights.By the end, everybody in the As starting lineup had a hit. Stephen Vogt was 3 for 3 with two walks and two RBI, while Joey Wendle, Arismendy Alcantara and Ryon Healy drove also drove in two apiece.We were swinging at a lot of good pitches, said the As Brett Eibner, who began thhe season with Kansas City.dddddddddddd We swung at pitches we want to hit and when you do that, the runs seem to pile up.Davis delivered the first big blow in the third inning when he splashed his 36th homer into the fountains in left field, a shot estimated at 447 feet.When the Royals matched him with three runs in the bottom half, the As bounced right back to score three more: Bruce Maxwell and Eibner opened the fourth with back-to-back singles, Joey Wendle hit a sacrifice fly, and the As churned out four hits and two walks in taking a 6-3 lead.It was 8-3 when Semien went deep in the sixth, and Oakland merely piled on from there.Its great to have a game like that, As manager Bob Melvin said. For a team that struggles to score runs, its nice to have a positive mood in the dugout.BIG LEAGUE DEBUTSRoyals OF Hunter Dozier and As INF Renato Nunez and OF/INF Matt Olson made their major league debuts. Nunez and Olson were brought up from Triple-A Nashville prior to the game, with Olson taking the spot of departed DH Billy Butler on the 40-man roster.In Olsons case his parents were here, Melvin said, so it was nice to get him in the game.SALVYS BABY BOYPerez was scratched from the starting lineup a couple hours before first pitch after his fiance gave birth. His name is Johan Salvador and the Royals said mother and baby are doing well.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals RHP Kris Medlen (right rotator cuff inflammation) will not return this season, manager Ned Yost said. LHP Jason Vargas (Tommy John surgery) is also unlikely to pitch for Kansas City this season after making three rehab outings for Triple-A Omaha.UP NEXTRHP Jharel Cotton makes his second career start for the As after beating the Angels in his debut last week. LHP Danny Duffy goes for his eighth win since the All-Star break for Kansas City. ' ' '