Duffy proceeded to walk Jose Bautista on five pitches and was yanked for

COURCHEVEL, France -- Marlies Schild joked that her younger sister would not have got any Christmas presents if she had stopped her from equalling Vreni Schneiders record for World Cup slalom wins on Tuesday. Marlies overcame her younger sister Bernadettes leading time from the first run to win her 34th slalom. The 2011 slalom world champion was third after the first run in the morning. But the elder Schild posted a second run of 53.26 seconds to clinch victory ahead of Frida Hansdotter of Sweden. Bernadette Schild was third overall, and Kathrin Zettel of Austria fourth. After Hansdotter could not match her time, it was down to Bernadette Schild -- nine years younger at 23 and seeking her first win -- to stop her sibling equalling the record. "She wouldnt have got any Christmas presents," Marlies Schild said after winning her third straight race at Courchevel, but her first since winning a slalom race at Soldeu-Grandvalira in Andorra in February 2012. "Its a very big (weight) falling off my body and my heart. Its nearly two years ago since my last victory. Everyone was asking and asking what the problem was. I wasnt feeling very good for a long time now." Canadas Marie-Michele Gagnon finished sixth to continue her hot start to the Olympic season. The 24-year-old from Lac-Etchemin, Que., cemented her reputation as a multi-discipline medal contender for the 2014 Sochi Olympics on a challenging course. "Im showing consistency. Im excited," said Gagnon, who also competes in giant slalom, super-G, super combined and sometimes downhill. "I really feel like Im in a magical moment right now. "It was not an easy one today, thats for sure. Especially with not training slalom for a long time, I just wanted to make it down so for sure Im happy." Gagnon was fifth in the slalom and 10th in the giant slalom in the opening World Cup, then added a sixth and a 10th-place finish in super-G races earlier this month. She looked poised for her first World Cup podium in giant slalom last weekend before she went out four gates from the finish. Brittany Phelan, of Mont-Tremblant, Que., was 27th on Tuesday while Elli Terwiel of Sun Peaks, B.C., didnt qualify for the second run. Erin Mielzynski of Collingwood, Ont., and Mikaela Tommy, of Wakefield, Que., were among 25 racers who didnt finish their first runs. Matching Schneiders record from 1986-95 was an extra bonus for Schild. "Lindsey (Vonn) was always saying If you make records, its the only thing you remember. I dont think thats the main thing," Marlies said. "Its just that (it means) you are a good skier when you break records. Im glad that its over now." Last season, she stopped racing in March to recover from another knee injury, but the hunger to keep going fuelled her recovery. "I lost some years because of injuries and always had the feeling that I could do more, and thats the reason Im still here," she said. "I had back problems and knee surgery. I didnt know if I could do it again. I was thinking a lot, I was thinking too much. But now Ive got my self-confidence back." World champion Mikaela Shiffrin, who was seventh after the first run, finished 12th. She won the seasons opening slalom at Levi, Finland, last month, but it has been a miserable few days for the 18-year-old. After failing to finish Sundays giant slalom in St. Moritz, this was her lowest finish since placing 13th in GS at Maribor, Slovenia, in January, and her lowest slalom finish since 15th in Schladming, Austria, in March 2012. "I think I needed that today. I cant win everything. I dont think its good to win everything (because) then I just become complacent," she said. "So I need to know that Marlies is back. Thats the coolest thing for me because its nice to know Im not the Snow Queen." She expects fierce competition from Marlies over the next few months. "For her it wasnt even that impressive. Thats saying something. Shes an amazing skier and I kept saying that I thought she was the best slalom skier," Shiffrin said. "I dont think I own that title, I think she owns it." Tessa Worley, the Frenchwoman who won a giant slalom in St. Moritz last weekend, was taken to hospital after falling back on her skis and tearing a right knee ligament in the first run. The International Ski Federation said she will miss the rest of the season, ruling her out of the Sochi Olympics in February. Bernadette was .13 seconds faster than Hansdotter and .20 clear of her elder sister after the first run. Marlies, who took slalom bronze at the 2006 Olympics, flew down the Stade Emile Allais course on her second run -- .80 seconds faster than Zettel on the first split, .80 quicker on the second, and 1.43 quicker as she crossed the line. Bernadette was more than one second behind. Still, she earned a big hug from Marlies at the finish line for securing her second career podium result, after finishing second at Lenzerheide, Switzerland, in March. Being in the unfamiliar position of leading the race gave her some added stress. "It wasnt too easy to me. I had to breathe deeply to get my heart rate down," Bernadette said. "Its different to stand up there when youre the last one down." Worley, the giant slalom world champion, toppled backward before twisting forward and landing in the safety netting. She slowly got back up, and was taken to a hospital in Lyon. No further information was immediately available. "I feel bad for her. She was in really good shape," Marlies said. "I know what its like to have so many injuries." Anthony Sechaud, coach of the French women, said the injury likely occurred when Worley got her leg tangled up in the protective netting. Blue Bills Jerseys . 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He also matched a career-high eight home runs and posted 52 RBI. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alcides Escobar is a maestro with his glove, making the kinds difficult of plays at shortstop that has helped to make the Kansas City Royals one of the best defensive teams in baseball. On Wednesday night, Escobar showed he can swing the bat a bit, too. His two-run double in the seventh inning proved to be the difference in a tense 4-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. "Hes been very consistent," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Hes always been an important part of our club because of his defence. He saves runs in the field. But when you add offence to that, he becomes a very special player." Eric Hosmer drove in the other two runs for the Royals, whose bullpen blew a 2-0 lead for young starter Yordano Ventura before holding on to beat Toronto with a late rally for the second straight night. Kansas City won the series opener 10-7 behind a six-run eighth inning. Kelvin Herrera (1-1) stranded runners on second and third in the seventh, and Wade Davis struck out Jose Reyes to leave the bases loaded in the eighth. Greg Holland worked around a double in the ninth for his seventh save in seven tries. "You play 162 games. Youre going to see a lot of things happen," Holland said. "The mark of a good bullpen is when you have guys pick each other up when they get in jams." Drew Hutchison (1-2) allowed all four runs on five hits in seven innings for Toronto. The 23-year-old right-hander, who missed last season after Tommy John surgery, kept the Royals mostly off balance until Escobar guided his double down the left-field line with two outs in the seventh. Jimmy Paredes and Salvy Perez scored easily to give Kansas City the lead. "I got ahead of him. I went right at him. I thought I made a good pitch," Hutchison said. "Thats a situation where I expect myself to thrive and get the job done, but I didnt." The Royals improved to 14-0 when scoring at least four runs -- they remain 0-12 falling short of that mark. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays lost for the sixth time in their last seven games. Toronto also lost outfielder Melky Cabrera in the sixth inning when he was hit in the left shiin by a pitch from Danny Duffy.dddddddddddd Cabrera needed to be helped off the field, though X-rays taken at the ballpark came back negative and a team spokesman said he was day to day. The Royals manufactured a 1-0 lead through driving rain in the first inning with a double by Nori Aoki, a sacrifice bunt and Hosmers sacrifice fly. They tacked on another run in the fourth when Hosmer followed a double by Omar Infante with one of his own. As long as Ventura was pitching, it seemed that would be enough. The Blue Jays struggled to catch up to the 22-year-olds triple-digit fastball, managing just two hits over five innings. But they were more successful at avoiding stuff off the plate, driving up his pitch count and forcing him from the game after five innings and 92 pitches. "It was cold out there," Ventura said through a translator, fellow starter Jeremy Guthrie. "Naturally, it was a little more difficult to command." Thats when Royals manager Ned Yost called on Duffy, who hit Cabrera in the left shin with his first pitch. Cabrera dropped to the grass in foul territory and stayed there several minutes, eventually getting helped through the dugout and to the clubhouse by the Blue Jays trainers. Duffy proceeded to walk Jose Bautista on five pitches and was yanked for Aaron Crow, who gave up singles to Edwin Encarnacion and Juan Francisco that tied the game 2-all. Crow finally escaped the inning, and the Royals bullpen held Toronto down the rest of the way. "Its frustrating, but at the end of the day I need to do a better job to give us a chance to win after we came back and scored two runs," Hutchison said. "I was in complete control going into the seventh. It comes down to that its on me and I need to get the job done." NOTES: Toronto left 11 runners on base. ... Bautista finished with 30 walks in April, matching Fred McGriffs club record for a single month. ... Blue Jays INF Brett Lawrie (sore back) was held out of the lineup. Manager John Gibbons called him day to day. ... RHP Jeremy Guthrie starts the series finale Thursday night for Kansas City. LHP Mark Buehrle starts for Toronto. ' ' '