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KANSAS CITY, Mo. Justin Tucker Elite Jersey . -- Luke Hochevar was taken aback when he walked into the managers office one day and manager Ned Yost and the Royals coaches started trying to convince him to make a change. Simplify your approach, they said. Use your three core pitches. It took a while for Hochevar to buy in. Now the change is paying off. The mercurial right-hander struck out eight in his second career shutout, and the Kansas City offence made sure to come through in an 8-0 rout of the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night. "I guess I have to come up with a better word than fantastic, tremendous and great. He was phenomenal," Yost said. "The results have been dramatically improved since he got back to his three core pitches. Hes starting to show exactly what he can do." His arsenal pared down to primarily a four-seam fastball, curveball and change-up, Hochevar (5-7) mowed through a weak-hitting Tampa Bay lineup for his first shutout since Sept. 18, 2009. Now, the pitcher who was allowing nearly a run per inning earlier in the year has gone 16 2-3 scoreless innings, and is starting to resembled a former No. 1 overall draft pick. "That was a great outing by Hoch," said Eric Hosmer, who tacked on a homer in the eighth inning to finish off the scoring. "He was in the zone, he was pounding pitches. He was great." Alcides Escobar and Alex Gordon both had three hits for the Royals, who were coming off an embarrassing sweep at the hands of St. Louis in which they were outscored 30-14 and burned through their bullpen -- which made the start by Hochevar all the more impressive. No Royals starter had even gone eight innings so far this season. "If you dont get him early and permit him to settle in, he gets better," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He was all over us tonight" Alex Cobb (3-4) also managed to throw a complete game, the first of his career, though it wasnt nearly as impressive: He allowed 13 hits while falling to 1-4 in his last five starts. "In the first few innings, I just felt uncomfortable out there," he said. "Everything they were hitting was dropping. Unfortunately, they were falling everywhere." The banged-up Rays came into the game riding plenty of momentum after a double-header sweep of Philadelphia, while the Royals limped in after their rough series against the Cardinals. Somebody must have flipped the script. It was Kansas City that came out swinging from the start, with Gordons leadoff double setting up an RBI double by Mike Moustakas when the ball bounced off right fielder Ben Zobrists glove and over his head after he appeared to briefly lose it in the setting sun. Cobb worked through a perfect second inning before coming unglued in the third. It started with Escobars bunt single and a base hit by Gordon, and included a wild pitch that plate umpire Todd Tichenor accidentally kicked away from catcher Jose Molina, allowing both of the runners to advance. Betancourt followed with a two-run single. Billy Butler came to the plate with one out and added a single, and Jeff Francoeur followed with an RBI single in which Butler was thrown out trying to reach third. Hosmer contributed an RBI single, and Salvador Perez added another run-scoring single, though he was cut down to end the inning after making a wide turn around first. The inning ended after five runs on seven singles in a span of only eight batters. The Royals added another run on Betancourts sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, and Hosmer went deep in the eighth, though both runs were moot the way Hochevar was dealing. He got some help from double plays in the first and seventh innings, but otherwise took care of things himself. He worked a perfect second and sixth, and came back from consecutive base hits to start the fifth with three consecutive strikeouts. It was the first time he had gone eight innings since last Sept. 3 against Cleveland. This time, Hochevar managed to finish things off. "I dont think you ever have it figured out, because hitters adjust, the game is always changing," he said. "I know what Im focusing on now, though, and thats going to be consistent." Notes: Hochevar had been 0-4 at home this season. ... Rays 1B Carlos Pena went 0 for 3, dropping his average to .197. DH Hideki Matsui went 0 for 4 and is hitting .159. ... Royals RHP Roman Colon was assigned outright to Triple-A Omaha. ... LHP Matt Moore starts Tuesday night for Tampa Bay. LHP Bruce Chen goes for Kansas City. ... The game time was 2 hours, 17 minutes. Torrey Smith Pink Jersey . Taylor will meet Mihaela Lacatus in Wednesdays quarterfinals after the Romanian beat Denitsa Eliseeva of Bulgaria 17-14. The worlds are being held in 10 divisions but the focus is on three: 112-pound flyweight, 132-pound lightweight and 165-pound middleweight. Ray Lewis Pink Jersey . After nearly getting ejected in the third inning, Verlander kept his composure to pick up his 12th straight decision on the road, Prince Fielder homered and the Tigers built an early lead before holding on for a 6-4 win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night. http://www.ravensthegear.com/haloti-ngata-jerseys . -- Jay Don Blake watched his putt lip out and figured his best shot at winning was over. Anquan Boldin Jersey . -- Luke Hochevar was taken aback when he walked into the managers office one day and manager Ned Yost and the Royals coaches started trying to convince him to make a change. Ray Lewis Youth Jersey . -- Michigan started preseason practice without suspended players Fitz Toussaint and Frank Clark, and with coach Brady Hoke giving no hint on when either would return.TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- It was hard to escape the hype around the LSU-Alabama game when both squads were off last week. Now, its downright impossible. Alabama linebacker Donta Hightower had just finished celebrating a win over Tennessee two weeks ago when he saw the first ad for the LSU game. When Barrett Jones chatted with family and friends back home in suburban Memphis, they didnt want to talk about the Vols game. Like everybody else, they wanted to talk No. 1 LSU versus No. 2 Alabama. "Everyone I saw pretty much was like, Youve got a pretty big game this week," said Jones, the Crimson Tides left tackle. "I was like, Yeah, we do. Thats an underestimation." After a nearly two-month buildup, Judgment Day -- SEC style -- is now just days away. The Tide and Tigers collide Saturday night in Bryant-Denny Stadium in a game thats gotten weeks of hype as a potential national title elimination contest. The winner certainly does have the inside track to play for both the Southeastern Conference and national titles, with no guarantees beyond that. The game is so big that even Alabamas all-business coach, Nick Saban, didnt try to downplay its magnitude Monday before a room packed with close to double the normal media contingent on his 60th birthday. LSU coach Les Miles as usual wants his players to embrace the big-game trappings. He said he doesnt want the Tigers coaching or playing like normal for a game thats anything but. "I want the players to enjoy the glare and the light of the big stage," Miles said. "I want them to enjoy the opportunity to play for a big victory. Once Ive prepared the team and after I feel Ive done a quality job, I want the players to play with freedom. "If there is a chance to make a dominant play, I want them to make that play." This isnt altogether uncharted territory for either SEC power. The veterans have played in big games like this. In January. Or even December. Its the November part thats new. Its the first time two SEC teams have met before the league title game ranked 1 and 2 in the nation. There hasnt been a regular season No. 1 and 2 showdown anywhere since Ohio State and Michigans 2006 finale. "We live for games like this," Tide noseguard Josh Chapman said. "You want to go against great teams. Being in the SEC, its a great matchup. Were ready for it." The two SEC West rivals have been on a season-long collision course. Both brushed off their first eight opponents with a series of double-digit wins, walloping East Division foes Florida and Tennessee by a combined 61 (LSU) and 59 (Alabama) points. The Tigers dispatched No. 6 Oregon by 13 points; the Tide walloped No. 8 Arkansas 38-14. It didnt take long for this one to start seeming like the big one. Even bigger than usual. The winner of thiis game has played for the SEC championship game four of the past six years, twice apiece. Torrey Smith White Jersey. And last year was the first time in that span that the winner didnt either play in Atlanta or in a BCS bowl. It seems everyone knows its not just another game. "Twitter, Facebook, weve been hearing it from everywhere," Hightower said. "Its really exciting. Youve been hearing about it ever since the Tennessee game. As soon as I got home, I saw the commercials for it, LSU versus Alabama. Were really excited for it, but we cant let that get to us." Saban said instructing players to ignore the hype and keep the TV and laptops tuned away from pre-game coverage is like laying down dating ground rules for your children -- you hope they abide by them but you cant really be sure. "Im sure that theres some players on our team who pay very little attention, and theres other players who could get caught up in that type of thing," Saban said. He isnt dismissing the notion that the loser of the game is bumped from the national title picture, and maybe even a possible rematch in the BCS championship game. Chances are, that would require a loss by unbeaten teams like No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Stanford and No. 5 Boise State. "I think everybody should view that game as these are two of the best teams playing and how that game affects the future should not be relative to just who won and lost, but actually the quality of the teams," Saban said. Thats a down-the-line concern, though. Hes more concerned about stopping LSU quarterbacks Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson and finding a way to score against LSUs defence. Saban said theres no "magic formula" for winning such games, just the basics like execution, focusing and winning the turnover battle. In a region where priorities often go something like faith, family and football, theyve become intertwined for some fans. "People are coming up to me and saying they are praying for us," LSU safety Brandon Taylor said. "I am getting so many text messages and phone calls. They say, Bring it to Alabama. You are playing for the state of Louisiana." For Australia, too. LSU punter Brad Wing doesnt have many comparisons for this game from his native country. The stadium will be packed to its 101,821-fan capacity for a primetime game. "From the culture I came from, there has not been a game like this that Ive seen," Wing said. "There was the Grand Final (in Australian Rules football). It is the equivalent to the Super Bowl with 95,000 people. But the hype for that game doesnt match the hype for this game. "This is the biggest game Ive been around. I knew the hype was coming. When the teams are No. 1 and No. 2, the hype keeps getting bigger and bigger." ' ' '