AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Weston Steelhammer watched the first half from the locker room. No doubt, Navy wishes he wouldve stayed put.Suspended for a half because of a targeting penalty the week before, the Air Force senior safety provided a second-half spark for a defense that was already playing lights out.Steelhammer led a dominating defensive effort , tailback Tim McVey scored twice, including a 62-yard TD catch, and Air Force beat Navy 28-14 on Saturday to take a big step toward claiming the Commander-in-Chiefs Trophy.Jalen Robinette had five catches for 163 yards for Air Force (4-0), which extended its home winning streak to 15 straight. His 75-yard TD catch late in the third quarter broke open the game.The Midshipmen (3-1) averted a shutout on a 6-yard TD run by Shawn White with 8:33 remaining. The option-oriented team finished with more yards passing (260) than rushing (57). For that matter, so did Air Force (257 yards passing, 173 on the ground).Weve got plenty of growing to do, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. Not that this wasnt a good step, because it certainly was.Steelhammer sat out the first half after being disqualified for a targeting call in the third quarter last weekend at Utah State. All dressed up and nowhere to go, he watched the opening half from the locker room, but soon made his presence felt by picking off a Will Worth pass with Navy driving in the third quarter. He had another late in the game.The guys out there did a great job in the first half of keeping us in it, Steelhammer said. I didnt want to be too much of a distraction coming back.No worry about that. Hes the leader of a unit that had six sacks, eight tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and held a Navy team averaging 316.3 yards rushing to just 57.There are still a lot of things we kind of goofed up, said Brodie Hicks, who had a blocked punt in the second quarter. But we definitely had a really good game.Heres a stat that bodes well for Air Force: The previous 19 winners of this game have gone on to win the Commander-in-Chiefs Trophy, which represents superiority among the three service academies. The Falcons need only to beat Army on Nov. 5 to earn the trophy. If the teams all finish 1-1 in the round-robin competition, the previous winner -- Navy -- retains the prize.They got after us, Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. I was really impressed with Air Force. I thought they played a really good game.The first half was ruled by defense with the only score a field goal. A surprise, too, given that Air Force and Navy came in averaging a combined 906 yards per game.Air Force began to pull away in the third quarter when McVey scored on a 1-yard plunge. Robinette soon followed with his TD catch from Nate Romine, who finished 8 of 14 for a career-high 257 yards and two scores.POLL IMPLICATIONSAir Force will definitely receive some votes this week. The Falcons havent appeared in the AP poll since 2010.However, its hardly on their mind.Its great to talk about all those rankings and numbers, Romine said. But all that matters is who you have next week and how you prepare for them.QUITE A GRABRobinette was impressed by McVeys one-handed, spinning catch . So much so that hes going to add it to his list of plays.Im still in shock about it, Robinette said.THE TAKEAWAYNAVY: The Midshipmen had a 19-game win streak against unranked opponents snapped. Just couldnt get their vaunted rushing attack on track.AIR FORCE: Off to a 4-0 start for the first time since 2003. The Falcons relied on a defense that recorded six sacks, eight tackles for loss and forced a fumble.UP NEXTNAVY: Host a Houston squad led by Heisman Trophy hopeful Greg Ward Jr., who accounted for five touchdowns in a 42-14 win over Connecticut on Thursday.We have a top-5 team coming into our stadium next week so lick our wounds and move on, Niumatalolo said.AIR FORCE: Travel to Wyoming next Saturday. Two years ago, the Falcons lost 17-13 to the Cowboys in Laramie.---Online:AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org and AP-Top 25 Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-Top25Follow Pat Graham on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pgraham34. Custom Marlins Jerseys .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Custom Marlins T-shirts .S. Open champion Justin Rose birdied the first hole with a blind shot he hit to a foot of the pin, and he stayed in front Tuesday until he completed a 4-under 67 for a two-shot lead over Jason Dufner in PGA Grand Slam of Golf. http://www.custommarlinsjersey.com/ . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Cheap Marlins Jerseys . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. Custom Marlins Jersey China ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. DETROIT -- Justin Verlander has been one of the hottest pitchers in baseball for the last six weeks.For most of Tuesday night, he was again.Verlander came into the game having gone 5-0 with a 1.78 ERA in his previous eight starts, then only allowed four hits and a walk in seven-plus innings to the Kansas City Royals.The problem was that three of the hits were home runs, and the Royals went on to a 6-1 victory.Most of the time, Ill take my chances with giving up four hits, but tonight, every mistake I made got hit into the seats, Verlander said. They say solo homers dont hurt you, but that obviously wasnt the case today. It was just one of those games.Raul Mondesi, Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer all homered off Verlander, but Mondesi was the only one who got an ice bath after the game. Batting in the third inning, he hit a hanging slider just inside the right-field foul pole for his first career homer.As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going to stay fair, so I just started running, he said. Im sure everyone could see me smiling when it went over the fence. That was a great feeling.Hitting it off Verlander made things even better.It makes it more special that I hit it in my first at-bat against that guy, he said. Hes a great, great pitcher, and I hit my first homer against him.Kendrys Morales added Kansas Citys fourth solo homer, hitting one off Mark Lowe in the ninth.Danny Duffy (10-1) outdueled Verlander, allowing three hits and two walks in 7 2/3 innings. He struck out five.Youd expect a pitchers duel from those two, and thats really what it was, Royals manager Ned Yost said. Danny was great, and Verlander threw the ball really well. We only got four hits off him, but somehow, three of them were homers. You dont expect that.Jarrod Saltalamacchia homered for Detroits only run. The Tigers have lost seven of nine.We just need to win, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. Our offense is cold right now, and the opposing pitching has a lot to do with that, but sometimes you just go cold as a group.Kansas Citys second hit came in the fifth inning, when Gordon hit another slider into nearly the same spot as Mondesi. Gordon came into the game with a .205 career average against the Tigers ace.Duffy only needed 41 pitches over the first four innings, but Saltalamacchia put the Tigers on the board with a fifth-inning homer into the shrubs above the centerfield fence.Hosmer restored Kansas Citys two-run lead with a seventh-inning homer to center field that was estimated at 443 feet. It was thhe fifth hit of the game -- four solo homers and a double by Detroits J.ddddddddddddD. Martinez.Victor Martinez got the games first single in the seventh. J.D. Martinez hit into a force at second, but moved to third on a wild pitch and a fly ball. Duffy, though, struck out James McCann to end the inning.Detroits defense fell apart at the start of the eighth. Gordon hit a routine grounder to third, but ended up on second when Saltalamacchia missed Casey McGehees throw. Alcides Escobar singled to left with Gordon taking third, then moved to second when Justin Upton lobbed the ball into the infield.Verlander walked Mondesi on his 112th and final pitch, loading the bases. Bruce Rondon came in from the bullpen and struck out Paolo Orlando, but Cheslor Cuthbert hit a blooper to shallow center that Ian Kinsler got under, but dropped.Kinsler recovered in time to force Escobar at third, but Gordon scored to make to it 4-1. Lorenzo Cain doubled to give the Royals a four-run lead.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals: Three pitchers with long-term injuries are scheduled to make rehab performances this week. Kris Medlen, out since May with a rotator cuff problem, started Tuesday night for Surprise in the Arizona League, while Jason Vargas (Tommy John surgery) is scheduled to start for Double-A Northwest Arizona on Wednesday. Mike Minor (shoulder) is supposed to pitch for Triple-A Omaha on Friday. Vargas and Minor have both missed the entire season.Tigers: 1B Miguel Cabrera was out of the starting lineup Tuesday with a strained left biceps. The injury, sustained in Mondays loss to the Royals, is not considered serious. Cabrera said after the game that he hopes to play on Wednesday. ... Jordan Zimmermann (neck) threw a 20-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday, and is scheduled to throw another on Thursday.TIGERS TRADEThe Tigers announced shortly before the first pitch that they had traded utilityman Mike Aviles and minor-league catcher Kade Scivicque to Atlanta for infielder Erick Aybar. General manager Al Avila said the move was designed to give the Tigers more offense off the bench. Aybar is hitting .242 this season as opposed to Aviles .210.UP NEXTThe teams finish their three-game series on Wednesday evening, with Kansas Citys Yordano Ventura (8-9, 4.60) facing Anibal Sanchez (6-12, 6.31). Sanchez has allowed 23 homers in 19 starts and only lasted four innings in his last outing. ' ' '