Paul Konerko and Gordon Beckham homered late, Chris Sale pitched eight solid innings and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Monday night.
Konerko tied it leading off the seventh and Beckham gave the White Sox a 3-2 lead with a solo shot in the eighth off Luis Mendoza. Kevin Youkilis added an RBI double in the inning, and the White Sox won for the 10th time in 13 games.
A.J. Pierzynski added two hits, and although he didn't go deep after tying a club record with homers in five straight games, he did drive in the first run with a double in the second.
Sale (13-3), meanwhile, looked sharp on nine days' rest, allowing two runs and eight hits while striking out seven without a walk. He gave up solo homers to Jeff Francoeur and Billy Butler, but otherwise kept the Royals off balance, with his fastball consistently in the mid-90s mph.
Sale was passed over during the last time through the rotation. The White Sox wanted to give him more rest in his first year as a starter
Addison Reed worked the ninth for his 20th save in 23 chances, retiring Eric Hosmer on a double-play grounder with runners on first and second to end the game.
Mendoza (5-8) gave up seven hits and four runs in 7 1-3 innings.
Chicago Baseball
Butler made it 2-1 in the seventh with his 21st homer. Konerko tied it in the bottom half with a line drive to left that just cleared the wall and landed in the bullpen.
Sale worked out of a first-and-third jam in the eighth before the White Sox went ahead in the bottom half.
