The Chicago White Sox kept it close, but ultimately couldn’t knock off the Kansas City Royals in a tightly contested 6-4 defeat at Kauffman Stadium on Friday.
Adalberto Mondesi and Jorge Soler drove in the go-ahead runs in the seventh inning for the Royals, and the Kansas City bullpen managed to slam the door on the White Sox as they were sent to their third straight defeat.
James McCann continued his torrid start to the season with two hits and a pair of RBI in the game, and Yoan Moncada went 2-for-5 with an RBI in the losing effort. Leury Garcia also scored two runs for the White Sox.
Ivan Nova pitched 5.1 innings and gave up four earned runs while striking out six batters, and Jace Fry was ultimately tagged with the loss as he was charged with both Kansas City runs in the seventh inning.
The White Sox struck first in the game, taking the lead on a McCann double to deep center field that scored Jose Abreu and Leury Garcia to make it a 2-0 game. Kansas City did answer back with a Whit Merrifield single to right field to make it 2-1 in the bottom of the frame, and that remained the score until the sixth inning when Mondesi clobbered a double to right field, scoring Merrifield and knotting the game at 2-2.
Cheslor Cuthbert then did some serious damage with an RBI single to right field, scoring Mondesi and Alex Gordon to give the Royals a two-run advantage.
The White Sox tied the game in the top of the seventh with an RBI fielder’s choice from Leury Garcia and a double by Moncada into left field to knot the game at 4-4.
Chicago Baseball
Unfortunately for the South Siders, the Royals struck back with two runs of their own in the seventh, as Mondesi and Soler each picked up RBI base hits to give Kansas City an edge they would never relinquish.
