Kansas City Royals’ Whit Merrifield watches his two-RBI double during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, in Chicago.
Advertisement
Kendrys Morales added a solo home run to increase his hitting streak to 13 games.
Sale became the first player in White Sox history to strike out 200-plus batters in four straight seasons.
White Sox: Manager Robin Ventura said it’s unlikely 2B Brett Lawrie, who last played July 21, returns this season.
Kevin McCarthy (1-0) got the last out of the sixth and Joakim Soria struck out two in a flawless eighth to earn his first major league victory.
This season, Sale has made headlines off the field for his displeasure with the treatment of Adam LaRoche in spring training-specifically his son, Drake-as well as being suspended for cutting up throwback jerseys prior to a game he was scheduled to start. Prior to the last two starts, the 31-year-old had permitted a total of five runs over six turns, including 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball in a no-decision versus the White Sox on August 10.
“I haven’t been the spoiler too often in my career”, said White Sox right-hander James Shields, who had no decision in Saturday’s 6-5 Chicago loss to the Royals. His performance Sunday gave him 205 on the season through 201 and two-thirds innings pitched.
Davis got Jose Abreu to line to right and struck out Justin Morneau with two on to close the Royals’ fourth win in six games.
“Kennedy was on top of his game”, Royals manager Ned Yost said. “If somebody’s got really bad stats on a winning team, I’ll trade it with him”. That’s what Mo did. “That’s what Hos did and you just hope that your pitching matches”.
“Absolutely, I want to be here”, said Shields, who reported no issues with his recent back problem. With runners on 1st and 2nd, Sale needed to “sinch her up and hunker down” as the Sox legendary broadcaster Ken “The Hawk” Harrelson would say.
After the game, a team spokesman said Cain had received a stem cell shot that didn’t work and they wanted to wait a week to see if his wrist gets better.
“We had an opportunity and couldn’t do anything with it, ” Ventura said. Royals C Salvador Perez started his second straight game after missing two contests because of a bruised right wrist.
On the field, it’s another great year for Sale, even though the White Sox are struggling. He recovered to throw out Paulo Orlando at first. He was hitting.287 with nine home runs and 56 RBIs in 103 games this year. Ventura was playing for the Mets and Yost was with the Braves then. The teams faced off in the first game in NY after the attack.
Kansas City grabbed a 1-0 lead on Morales’ 27th home run of the season and his fifth in the past six games.
Advertisement
Royals: Oakland comes to Kansas City for four games, with Royals RHP Dillon Gee (6-7, 4.34 ERA) facing LHP Ross Detwiler (1-3, 5.15 ERA) on Monday. In his last outing, Miguel Gonzalez (3-6, 381 ERA) picked up where he left off after returning from the DL on September 6 against the Tigers, throwing 6 ⅓ scoreless innings, striking out four and walking none.
