Swoon gone, thanks to Vaughn
OF’s late homer, 4 RBIs help White Sox stop losing streak at 8 games
Andrew Vaughn hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the seventh inning, and the White Sox stopped an eight-game slide with a 7-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
The winning rally for the Sox started when Danny Mendick and Tim Anderson hit consecutive two-out singles off Collin Snider (2-1). Scott Barlow then came in, and Vaughn drove his first pitch into the home bullpen in left.
The Sox added another run in the eighth when Leury Garcia scampered home on Reese McGuire’s double-play grounder.
Jake Burger hit a solo homer as the Sox got their first win since April 16. Burger finished with three hits, and Vaughn had four RBIs.
Whit Merrifield drove in two runs for Kansas City, which lost for the five time in six games. Zack Greinke permitted three runs and
five hits in six innings.
The Royals trailed 3-0 after five, but Merrifield hit a tying sacrifice fly off Bennett Sousa (1-0) in the top half of the seventh.
Dylan Cease struck out nine in six innings, helping the Sox stop their longest losing streak since June 2018.
The right-hander allowed two runs and three hits.
Edward Olivares began
the sixth with an infield single for Kansas City’s first hit of the game.
Sousa got his first major league win. Kendall Graveman struck out four in two innings to earn his first save of the season.
Sox closer Liam Hendriks said he might have overdone it during last weekend’s series in Minnesota. The right-hander experienced
back soreness during a 16-pitch outing Saturday, then returned to throw 30 in the final 1
innings of Sunday’s loss that ended with Byron Buxton’s booming home run.
“If you’re going to give up a walk-off homer it might as well be the longest in history,” Hendriks said with a smile Wednesday morning.