KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Though Veterans Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia came through in the ninth inning, there is no doubt the Chicago White Sox are looking more to the future.
Abreu and Garcia drove in runs in the ninth as the White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 5-3 Wednesday.
The White Sox took two of three at Kauffman Stadium, winning their first road series since June 16-18. While they have the worst American League record (58-87), they have won four of their past five games, hitting .360 with 26 extra-base hits and 40 runs in that span. They won a series in Kansas City for the first time since 2015.
Abreu’s sacrifice fly scored Tim Anderson, who led off the inning with a single, took second on a wild pitch by Scott Alexander (4-4) and stole third.
Garcia’s single to center scored Yoan Moncada with the second run. Garcia is hitting an American League-leading .432 against left-handed pitchers.
“We never give up,” Garcia said. “We always keep fighting. We never know what’s going to happen. What we can control is giving our best.”
Alexander was working for the fifth time in seven games, including throwing 17 pitches in a Tuesday save and 27 on Sunday. Manager Ned Yost said before the game Alexander was unavailable.
“They called down. I said I felt fine,” Alexander said. “We’re all tired. It’s the same thing for everybody. We’re all trying to be available.”
The Royals, who entered three games behind Minnesota for the second AL wild card, tied the score at 3 in the eighth. Alcides Escobar singled in one run, while pinch runner Terrance Gore scored the other on an Alex Gordon groundout.
“Fortunately the damage was minimized and we were able to come out on top,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said.
Juan Minaya (3-2) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to pick up the victory.
Adan Engel hit a two-run double in the second for Chicago, scoring Tyler Saladino and Kevan Smith. Engel has nine of his 20 RBIs this season against the Royals.
After Royals starter Eric Skoglund retired the first two batters in the third, he gave up a double to Garcia, walked Matt Davidson and gave up an RBI single to Saladino.
The Royals loaded the bases with one out in the seventh but came away empty. Melky Cabrera flied out to center and Eric Hosmer grounded out to end the threat.
Skoglund lasted only three innings and 66 pitches, giving up three runs on five hits. He threw 6 1/3 innings of two-hit ball to beat Detroit 1-0 in his big league debut on May 30. Since then, Skoglund has given up 17 runs on 26 hits and 10 walks over 10 2/3 innings. He has a 14.34 ERA in four starts and one relief appearance.
White Sox starter Lucas Giolito yielded one run, a homer by Salvador Perez in the sixth inning, in 6 1/3 innings. Giolito has a 1.75 ERA and has held opposing batters to a .140 batting average in his past four starts.
The Royals will try to snap the Indians’ AL record 21-game winning streak on Thursday in Cleveland.
“We’re not worried about that,” second baseman Whit Merrifield said. “We’re just worried about playing better as a team. We’re going to show up, and try to pitch, play defense, swing the bats and run the bases better than we have recently. If we do all those things, we like where we are.”
ON THE ROAD, AGAIN
The Royals hit the road Thursday to begin a 12-day, 11-game, four-city, two-country trip. It consists of four games in Cleveland, three in Toronto, three in Chicago and one in New York, which is a makeup from a May 25 rainout. The last time the Royals had a four-city trip was April 29-May, 11, 2005, and they went 3-9.
MORIN HOMECOMING
RHP Mike Morin, who grew up in the Kansas City, watched several games at Kauffman Stadium.
“I remember coming to games with the Hy-Vee level seats up top for $5 with a student ID,” said Morin, whom the Royals claimed off waivers Monday from the Angels.
“I remember coming and watching a Cardinals game when Mark McGwire was doing his thing. It was cool. It’s something you dream of as a kid to have this opportunity. What a cool thing to have happen.”
Morin made his Royals debut, striking out Matt Davidson in the ninth, the only batter he faced.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (elbow) will likely come off the disabled list and start Sunday at Cleveland. He would be on a 65 pitch-limit range. . RHP Joakim Soria (left oblique) is expected to rejoin the team in Cleveland and be activated. He returned to Arizona to be with his wife for the birth of their third child.
UP NEXT
White Sox: RHP James Shields, who starts the series opener at Detroit, snapped a 11-game winless skid in his previous start, beating the Giants on Saturday and allowing one run and two hits over a season-high seven innings. LHP Chad Bell will start for the Tigers.
Royals: RHP Jake Junis, who starts Thursday at Cleveland, is 4-0 with a 2.48 ERA in his past six starts. RHP Josh Tomlin will start for the Indians.
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