If we've said it once, we've said it ... well, maybe twice: Adam Engel's bat is all the offense you need.
Engel's three-run homer off Royals rookie Kris Bubic way back in the second inning held up over a rather quiet final seven, thanks to a decent start by Dallas Keuchel and better work by the White Sox bullpen, which hasn't been scored upon since the opening series.
Keuchel is 2-0 in his young White Sox career, and he can thank the relievers behind him for holding the line. He lasted just 5⅓ innings, partially due to subpar command, and partially due to a couple misplays from Tim Anderson that elevated his pitch count to 92 by the time Rick Renteria lifted him.
Keuchel had used up his cushion to start the sixth by giving up a homer to Ryan McBroom that cut the White Sox's lead to 3-2. He stayed in to retire Alex Gordon, but when the righties came up, Renteria's righties came out. Jimmy Cordero got a groundout and a strikeout to end the sixth, then pitched around a weak single and catcher interference with two outs by striking out Maikel Franco (more on him later).
Evan Marshall made easy work of the eighth. That left the ninth for Colomé, and after Jose Abreu smothered a grounder behind first base to prevent a leadoff double after a lengthy battle with Ryan O'Hearn, Colomé handled the rest himself. He barehanded a Whit Merrifield bunt for the second out, and struck out Adalberto Mondesi to end the game for his first save.
The White Sox bullpen has now pitched 16⅔ scoreless innings on this road trip. Tonight's effort preserved Keuchel's win, and it also sealed Bubic's loss.
Bubic hadn't pitched above A-ball before tonight, but he was pressed into action due to all sorts of calamity in Kansas City's rotation. He fared decently, unless you ask James McCann, who was beaned his first time up and drilled on the wrist his second time up. KC pitchers missed high and tight quite a bit, but McCann was the only one to take the brunt of it, and he slammed his bat in frustration after the second one.
Engel avenged him. After a 2-2 pitch knocked off McCann's helmet to put runners on first and second, Engel put a 2-2 changeup just over the wall in left for a 3-0 lead in the second inning.
The rout was not on, though. In fact, the White Sox only tallied four hits on the night, and only one of them after the second. The Kansas City bullpen turned out to be just as stout, pitching five scoreless innings in relief of Bubic.
The White Sox did have one chance, and that's after Nick Madrigal reached base for the first time in his MLB career on a Mondesi error in the seventh. He advanced to second on the play, then tried to score when Leury García shot a single through the left side.
Nick Capra sent him on Gordon's arm, and that tends to be a mistake. Sure enough, Madrigal got tagged out at home for the inning's second out, and while García eventually replaced him at third by advancing on the throw home and moving up on a wild pitch, Yoán Moncada popped out to end the inning.
Madrigal went 0-for-3 in his debut, grounding out all three times. But he did make easy work of all his chances at second base, which is going to be needed during future Keuchel starts.
Bullet points:
*Anderson left the game with right hip soreness, which he might have aggravated by getting his spikes caught while ranging on a ball behind second base. That was called a hit, but it was the second of two makeable plays he couldn't handle cleanly.
*Luis Robert experienced hitlessness for the first time, but he did beat out a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play grounder by an incredible amount in the second inning, which eventually paid off when Engel homered.
*Catcher interference, a scourge in this season, made its way into the box score for the second straight game. This time, James McCann stuck hit mitt in the way of Jorge Soler's checked swing to put two on for Franco. Cordero pitched around it.
(Note: It's showing up as a HBP in the box score because Cordero's pitch missed inside, but a replay showed Soler's bat hitting McCann's mitt. Let's see if this is corrected.)
*Franco, by the way, went 0-for-4 with seven stranded.
*Tripp Gibson's strike zone was all over the place, and I'm wondering if umpires are suffering as much as pitchers from the irregular preseason.
