White Sox 7, Royals 1: Escaping Jams and Hitting Bombs

After the Arizona Diamondbacks beat him up, Johnny Cueto was looking to bounce back into form. In two starts against Kansas City, Cueto lasted at least six innings and didn't allow more than three runs. Yet, the White Sox would find ways to stumble late into either an extra-innings win on May 16 or a blowout on August 10. Both of those games were at Kauffman Stadium, so maybe things would be normal for Cueto pitching at home. 

Cueto didn't get through six innings but avoided big innings created by the outfield defense thanks to stellar infield defense. Andrew Vaughn and AJ Pollock provided the power as the White Sox won 7-1. 

Kansas City struck first in the third inning when Drew Waters and Nicky Lopez hit back-to-back singles. Melendez's single was a line drive to right field, but Gavin Sheets didn't make a great read and followed it up with fumbling the bounce. That mishap allowed Waters to reach third base. MJ Melendez grounded to Romy Gonzalez at second base, but the White Sox couldn't turn the double play in time as Waters scored. The RBI fielder's choice put Kansas City ahead 1-0. 

In the bottom half, the White Sox offense countered. Leury Garcia's blooper reached the outfield grass for a single and would advance to second base on a wild pitch. Elvis Andrus would also hit a shallow flare that just got over the leaping Royals second baseman Michael Massey. If Massey were an inch taller, he perhaps makes a terrific catch that doubles up Garcia at second base. Instead, Garcia scored, and Andrus' RBI single tied the game. 

On the next pitch, Andrew Vaughn smashed a two-run shot pulling Daniel Mengden's cutter to deep left field. His 15th home run of 2022 gives him the team lead. 

There were multiple opportunities for Kansas City to retake the lead. Cueto stranded Massey at second base in the fourth inning by punching out Brent Rooker. Things got dicey in the next frame. Waters lined a double down the right field line but got caught at third base thanks to a great play by Andrus. On a ground ball hit by Lopez, Andrus made a solid throw to Leury Garcia covering third base to tag out Waters. 

After that good defensive play, the White Sox outfield made another mess. Melendez singled to center field that AJ Pollock took his time to field. That was a risky decision as Lopez was racing around third base and possibly flirting with heading home. Pollock tried to hurry his throw back to the infield, but it didn't hit the cut-off man and was wildly off target. That allowed Melendez to reach second base quickly, and suddenly Cueto was in a jam. 

Luckily for Cueto, Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez lined out directly to Romy Gonzalez and Leury Garcia, ending the threat. Cueto's final line was 5.1 IP 6 H 1 ER 0 BB 5 K on 94 pitches. It could have been a worse afternoon for Cueto. Still, he manages and pitches out over defensive miscues this season. 

The game got out of hand late, with Garica and Gonzalez hitting RBI singles in the sixth inning. Now a 5-1 game into the eighth inning, Pollock made up for his defense by going oppo-taco for his 10th home run of the season. 

Game Notes

• White Sox committed three errors, pushing their season total to 82 which leads the American League. 
• White Sox now have five players with double-digit home runs: Andrew Vaughn, Jose Abreu, Luis Robert, Gavin Sheets, and AJ Pollock. 
• Jose Abreu hit his 30th double of the season. 

Record: 65-66 | Box Score | StatCast