A sweep so humdrum shouldn't feel so momentous, but the White Sox had let similar opportunities slip through the fingers, so they should be recognized for finally finishing the job.
The Sox replicated a familiar formula once again -- a quality start and enough big hits to provide a small cushion the bullpen never jeopardized -- in a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals.
This time it was Lance Lynn, who absorbed a two-run homer by (who else?) Classy Michael Massey and allowed nothing more. This time it was Romy González of all people delivering the big blow with a go-ahead two-run triple in the fifth inning. This time Joe Kelly closed it out, becoming the fourth Sox pitcher to record a save this season.
González, who started in place of the struggling Tim Anderson, picked a great time for what stands alone as his best game of the year. With the Sox trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth, he came to the plate with runners on second and third and one out after Hanser Alberto's tragic sac bunt (more on that in a bit).
Just like Jake Burger the day before, González was ready to lift the other way, and when Max Castillo started the plate appearance by splitting said plate with a knee-high slider, González poked a line drive that split the right-center gap and rolled all the way to the wall. Both runners scored, González made it to third with a triple, and he scored on Andrew Benintendi's sac fly against the left-field foul netting, which Edward Olivares might've been better off letting go.
That put the Sox ahead 4-2, and they added an unnecessary insurance run with three straight two-out singles in the seventh by Anderson (who replaced Alberto), González and Andrew Benintendi.
Lynn reaped the benefits, picking up his third win of the season. It looked like he might be in for a relapse when he gave up a solid single to Olivares and a two-run blast to Massey, but Lynn allowed only two singles and two walks over his remaining six innings. The stuff again looked lively, as he registered 19 swinging strikes, including four over just six swings on nine curveballs.
The bigger question was whether a White Sox offense that has struggled to hit relievers could produce against a Royals bullpen day. Carlos Hernandez stymied them as usual over the first two innings, but once Castillo entered the game, the Sox sized him up much better. González tried to start a rally with two outs in the third with a single and a stolen base, but Luis Robert Jr. ended up accounting for the first White Sox run in the fourth with a wind-aided solo shot that barely cleared the wall in right center, his 13th homer of the year.
If nothing else, the White Sox have separated themselves from the AL Central cellar, as they're now five games better than the Royals. But there's other stuff too, like being only a game back of second place in the win column (the Tigers are 20-24).
Bullet points:
*Alberto dropped to the ground in pain after stepping on first base trying to turn his sac bunt into a single, but he seemed to hurt his left shoulder signaling "safe" to first-base umpire Dan Bellino. Two problems: He was very much out, and then he was out of the game with what the Sox called left shoulder soreness. I can't say I've ever seen a player get hurt that way.
*González played second after Alberto's injury, going 3-for-3 with the triple, two RBIs, a run scored and the stolen base.
*The Sox had a couple of doubles turn into singles. Maybe you wouldn't expect Anderson to run 100 percent out of the box on what appeared to be a routine single that Jackie Bradley Jr. failed to see, what with his knee problems and all, but Yoán Moncada jogged to first out of the box on a line drive that went in and out of Olivares' mitt on the warning track. He shouldn't have expected it to leave the yard, because the wind was blowing in from that direction and he only hit it 18 degrees high. That ended up hampering the Sox when Adam Haseley grounded into an inning-ending double play to defuse a rally.
*Speaking of Haseley, he entered the game as a defensive replacement for Clint Frazier, which felt equal parts premature and unnecessary. Frazier went 1-for-3 in his White Sox debut.
*Anderson did make a nice play on a comebacker that deflected off Keynan Middleton's throwing shoulder to the right side of second. He collected the ball and beat Olivares to the bag with a long step that made me hope his knee wouldn't betray him. It didn't.
*Sox pitching benefited from BABIP, as the Royals had three lineouts over 105 mph. They also allowed just three runs over three games, so they made their own luck.
