CHICAGO (AP) — Luis Robert Jr. drove in three runs in his return to the lineup, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 7-2 on Friday night.
Mike Tauchman homered to help the last-place White Sox to their third win in four games. Davis Martin struck out seven while pitching six innings of two-run ball.
White Sox catcher , one of baseball’s top prospects, went 1 for 2 with two walks and scored a run in his major league debut.
Robert hit a tiebreaking two-run single in Chicago’s five-run eighth inning. He also had a run-scoring single in the second.
It was Robert’s first game since Monday. The slumping slugger has been working on some adjustments at the plate, and he got an extra day after he was struck on his head by a ball in the batting cage.
The White Sox beat the Royals for the second time in the last 20 matchups.
Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino hit back-to-back homers for Kansas City with two out in the third inning. It was the seventh of the season for Garcia, and No. 9 for Pasquantino.
Tauchman tied it at 2 when he connected against Seth Lugo in the fifth.
The White Sox loaded the bases with one out in the eighth, and Robert drove in pinch-runner Michael A. Taylor and Austin Slater with a bloop single to right against Jonathan Bowlan (1-1).
Teel scored on Taylor Clarke’s wild pitch, and errors on third baseman Garcia and Clarke brought home two more runs.
Jordan Leasure (1-4) pitched an inning for the win.
Royals rookie Jac Caglianone went 0 for 4. He is 1 for 17 in his first four games.
Key moment
Leasure walked Jonathan India and Bobby Witt Jr. singled as Kansas City put the first two on in the eighth. Teel pounced on a bunt by Garcia and got the first out at third. Witt took third on a fielder’s choice before Salvador Perez fouled out, ending the inning.
Key stat
The Royals swept a four-game home series with the White Sox from May 5-8 and outscored them 19-4. Chicago leads the all-time series 440-434.
Up next
Royals right-hander Michael Wacha (3-4, 2.88 ERA) starts Saturday against White Sox right-hander Adrian Houser (1-1, 1.47 ERA).
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