Danks Pitches Into 7th, White Sox Beat Royals 2-0 For Split
CHICAGO (AP) -- John Danks pitched four-hit ball into the seventh, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 2-0, on Friday to split a day-night doubleheader.
The White Sox shook off a 4-2 loss in the opener to win for the 10th time in 14 games, with Danks (5-8) dominating on the mound.
Avisail Garcia tripled and scored on a single by Tyler Flowers in the second inning. Melky Cabrera doubled and came in from third on a wild pitch by Edinson Volquez (8-5). And Chicago handed the AL Central leaders their second loss in 10 games.
Danks exited to loud cheers with a 2-0 lead after he walked Alex Rios leading off the seventh.
It was the second scoreless outing in three starts for the 30-year-old left-hander, who has struggled since undergoing shoulder surgery in 2012. He shut down Baltimore over seven innings on July 3 before getting roughed up by Toronto.
In this one, Danks struck out four and walked four.
Jake Petricka retired the lone batter he faced. Zach Duke worked 1 2/3 perfect innings, and David Robertson pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save in 24 chances.
Volquez took his first loss since June 5 despite a strong outing. He gave up two runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings after going 4-0 in his previous seven starts.
In the opener, Mike Moustakas hit a solo homer in the fifth on the 12th pitch of the at-bat to give the Royals a 2-1 lead, and Alex Rios capped a two-run sixth with his drive off Jeff Samardzija (6-5) after Chicago tied it.
Chris Young (8-5) gave up two runs and three hits, including solo homers to Geovany Soto and Adam Eaton, in five innings.
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