Royals Hold Off White Sox
CHICAGO (AP) -- Jonny Gomes drove in three runs, and the banged-up Kansas City Royals moved into a tie with Toronto for the AL's best record with a 6-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.
Kansas City played without outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Alex Rios, and designated hitter Kendrys Morales (left quad tightness) and catcher Salvador Perez (swelling in right thumb) each departed during the game. Cain was sidelined by a sore right knee, and Rios was scratched because of a stiff back.
All four players are day to day, and the AL Central champions held on for their second straight victory against the lowly White Sox. Kris Medlen (6-2) pitched six innings of two-run ball, and Ryan Madson tossed a perfect ninth for his third save.
Kansas City (92-67) finishes the season with three games at Minnesota, while Toronto, which holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Royals, closes with a weekend series at Tampa Bay.
John Danks dropped his third consecutive start as Chicago lost for the seventh time in nine games. The White Sox (74-85) went 7-12 against the Royals in 2015 and have lost the season series to Kansas City in each of the last five years.
Danks (7-15) was tagged for six runs and 11 hits -- matching a season high -- in five innings. The left-hander dropped to 10-3 in 22 career starts against the Royals.
Jose Abreu's two-run single in the seventh trimmed Kansas City's lead to 6-4 and gave him 101 RBIs on the year. The Cuban slugger became the second player in major league history with 30 or more homers and 100-plus RBIs in each of his first two seasons, joining Albert Pujols.
The White Sox almost pulled within one in the eighth, but Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera made a nifty tag between his legs to get Alexei Ramirez at the plate for the final out. Ramirez tried to score after a pitch got away from catcher Drew Butera.
(© 2015 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)