Royals 4, White Sox 1
CHICAGO -- Danny Duffy gave the Kansas City Royals exactly what they needed Sunday in a 4-1 win against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.
Duffy out-pitched Chris Sale, Chicago's ace left-hander, and gave the Royals' taxed bullpen a day to catch its collective breath. Duffy pitched into the ninth to tie his season high in pitches (113) and struck out four to earn the win in his first outing since July 10.
The only run Duffy allowed on six White Sox hits was a lead-off homer in the ninth by Chicago third baseman Tyler Saladino. His performance was a welcome sight in the visitor's dugout. Right-hander Joe Blanton, the only reliever who didn't pitch Saturday in a 13-inning game, closed the game after Saladino's homer.
Center fielder Lorenzo Cain remained hot at the plate by going 1-for-4 with a solo homer off Sale in the sixth, first baseman Eric Hosmer went 3-for-4 with an RBI single in the first and left fielder Paulo Orlando went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer off Sale to make it 4-0 Royals in the seventh.
Kansas City (55-35) solidified its position atop the American League Central by winning three of the four games against Chicago (42-48) and heads home to face the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday. The White Sox lost four of their past five games and host the St. Louis Cardinals for a two-game series starting Tuesday against the National League Central's top team.
Sale went 6 1/3 innings and struck out six, but allowed four runs on 11 hits.
That included the homers by Cain and Orlando, which were just two of the numerous good swings Kansas City hitters got against Sale -- who didn't look sharp in his first outing since July 11 at the Chicago Cubs. Despite striking out two in the first, the White Sox's ace allowed singles to three of the first four hitters he faced, including Hosmer's RBI single that allowed Duffy to start his day with a 1-0 lead.
Second baseman Omar Infante led off the Royals' second with a double, but Sale managed to work his way out of that situation despite a passed ball that advanced Infante to third with no outs.
Chicago nearly rallied in the second against Duffy, getting two runners aboard with one out, but shortstop Alexei Ramirez hit a grounder that Duffy fielded to start an inning-ending double play.
Cain's second homer in as many games and 10th of the season made it 2-0 with two outs in the sixth, before Orlando's blast to center field added two more in the seventh. The White Sox put runners at second and third in their half of the sixth, still trailing 2-0, but Duffy struck out designated hitter Jose Abreu and left fielder Melky Cabrera to end the threat.
NOTES: The White Sox designated 3B Conor Gillaspie for assignment Sunday to make room for RHP Matt Albers to come off the 15-day disabled list and rejoin the bullpen. Gillaspie, 28, hit .237 with three home runs and 15 RBIs in 58 games in his third season for the White Sox. The move makes room for 3B Tyler Saladino, recalled last week, to stay on the roster and start regularly. ... The Royals optioned LHP Brandon Finnegan and recalled RHP Yohan Pino from Triple-A Omaha. Manager Ned Yost said Finnegan would have been optioned Monday, when RHP Kris Medlen comes off the 60-day disabled list to join the bullpen, but Finnegan pitched in Saturday's 13-inning win that taxed the bullpen. Pino is a long reliever who was one of only two pitchers Yost had available out of his bullpen Sunday.