Lynch shines as Royals blank slumping White Sox 6-0

Daniel Lynch pitched six crisp innings and the Kansas City Royals handed the Chicago White Sox their eighth straight loss with a 6-0 victory Tuesday night.

Bobby Witt Jr. had two hits and Carlos Santana drove in two runs, helping Kansas City stop a four-game slide. The Royals were outscored 22-12 in a sweep at Seattle over the weekend.

Lynch (2-1) allowed two hits, struck out seven and walked two. The left-hander also pitched shutout ball in his previous start, working into the sixth in a 2-0 win over Minnesota last week.

Chicago’s best scoring chance against Lynch occurred in the fourth, when Jake Burger flied out to the warning track in left with Yasmani Grandal aboard after a leadoff double.

The White Sox issued 11 walks and committed two more errors, running their major league-leading total to 20. First baseman José Abreu dropped a throw in the fourth, leading to two unearned runs. Shortstop Tim Anderson flubbed a grounder in the eighth for his seventh error in his last six games.

It’s the longest losing streak for Chicago since it also dropped eight in a row in June 2018.

Dallas Keuchel (1-2) worked four innings in his second straight loss, allowing two unearned runs and two hits. The lefty struck out two and walked five for the reigning AL Central champions.

Kansas City put the game away with four runs in the sixth, sending 10 batters to the plate. Witt doubled and scored on Michael A. Taylor’s sacrifice fly. Andrew Benintendi drove in a run with an unusual fielder’s choice, and Santana made it 6-0 with a two-run single against Kyle Crick.

Benintendi’s bases-loaded fly ball to left dropped in front of Andrew Vaughn, who threw to third for the forceout as Edward Olivares scored.

Taylor Clarke got three outs for Kansas City before Brady Singer finished the five-hitter.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: SS Adalberto Mondesi exited in the sixth because of left knee discomfort.

White Sox: OF Eloy Jiménez had surgery to repair a torn hamstring tendon behind his right knee. He is expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks. Jiménez got hurt during Saturday’s 9-2 loss at Minnesota when he stretched for first base while running out a grounder to third. ... CF Luis Robert (groin strain) and 3B Yoán Moncada (right oblique strain) ran the bases before the game. Robert could return as soon as Wednesday, and Moncada could start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte as soon as this weekend.

UP NEXT

Right-handers Zack Greinke (0-1, 2.25 ERA) and Dylan Cease (2-1, 3.38) pitch on Wednesday afternoon. Greinke tossed five innings of one-run ball in Kansas City’s 1-0 loss to Minnesota on Thursday. The 38-year-old Greinke is 4-0 with a 3.28 ERA in his last six starts against Chicago. Cease permitted four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 6-3 loss at Cleveland last week.