It wasn’t the White Sox’ night in Kansas City on Monday. The bats were unable to figure out Mike Minor and Dallas Keuchel just didn’t have his best stuff.
On the flip side, the Royals continued to do what they’ve done well for the last five games, all of which they’ve won: Soler stayed hot, homering twice, Minor did what he needed to do, and the bullpen was good enough. The Royals also got an easy out to end the ball game as Engel was running on a 3-2 count to Goodwin to avoid the one-out double play.
Right now, the White Sox are a little cold. They looked flat tonight. Maybe they’re tired, maybe they just are in an old-fashioned slump. The key is, to not let this spell extend to a stretch of 8-10 games. The White Sox are just going to have to rebound, and they have three games against a team they can easily do so against.
With the loss, the Sox fall to 59-41, still 8.5 games ahead of Cleveland in the AL Central, as they had the night off.
W: Dallas Keuchel (7-4) | L: Mike Minor (8-8) | S: Scott Barlow (6)
Savant Leaders
Notable Performances
Eloy Jimenez: 0-for-4, K
Although not notable for a good performance, Eloy’s return to action is still notable in and of itself. The hard-hitting outfielder debuted in a DH role and looked rusty in his debut. While his timing was off, that’s to be expected. In addition, another thing to be expected is he looked anxious. Maybe even nervous. It was easy to tell that he wanted to make an impact, like chasing a pitch a ball-length outside with runners in scoring position. Again, all to be expected.
Give it time and Eloy will re-find his swing.
Andrew Vaughn: 1-for-4, 2 RBI
Andrew Vaughn has been such a nice piece for the White Sox all season long. His transition from first base to outfielder has looked seamless, and his bat is really becoming a force to be reckoned with–he holds the team lead for doubles. Tonight, he singled to score a pair and get the Sox right back into the game. He didn’t do anything special, just nice contact, and a good piece of hitting.
Adam Engel: 2-for-4, RBI
Adam Engel has been another nice piece since his return. Tonight, he got on base twice, breaking up Mike Minor’s then no-hitter, and drove in a run in the ninth after Yoan Moncada started the inning with a double. However, Engel ultimately ended the game, as Tony La Russa took a gamble that a ball on the ground would be a double play. Brian Goodwin lined one to KC second baseman Whit Merrifield, and it was an easy double play for the Royals. With Engel’s speed, he normally would make that play and get to second safely.
Next Game
Game two of the four-game set kicks off at 7:10 tomorrow at Kaufmann. Dylan Cease looks to get back on track, as he is just a game over .500 at 7-6. The infamous Brad Keller gets the start for the Royals.
The game will begin at 7:10 PM CT and can be viewed on NBC Sports Chicago.
