*Photo from The Alike*
In what has been a confusing start to the season for the south side of Chicago, it kept going. Carlos Santana drove in a pair of runs, 3 other hitters had RBI's and the Kansas City Royals defeated the Chicago White Sox with a 6-0 shutout victory on Tuesday night in Chicago.
It's a welcome sign for the Royals offense. After being outscored 22-12 by the Seattle Mariners in a weekend sweep, the Royals lineup came out and put up a 6 run effort, bookended by shutout ball from starter Daniel Lynch, which didn't surprise Bobby Witt Jr at all.
Witt said of Lynch's mentality that "I just remember every time we battled against each other, he was trying to do a new thing, working on things, and we would always talk afterward. That’s what he does. He always wants to learn from every outing. He just wants to build off it so he can be great in the future. That’s what he continued to do."
The Royals got on the board in the 4th inning, taking a 1-0 lead when the heralded prospect Witt Jr came up with an RBI single, scoring Salvador Perez. Later that inning, Santana came around to score thanks to an RBI groundout from Adalberto Mondesi, making it a 2-0 Royals lead.
In the 6th inning, the Royals took a 3-0 lead when Michael A Taylor flew out, deep enough for a sac fly to score Witt Jr. Edward Olivares then scored on a fielders choice off the bat of Andrew Benintendi, putting the Royals up 4-0. It then became a 6-0 Royals lead when Benintendi and Whit Merrifield scored on a two run single from Santana.
It was the young Lynch who got the start for the Royals, and he continued his strong leaps forward this season. Lynch threw 6 shutout innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out 7. Taylor Clarke pitched a scoreless 7th inning, and Brady Singer added two more relief innings to close it out.
Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Lynch that "We’ve talked a lot about his maturity. It’s amazing from a year ago, where he is right now. His demeanor, his rhythm, his repeatability, and that’s really the thing that you see the most, he’s repeating mechanics that are letting him repeat inside of the zone and outside. Had everything today."
Dallas Keuchel got the start for the White Sox, getting the loss to fall to 1-2 on the young season. Keuchel lasted just 4 innings, allowing two runs on two hits and 5 walks. Reynaldo Lopez allowed 3 runs in 1 1/3 innings, followed by one run in 2/3 of an inning from Kyle Crick. Matt Foster pitched two shutout innings, followed by Anderson Severino for one.
This shutout loss is the latest in a string of losses for the White Sox, who, despite the talent they have and the success they had last season, are mired in an early season slump, sitting at 6-10 and in 4th place in an AL Central they were widely expected to win.
White Sox manager Tony La Russa said of the slow start that "I don’t question the talent, don’t question the caring. We just have to execute better. Not get frustrated and get away from the ABCs of what we have to do. And keep pulling together, as corny as it sounds. Win together, lose together, never give in, never give up. All that stuff is, that’s how you get through six months."
The Royals and White Sox continue their series on Wednesday afternoon. Dylan Cease will get the start for the White Sox, while Zack Greinke starts for the Royals.
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