Salvador Perez and Whit Merrifield hit solo home runs, Daniel Lynch took a shutout into the sixth inning in his return from the injured list and the Kansas City Royals edged the Chicago White Sox 2-1 on Monday night for their second straight win.
Perez launched a monster blast for the second straight game and his third homer in four contests after missing 31 games with a left thumb injury and surgery. The seven-time All Star catcher has eight RBIs in the span.
Merrifield’s drive into the left-field bullpen off Michael Kopech (4-7) in the sixth might have been his last with Kansas City. A two-time All Star in seven seasons with the Royals, the second baseman has been the subject of trade rumors heading into Tuesday’s deadline.
Tim Anderson and Andrew Vaughn each had two hits off Lynch, but the White Sox slipped back to .500 (51-51). Pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets drove in a run with sac fly in the seventh.
Lynch (4-7) allowed six hits, struck out seven and walked none in 5 1/3 innings as he returned from a rehab assignment at Triple-A Omaha and started in place of Brad Keller. The 6-foot-6 left-hander went on the injured list on July 18 with a blister on his pitching hand, the second time in a month the injury sidelined him.
Scott Barlow got the last six outs for his 17th save in 20 chances. He worked around a single in each of the last two innings.
Kopech allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings. He struck out three and walked one while throwing a career-high 100 pitches.
The White Sox had 10 hits, but nine were singles and Royals pitchers issued only one walk.
Perez’s 14th homer, off Kopech’s 2-1 slider in the fourth, was measured at 452 feet and put Kansas City ahead 1-0. Merrifield went deep in the sixth to make it 2-0.
After Leury Garcia and Seby Zavala greeted reliever Wyatt Mills with singles in the seventh, Sheets’ deep fly scored Garcia to cut it to 2-1.
UP NEXT
Kansas City RHP Brad Keller (5-11, 4.18) will start on Tuesday and face struggling Chicago RHP Lucas Giolito (6-6, 5.14). Pregame begins at 6:30, with game time at 7:10 p.m. You can hear the broadcast of the Royals’ Radio Newtwork on KMMO AM 1300.