Seth Lugo threw a complete game, Bobby Witt Jr. tallied three hits and the Kansas City Royals beat the visiting Chicago White Sox 4-1 on Sunday, clinching a three-game sweep.
Lugo (12-4) allowed just one run on three hits, while striking out six and walking none en route to Kansas City’s ninth win in 10 tries against Chicago this season. Sunday was Lugo’s first career complete game.
Hunter Renfroe, Maikel Garcia and Dairon Blanco recorded RBI singles in the bottom of the eighth, putting Kansas City ahead for good. Garcia, Blanco and Vinnie Pasquantino each finished 2-for-4.
Chicago rookie Drew Thorpe threw six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out five. Thorpe lowered his ERA to 3.03 on the year and has gone at least six innings in five straight starts. Tommy Pham was 2-for-3, driving in the lone Chicago run.
The White Sox have lost seven straight.
Pham led off the game with a single for the White Sox, but he was caught stealing by Salvador Perez on a strikeout double play with Luis Robert Jr. batting.
In the bottom of the first, Adam Frazier was hit by a pitch before Witt singled. However, Thorpe got Pasquantino to ground into a fielder’s choice and Perez to ground into a double play to end the first.
From there, neither offense threatened until the top of the sixth. Nicky Lopez was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Lugo then retired Nick Senzel and Korey Lee, but Pham drove in Lopez on a single to center, breaking the scoreless tie.
With Thorpe still pitching in the home half of the sixth, Witt and Pasquantino each tallied one-out singles. With runners at the corners, Thorpe struck out Perez and retired Renfroe on a flyout, sending the game to the seventh with the one-run lead intact.
Chicago reliever Justin Anderson replaced Thorpe for the bottom of the seventh after 97 pitches, one shy of a career high. Anderson allowed one-out singles to Garcia and Blanco before Kyle Isbel’s sac bunt tied the game at one apiece.
John Brebbia replaced Anderson in the bottom of the eighth. Witt and Pasquantino greeted the Chicago reliever with back-to-back singles. After Perez struck out, Renfroe’s line drive base hit scored Witt for the go-ahead run. Michael Massey struck out, but Garcia and Blanco followed with two more RBI singles, giving the Royals a 4-1 lead and chasing Brebbia (0-5) from the game.