KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chicago White Sox used nine pitchers Sunday. They needed every arm in a 6-5 victory against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
The Sox went ahead in the seventh inning when Dustin Harris scored on a wild pitch. They held on to earn a split of the four-game series in front of 20,552 after a three-hour rain delay.
Here are three takeaways from the series.
1. Monday’s day off comes after a busy afternoon for the bullpen.
Sunday started according to plan for the Sox, with Grant Taylor pitching two perfect innings as the opener. The right-hander struck out two.
But an injury to Jonathan Cannon led to the Sox using three pitchers in the third.
Sean Newcomb began the inning. He retired the first batter, then surrendered a single and a walk. The Sox called on Cannon, who was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte before the game, to face the top of the Royals lineup.
The right-hander walked three consecutive batters, throwing just two strikes in 14 pitches. The walks to Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino came with the bases loaded.
The training staff checked on Cannon, and he exited with a right hip irritation.
Teammates stepped up, with Brandon Eisert, Jordan Hicks, Bryan Hudson, Jordan Leasure, Lucas Sims and Seranthony Domínguez contributing.
“It was incredible,” manager Will Venable said. “We’re in a tough spot there where Cannon goes down and we need guys to step up. Guys did an incredible job covering innings. It was not necessarily how you drew it up, but in those types of situations, you need the guys to step up and pitch well and they did.”
Leasure was credited with the victory, pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Domínguez collected his third save.
“That was awesome,” Taylor said of the collective effort. “A couple of hiccups. Unfortunate that Cannon had to come out of the game. Thoughts and prayers go out to him.
“But I give the credit to the rest of the staff to be able to come in. Using nine guys in a game is never easy, but we got the job done. The hitters kept us in it. Good day.”
2. The power returned to the Sox offense.
Colson Montgomery doubled with two outs in the second. Tanner Murray followed with a home run to left field, the first of his major-league career.
“Surreal,” Murray said.
Murray’s home run was the first for a Sox player since Montgomery had a solo home run in the sixth inning April 4 against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rate Field. The Sox went without a home run in their next seven games.
Murray’s blast not only ended that drought, but also represented the first runs for the Sox since the seventh inning Thursday against the Royals. The Sox won that game 2-0 but lost the next two by identical 2-0 scores.
The Sox homered twice Sunday as Montgomery added a two-run home run in the fourth.
They found a variety of ways to score Sunday. Andrew Benintendi drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth — the third walk in the inning — to tie the score at 5.
Harris led off the seventh with a double. Miguel Vargas got hit by a pitch and Chase Meidroth advanced both runners with a bunt. Harris scored on a wild pitch, giving the Sox the lead for good.
“They bounced back,” Venable said. “Love to see that where really every guy on the field contributed, whether that was defensively or offensively. Just one of those wins where everyone did something positive to help the team win.
“Feel good about it, and that’s what this is: You stay the course, you keep pushing. The guys did a great job doing that today.”
3. The Sox ended their tough times in Kansas City.
The Sox entered the series with 14 consecutive losses at Kauffman Stadium. They ended that slide Thursday.
After being shut out in back-to-back games, the team responded well to take the series finale.
“It was an interesting series where obviously runs were tough to come by for both teams in the first three games, and obviously that last game today, little bit of a different dynamic,” Venable said. “But for our guys to continue to push, to continue to stick with the program, continue to work hard, the pregame work was outstanding.
“Especially after a delay where it’s kind of a funky day, funky game, just really proud of the group.”
The Sox return home for a three-game series beginning Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays. There will be a buzz at Rate Field, with pitching prospect Noah Schultz scheduled to make his major-league debut.
“That’s going to be awesome,” Montgomery said. “He’s an electric guy. He’s an electric pitcher. We’ve all seen it for so long. We are all ready for it. We know he’s a true competitor. I’m ready. It’s going to be fun watching him compete.”
