Nelson Velazquez and MJ Melendez homered, and Seth Lugo escaped several jams as the host Kansas City Royals blasted the Chicago White Sox 10-1 on Thursday evening.

Lugo (1-0) allowed five singles and a walk through the first four innings, avoiding damage with the help of three double-play grounders, including Yoan Moncada’s sharp grounder with the bases loaded in the third.

In 6 2/3 innings, Lugo allowed a run on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Royals starting pitchers have a 1.43 ERA through the first seven games.

Kansas City broke the game open with an eight-run seventh inning highlighted by Kyle Isbel’s two-run bloop single to right and shortstop Braden Shewmake’s three-run error.

Melendez’s first homer of the season, a two-run blast 421 feet to right, capped the Royals’ biggest inning of the year.

In the second inning, Velazquez’s one-out hit scored Melendez, who doubled off White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn’s glove.

Velazquez crushed Michael Soroka’s full-count fastball 429 feet into the left-field fountains for a 2-0 advantage in the fourth. The solo shot was Velázquez’s second of the year.

Bobby Witt Jr. had a pair of hits, including his fifth double of the season. Witt has an extra-base hit in six of seven games.

Soroka (0-1) allowed two runs on six hits with two strikeouts over six innings.

The White Sox broke through in the sixth on Vaughn’s RBI single, cutting the deficit to 2-1, but Gavin Sheets was cut down at the plate trying to score on Shewmake’s shallow fly to right fielder Melendez, ending the threat.

Vaughn, Sheets, and Korey Lee each had a pair of hits for Chicago.

The White Sox hit into four double plays and were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Chicago is 4-for-32 this season in those situations.

–Field Level Media