Andrew Vaughn smacked a two-run homer and Lucas Giolito won for the first time in three weeks as the Chicago White Sox picked up a 4-2 win over the host Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.
Giolito (2-2) struck out a season-high nine over six innings, allowing two runs on five hits while walking two.
With one on and one out in the sixth, Vaughn blasted an 0-1 sinker deep to left for his fourth homer of the season, giving the White Sox a 3-1 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
The Royals answered in the bottom half of the inning on Vinnie Pasquantino’s bloop single to left that scored Bobby Witt Jr., who tripled to lead off the frame.
After Giolito issued a pair of walks to load the bases with one out, he prevented further damage by getting Hunter Dozier to pop out and Freddy Fermin to ground into a forceout to end the frame.
Chicago added an insurance run in the next half inning on Seby Zavala’s two-out RBI single.
Three White Sox relievers each worked a scoreless inning, and Kendall Graveman needed just seven pitches in the ninth to earn his first save since August of last year.
Pasquantino opened the scoring in the first with his seventh homer of the season, a one-out blast that sailed over the right field bullpen for a 1-0 lead. Pasquantino finished with two hits and the only two RBIs for Kansas City.
Chicago failed to get a ball out of the infield as Jordan Lyles (0-6) retired the first 11 batters he faced before Luis Robert Jr. ripped his eighth homer of the season 430 feet to left, tying the game at 1-1 in the fourth.
Lyles wound up allowing four runs on six hits in nine innings, becoming the first Royals starter to throw a complete game since Brad Keller did so against the Pirates Sept. 13, 2020. Lyles did not issue a walk and struck out six.
First pitch was delayed two hours due to rain.
–Field Level Media