EditorsNote: rewords second graf
Jakob Junis struck out a career-high 10 batters over seven innings, and the Kansas City Royals defeated the visiting Chicago White Sox 5-2 in the opener of a four-game series on Monday night.
Junis (5-8), who was 0-3 in his past seven starts with a 5.31 ERA, allowed one run, five hits and two walks.
Nicky Lopez had two hits and drove in two runs, and Hunter Dozier and Cheslor Cuthbert each had two hits and an RBI for the Royals, who have won three of four coming out of the All-Star break.
White Sox starter Lucas Giolito (11-4) allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings. Giolito, who turned 25 on Sunday and was coming off his first All-Star appearance last week, struck out five and walked one.
Jon Jay went 4-for-4 for Chicago, which has lost four straight after getting swept in Oakland over the weekend.
Catcher James McCann hit a solo homer off Junis in the sixth inning to cut the White Sox's deficit to 2-1.
Kansas City got the run back in its half of the sixth on an opposite-field RBI single to left by Lopez, scoring Dozier for his second run of the game and a 3-1 lead.
Alex Gordon's run-scoring groundout in the seventh made it 4-1.
A throwing error by Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi in the eighth inning cut Chicago's deficit to 4-2, but Kansas City reliever Jake Diekman struck out Yolmer Sanchez with the bases loaded to end the inning.
After the Royals tacked on another run in the eighth, Ian Kennedy pitched the ninth for his 14th save.
Gordon and Dozier gave the Royals a 1-0 lead in the fourth with back-to-back one-out doubles.
Dozier took third on a wild pitch with one out. Giolito nearly escaped further damage after getting Soler out on a comebacker, but Cuthbert grounded a 1-2 pitch through the right side to make it 2-0.
The White Sox put their leadoff batter on base in the first two innings, including Jay's double high off the center field wall in the second, but Jay was stranded at second base.
--Field Level Media
