CHICAGO (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr.’s grand slam — and fourth hit of the game — capped Kansas City’s six-run, eighth inning rally and the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 8-5 on Monday night.
Witt lofted the first pitch he saw from John Brebbia, a low slider, into the left-center stands for 19th homer and third career grand slam. Witt also singled twice and doubled as the Royals handed the major league worst White Sox a franchise-record 15th straight loss.
Witt extended his hitting streak to 11 games. The 24-year-old All-Star shortstop is batting .545 (24 for 44) during the surge.
“I’m just trying to be ready for every pitch because you never know what your going to get in the big leagues,” Witt said. “These pitchers are good so you just want to be prepared.”
With Kansas City trailing 5-2 entering the eight, Hunter Renfroe and MJ Melendez hit back-to-back solo drives off reliever Steven Wilson. Brebbia (0-6) hit Adam Frazier with a pitch and issued a walk to Michael Massey before Witt connected.
“Those guys put together good at-bats, so I had to do my part,” Witt said. “There was always kind of a momentum swing or whatever it is, but I think that we just believe in ourselves.”
The Royals improved to 58-49 and remained in position for the final AL Wild Card.
“There were so many things that went well tonight, but Bobby’s definitely the headline,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “Great, great poise to not try to do too much and he’s just got so much talent, so much bat speed and power.”
Luis Robert Jr. had three hits and an RBI, and Andrew Vaughn added a solo shot for the White Sox. At 27-82, Chicago is 55 games below. 500 for the first time in franchise history and has a worse record than the 1962 New York Mets (29-80) through 109 games.
Andrew Benintendi drove in a run with a double, then Paul DeJong followed with an RBI single in Chicago’s two-run sixth to put Chicago ahead. But the White Sox blew a save for an MLB-leading 27th time.
“I thought our two best guys (Wilson and Brebbia) were on the mound,” Chicago manager Pedro Grifol said. “Those are the two guys we wanted at the end of the game.”
But they were beaten, finally by Witt.
“He’s a superstar,” Grifol said. “You see how he impacts the game in every single facet of the game.”
Chris Stratton (3-3), the second of four Kansas City relievers, got four outs for the win despite allowing a run on two hits. James McArthur pitched a perfect ninth for his 18th save.
Royals starter Alec Marsh allowed two runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings. Chicago’s Chris Flexen allowed two runs while scattering nine hits over six innings.
The White Sox took a 1-0 lead in the first on Gavin Sheets’ RBI single.
The Royals tied it in the third when Witt raced home from third on Salvador Perez’s tapper in front of the plate. Robert’s RBI single in the fifth tied it 2-all and chased Marsh.
Vaughn’s 12th homer of the season, in the seventh, made it 5-2.
Kansas City acquired right-hander Michael Lorenzen from Texas for minor league left-hander reliever Walter Pennington on Monday. Lorenzen is 5-6 with a 3.81 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) for the Rangers, but Royals manager Matt Quatraro wasn’t sure about the versatile righty’s arrival date or exact role.
The White Sox traded starting pitcher Erick Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham to the Cardinals as part of a three-team deal involving seven players. Chicago also sent hard-throwing reliever Michael Kopech to the NL West-leading Dodgers.
The Dodgers sent infield prospects Miguel Vargas, Alexander Albertus and Jeral Perez to Chicago. Manager Pedro Grifol expects to insert Vargas into the lineup once he arrives.
ROSTER MOVES
The White Sox called up outfielder Dominic Fletcher, left-hander Sammy Peralta and right-hander Touki Toussaint on Monday to fill the holes on their roster after trading away Fedde, Pham and Kopech.
RHP Davis Martin, who made his first appearance in relief on Saturday following Tommy John surgery 11 months ago, will take Fedde’s place in the rotation, Grifol said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: RHP Hunter Harvey, who left Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the Cubs with back spasms, was “feeling way better” on Monday, Quatraro said and was playing catch. … RHP John Schreiber was diagnosed with right patellar tendon inflammation after tweaking his knee covering first base Sunday. He’ll have an injection and will be out for an unspecified time.
UP NEXT
Royals RHP Michael Wacha (7-6, 3.65 ERA) faces White Sox rookie RHP Jonathan Cannon (1-5, 4.43) on Tuesday night.
