CHICAGO — It was defeat by a thousand cuts for the Royals in their 5-1 loss to the White Sox on Saturday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field.
OK, it wasn’t a thousand little things that went wrong for the Royals, but there were plenty of them.
The Royals trailed 2-1 in the sixth inning when starting pitcher Jordan Lyles walked leadoff hitter Andrew Benintendi, and Luis Robert followed by reaching on catcher’s interference.
Another walk, this one to Yoán Moncada, loaded the bases and ended Lyles’ day. Jose Cuas relieved and got a strikeout, but Jake Burger followed with a bases-clearing double in the gap that made it 5-1.
Nick Pratto led off the top of the seventh with a single and Freddy Fermin followed with a walk, offering hope of a Royals comeback. But after an out, Edward Olivares hit a flare to center field and should have loaded the bases.
Instead, Fermin retreated back toward first base before realizing the ball would hit the grass. Center fielder Luis Robert threw to second to force out Fermin. Bobby Witt Jr. then struck out, ending the threat.
Two opportunities. Two very different outcomes.
The Royals also saw Witt get caught stealing ahead of Salvador Perez’s first-inning home run. An inning later, Pratto double and tried to take third on a grounder to third base, but it ended up being a 5-3-5 double play.
Another key moment
Perez and right fielder MJ Melendez had consecutive one-out singles in the fourth inning. After an out, Pratto walked and the bases were loaded with two outs.
Fermin worked the count full before striking out as the Royals missed a chance to tie the game or take the lead.
Lyles still winless
Lyles saw his record drop to 0-8. His ERA ticked up slightly to 7.15.
What’s next
The Royals will close out a 10-day road trip Sunday with the finale of the three-game series against the White Sox. The Royals haven’t announced who will start the game, which starts at 1:10 p.m.
