Nothing separated the teams for six innings. Then the seventh brought a lead change, the eighth brought silence, and the ninth brought a walk-off. The Chicago White Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Saturday at Rate Field, with Ja. Gonzalez delivering the decisive single in the bottom of the ninth.
The story of the game, however, belonged to Michael Wacha. The Kansas City right-hander was dominant through 7.2 innings, allowing 1 run on 6 hits while striking out 7 and walking 1 on 105 pitches. It was the kind of start that wins most games. In this one, it wasn't enough — and in the ninth, Wacha reached 1,500 career strikeouts in this game, a milestone that arrived on a night his team fell short.
Kansas City broke through first. In the top of the seventh, Carter Jensen singled to right, and Starling Marte scored to put the Royals ahead 1-0. Chicago answered immediately. In the bottom half, Acuña scored on Braden Montgomery's fielder's choice to tie the game at 1-1. The game stayed there through the eighth. In the ninth, with the score still knotted, Gonzalez singled to left and C. Montgomery crossed the plate with the winning run, completing the walk-off.
Daniel Lynch absorbed the loss, allowing 1 run on 3 hits in just 0.1 innings of work, falling to 2-2. Davis Martin gave Chicago 5.1 scoreless innings to open the game, allowing 4 hits while striking out 3. Grant Taylor closed it out with 2.0 perfect innings — 0 hits, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts on 19 pitches — to earn his third win of the season against one loss, with a 2.83 ERA.
Chicago improved to 42-38 and sits atop its division. Kansas City dropped to 34-49, extending its losing streak to three games. Wacha, now 5-5 with a 3.31 ERA, reached 1,500 career strikeouts in this game — a milestone that came in a loss.