White Sox bats enjoy successful 'run' vs. KC

CHICAGO -- After a 23-inning scoreless drought, including a two-game stretch where the White Sox had exactly one runner reach second base, the offense has come to life.
They knocked out 14 hits in an 10-5 win over the Royals on Tuesday night, marking their third straight victory. The Royals have lost six straight. Brandon Moss and Mike Moustakas homered in the ninth off of reliever Chris Beck to make the final a bit closer.
"It kind of comes down to trying to do too much," said Moss, who had a string of seven consecutive strikeouts end earlier in the game. "I haven't been swinging the bat very well, just thinking my way out of good swings. And sometimes the same things that pertain to an individual slump pertain to team slumps, too. It's what we're going through."

Even ace Danny Duffy couldn't bail out the Royals. Duffy entered the contest with six runs allowed in 35 innings over seven starts at Guaranteed Rate Field. But the southpaw yielded six runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings on Tuesday.
Leury García and Avisaíl García topped the White Sox offense with three hits apiece, marking Leury's second straight three-hit game. Leury also drove in two, while Avisail raised his average to .380. José Abreu had two hits, while Todd Frazier knocked out two doubles and drove in three to give him six RBIs for the season. Omar Narváez drove home two, had two hits and reached base three times. The White Sox offense has produced 28 runs in its last three games, and the first time it's logged 10-plus runs in back-to-back games since May 26-27, 2012, vs. Cleveland.

"Our team overall putting up 10 runs the last [two] games, phenomenal," Frazier said. "We've got to put the pressure on them and watch the stats go up. It has been fun to watch."
Rookie Dylan Covey came up short of his first career victory by working four innings and throwing 86 pitches. He kept the team close by yielding two runs on three hits, walking three and striking out four. Covey had two strikeouts over 10 1/3 innings coming into the start.
"I was able to hide the ball maybe a little bit better today and keep myself from flying open," Covey said. "I was able to throw some good, inside fastballs to the lefties that I don't think they saw very well."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
What a relief: With Covey unable to complete five innings for the victory, it was left up to relievers Dan Jennings and Anthony Swarzak to bridge the gap to the late innings. Jennings threw 1 2/3 perfect innings, striking out two, while Swarzak fanned three over 1 1/3 innings. Swarzak had retired 18 straight batters overall before Christian Colón singled to center with two out in the seventh.

Double trouble for Hos: Of the many issues confronting the Royals' offense right now, add the rally-killing double-play balls. First baseman Eric Hosmer, hitting .195, came up with the score tied 1-1 and runners on first and second with none out in the third. Hosmer rolled into a 6-3 double play, his league-leading seventh double-play ball. The Royals did manage a two-out RBI single by Alex Gordon to briefly take the lead, 2-1. But the Hosmer double play could have prevented the type of big inning the struggling offense needs right now.

QUOTABLE
"I'm not a natural center fielder. My natural position is shortstop, but I'm feeling very, very good in center field. I'm very comfortable." -- Leury Garcia, who has worked hard to become proficient in center

WHAT'S NEXT
Royals: Right-hander Nate Karns (0-1, 6.35 ERA) gets the start in the series finale with the White Sox on Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. CT. Karns has a 2.94 career ERA in 12 starts during the daytime.
White Sox:José Quintana (0-4, 6.17) makes his fifth attempt at win No. 1 for the White Sox this season, on Wednesday against the Royals. Quintana has a five-game losing streak dating to last year, marking the second longest of his career.
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