Royals trounce John Danks, White Sox in 6-4 victory

The confidence Ned Yost harbors about his Royals can be distilled to this: His greatest worry, he said hours before a 6-4 victory over the White Sox on Thursday, about Toronto securing home-field advantage in the American League is not the prospect of being forced to face the ferocious Blue Jays lineup in the compressed confines of Rogers Centre. It is not the misfortune of departing the team’s beloved Kauffman Stadium.

No, Yost insisted, riding the line between serious and kidding, his biggest worry is dealing with customs at the border.

“Does [home-field advantage] help us? Yeah. Because we don’t have to make two trips to Canada,” Yost said on Thursday afternoon. “That’s it. That’s it. Getting into Canada, it’s tough. And when you’ve got to do it two times, compared to one?”

As the Royals enter the final weekend of the regular season, the right to home-field advantage is the lone bauble left to chase. The Royals pulled into a tie with Toronto on Thursday. The Blue Jays won the season series between the two clubs and possess the tiebreaker, so Kansas City must finish one game ahead of their Canadian foes to win the prize.

The Royals flew to Minneapolis late Thursday evening to finish the season. Kansas City may be forced to play without two of their biggest offensive generators. Lorenzo Cain sat out on Thursday with a bruised knee. Kendrys Morales left the game in the fifth inning because of tightness in his left quadriceps. Ryan Madson closed because Wade Davis sat out with a stiff back.

“They’re very trivial, day-to-day, probably overly cautious concerns,” Yost said. “But just trying to do the smart thing.”

The offense gashed John Danks on Thursday for six runs, the most the Royals have scored against Danks since July 20, 2008. Making his final bid for the postseason rotation, Kris Medlen turned in six innings of two-run ball. Luke Hochevar gave up two runs in the seventh.

Kelvin Herrera defused a jam in the eighth with an incredible play. He uncorked a wild pitch with two outs and Alexei Ramirez at third base. Backup catcher Drew Butera retrieved the ball and fed Herrera, who nabbed Ramirez with a no-look, between-the-legs tag. “That was instinct,” Herrera said.

In his previous three outings, Medlen failed to command his pitches. They sprayed in the upper region of the strike zone, dangerous territory for any pitcher. The Indians punished him for six runs in fewer than four innings on Sept. 26. The outing put Medlen’s position in the playoff rotation in jeopardy.

Heading into the final weeks of the season, Medlen out-performed confounding southpaw Danny Duffy, who was sent to the bullpen in mid-September to audition as a reliever. Duffy earned a spot as the team’s best option for the sixth inning. And Medlen appeared set for a start.

Now the picture is less clear. Called into action last Sunday, a day after Medlen’s pounding, Chris Young turned in five no-hit innings against the Indians. Young will get another chance on Friday. Medlen had his on Thursday.

The offense spotted him a four-run lead heading into the bottom of the third. Kansas City faced Danks, the middling southpaw who has thwarted them for so many years. At last, the hitters disabled his weapons on Thursday. The Royals dented his armor in the first inning when Mike Moustakas roped a ground-rule, RBI double.

“We just kind of decided to attack him early,” Moustakas said. “He’s a pitcher who’s always around the strike zone, always throwing strikes. So we tried to just get a good pitch and attack.”

Two innings later, Eric Hosmer bounced a triple past first baseman Jose Abreu and into the right-field corner. Moustakas followed up with a run-scoring single. Another single by Jonny Gomes scored two more runs and snapped an 0-for-16 streak for Gomes.

In the bottom of the frame, the defense did not provide much for Medlen. Gomes allowed a bloop single by Abreu to drop at his feed. Second baseman Ben Zobrist backpedaled into the outfield to track a pop-up by rookie Trayce Thompson, but misjudged the ball and let it fall for a single. When Alcides Escobar allowed a grounder to roll between his legs, the White Sox had cut Kansas City’s lead to two.

From there, Medlen found his footing. He felt confident throwing his fastball, curveball and changeup in his final three innings.

“The first three [innings] compared to the last three were just night and day, from a feeling standpoint, timing-wise and a release point, and all that,” Medlen said. “Got in a good rhythm. And just tried to repeat my delivery and everything, and it paid off.”

Morales opened the fifth inning with his third walk of the day. Salvador Perez shuttled him to third with a double. When Morales arrived at the bag, he called for trainer Nick Kenney. The duo soon departed the field.

Even with Morales out, the offense kept rolling. Alex Gordon soon singled in a run. Gomes provided a sacrifice fly. Medlen cruised. The Royals won their first series since the first week of September.

And they headed for Minneapolis with a chance to reclaim home-field advantage for Kauffman Stadium.

“It was good to get that 92nd win,” Yost said. “Put us back in a tie for home-field advantage, which is big for us.”

Thursday’s box score

Royals 6, White Sox 4

TableStyle: SP-basebattersCCI Template: SP-basebatters

TableStyle: SP-basebattersCCI Template: SP-basebatters

TableStyle: SP-basebyinningsCCI Template: SP-basebyinnings

a-was announced for Saladino in the 8th.

1-ran for K.Morales in the 5th.

E: A.Escobar (13), Flowers (5). LOB: Kansas City 9, Chicago 6. 2B: Moustakas (33), S.Perez (25), Eaton (27). 3B: Hosmer (5). RBIs: Moustakas 2 (81), A.Gordon (47), J.Gomes 3 (4), Abreu 2 (101), Tr.Thompson (16). SB: A.Escobar (16), Zobrist (3). CS: Al.Ramirez (7). SF: J.Gomes.

Runners left in scoring position: Kansas City 6 (S.Perez 2, Orlando 2, Moustakas 2); Chicago 2 (Av.Garcia 2). RISP: Kansas City 6 for 14; Chicago 2 for 7. Runners moved up: C.Sanchez. GIDP: Hosmer. DP: Chicago 1 (C.Sanchez, Al.Ramirez, Abreu).

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TableStyle: SP-basepitchersCCI Template: SP-basepitchers

Holds: K.Herrera (21), D.Duffy (2). Inherited runners-scored: D.Duffy 1-0, K.Herrera 2-0, Da.Jennings 2-0.

Umpires: Home, Chris Conroy; First, Ted Barrett; Second, Adam Hamari; Third, Angel Hernandez. Time: 3:21. Att: 12,825.

This story was originally published October 1, 2015 at 10:37 PM with the headline "Royals trounce John Danks, White Sox in 6-4 victory."