CHICAGO | One look at the Royals&rsquo; lineup Sunday suggested Robinson Tejeda and the bullpen had better be in top form.</p><p> Three starters out with various ailments. Another getting a day off as a precaution. Five of the lineup&rsquo;s bottom six hitters batting less than .240. So, yes, runs figured to be precious.</p><p> No problem.</p><p> Tejeda delivered six strong innings before Roman Colon and Joakim Soria closed out a 2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.</p><p> It wasn&rsquo;t all pitching, either. The Royals also flashed some web-gem defense, including a homer-robbing catch by center fielder Josh Anderson. </p><p> Tejeda, 4-1, continued his impressive closing run by yielding just one run and three hits in six innings. That makes a mere two runs and nine hits in 22 1/3 innings since replacing sore-shouldered Gil Meche in the rotation.</p><p> &ldquo;It&rsquo;s fun pitching now with the way we&rsquo;re playing the game,&rdquo; Tejeda said. &ldquo;If I could pitch every day, I believe I would. We&rsquo;ve been playing pretty well.&rdquo;</p><p> The Royals, 61-88, won for the 10th time in 13 games, won their fourth straight series and completed a 6-3 trip that began with stops in Cleveland and Detroit. And check this: They pulled into a tie with the fourth-place Indians, who lost their eighth straight on Sunday.</p><p> &ldquo;We&rsquo;re playing well,&rdquo; manager Trey Hillman said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re doing everything a little bit better right now.&rdquo;</p><p> Colon pitched out of two-on, two-out jam in the seventh inning when shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt made a running catch on Alex Rios&rsquo; foul pop.</p><p> The catch was the easy part.</p><p> Holding on to the ball after getting blind-sided by left fielder Mitch Maier made it special. (Maier must own the club record for open-field hits on defense, right?)</p><p> Colon departed in the eighth after a walk and a single put runners at first and second with one out. Soria struck out Paul Konerko before loading the bases with a walk to Alexei Ramirez.</p><p> Soria ended the inning by retiring Jermaine Dye on a fly to right. Soria then pitched around a two-out single in the ninth for his 26th save in 29 opportunities.</p><p> The game ended when catcher John Buck, often maligned for his throwing skills, gunned down pinch runner Dewayne Wise&rsquo;s attempt for a stolen base.</p><p> Tejeda wobbled only in the fourth, when he threw 38 of his 104 pitches, but he limited the damage to one run. He then steadied and went six up and down over the next two innings.</p><p> &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t have his overpowering fastball,&rdquo; Buck said. &ldquo;Every pitcher has days like that. They reach back and it just doesn&rsquo;t come out like it usually does. But he could reach down and really let it go every once in a while when he needed to.&rdquo;</p><p> Chicago starter Freddy Garcia, 2-3, was a tough-luck loser. He surrendered two runs in the first three innings before retiring 15 of 17 hitters. The Royals played without David DeJesus, Mark Teahen and Alex Gordon. DeJesus and Teahen are battling injuries, while Gordon got the day off to rest his repaired hip. Miguel Olivo was limited to a pinch-hitting role after exiting Saturday&rsquo;s game with an upset stomach.</p><p> The makeshift lineup produced just five hits. Just enough.</p><p> Tejeda benefited from nice defense in the early innings. Betancourt made a sparkling pivot on a double play after Scott Podsednik&rsquo;s leadoff single in the first inning.</p><p> Even better: Anderson saved a run by reeling in what would have been a Carlos Quentin homer at the center-field wall in the third inning. Tejeda believed it was gone.</p><p> &ldquo;Great job by Anderson,&rdquo; Tejeda said. &ldquo;When he got that out, I said, &lsquo;OK, I&rsquo;ll take you to dinner.&rsquo;&ensp;&rdquo;</p><p> Anderson anticipated a routine play until the ball kept carrying.</p><p> &ldquo;I felt the track under my feet,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and I knew I was going to have to jump. It was just one of those plays where it was a good ball to jump up and get.&rdquo;</p><p> A good day all around. A good trip and a good month, too.</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> <strong><span class="infobox-head">Red Sox at Royals </span></strong><br /> &bull;7:10 tonight, FSKCHD</p><p></div> <hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> @ Go to <strong>KansasCity.com</strong> for a photo gallery from Sunday&rsquo;s game.</p><p></div>