KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Though Veterans Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia came through in the ninth inning, there is no doubt the Chicago White Sox are looking more to the future.

Abreu and Garcia drove in runs in the ninth as the White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 5-3 Wednesday.

The White Sox took two of three at Kauffman Stadium, winning their first road series since June 16-18. While they have the worst American League record (58-87), they have won four of their past five games, hitting .360 with 26 extra-base hits and 40 runs in that span. They won a series in Kansas City for the first time since 2015.

Abreu’s sacrifice fly scored Tim Anderson, who led off the inning with a single, took second on a wild pitch by Scott Alexander (4-4) and stole third.

Garcia’s single to center scored Yoan Moncada with the second run. Garcia is hitting an American League-leading .432 against left-handed pitchers.

“We never give up,” Garcia said. “We always keep fighting. We never know what’s going to happen. What we can control is giving our best.”

Alexander was working for the fifth time in seven games, including throwing 17 pitches in a Tuesday save and 27 on Sunday. Manager Ned Yost said before the game Alexander was unavailable.

“They called down. I said I felt fine,” Alexander said. “We’re all tired. It’s the same thing for everybody. We’re all trying to be available.”

The Royals, who entered three games behind Minnesota for the second AL wild card, tied the score at 3 in the eighth. Alcides Escobar singled in one run, while pinch runner Terrance Gore scored the other on an Alex Gordon groundout.

“Fortunately the damage was minimized and we were able to come out on top,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said.

Juan Minaya (3-2) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to pick up the victory.

Adan Engel hit a two-run double in the second for Chicago, scoring Tyler Saladino and Kevan Smith. Engel has nine of his 20 RBI this season against the Royals.

After Royals starter Eric Skoglund retired the first two batters in the third, he gave up a double to Garcia, walked Matt Davidson and gave up an RBI single to Saladino.

The Royals loaded the bases with one out in the seventh but came away empty. Melky Cabrera flied out to center and Eric Hosmer grounded out to end the threat.

Skoglund lasted only three innings and 66 pitches, giving up three runs on five hits. He threw 6 1/3 innings of two-hit ball to beat Detroit 1-0 in his big league debut on May 30. Since then, Skoglund has given up 17 runs on 26 hits and 10 walks over 10 2/3 innings. He has a 14.34 ERA in four starts and one relief appearance.

White Sox starter Lucas Giolito yielded one run, a homer by Salvador Perez in the sixth inning, in 6 1/3 innings. Giolito has a 1.75 ERA and has held opposing batters to a .140 batting average in his past four starts.

The Royals will try to snap the Indians’ AL record 21-game winning streak on Thursday in Cleveland.

“We’re not worried about that,” second baseman Whit Merrifield said. “We’re just worried about playing better as a team. We’re going to show up, and try to pitch, play defense, swing the bats and run the bases better than we have recently. If we do all those things, we like where we are.”

ON THE ROAD, AGAIN

The Royals hit the road Thursday to begin a 12-day, 11-game, four-city, two-country trip. It consists of four games in Cleveland, three in Toronto, three in Chicago and one in New York, which is a makeup from a May 25 rainout. The last time the Royals had a four-city trip was April 29-May, 11, 2005, and they went 3-9.

MORIN HOMECOMING

RHP Mike Morin, who grew up in the Kansas City, watched several games at Kauffman Stadium.

“I remember coming to games with the Hy-Vee level seats up top for $5 with a student ID,” said Morin, whom the Royals claimed off waivers Monday from the Angels.

“I remember coming and watching a Cardinals game when Mark McGwire was doing his thing. It was cool. It’s something you dream of as a kid to have this opportunity. What a cool thing to have happen.”

Morin made his Royals debut, striking out Matt Davidson in the ninth, the only batter he faced.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (elbow) will likely come off the disabled list and start Sunday at Cleveland. He would be on a 65 pitch-limit range. . RHP Joakim Soria (left oblique) is expected to rejoin the team in Cleveland and be activated. He returned to Arizona to be with his wife for the birth of their third child.

UP NEXT

White Sox: RHP James Shields, who starts the series opener at Detroit, snapped a 11-game winless skid in his previous start, beating the Giants on Saturday and allowing one run and two hits over a season-high seven innings. LHP Chad Bell will start for the Tigers.

Royals: RHP Jake Junis, who starts Thursday at Cleveland, is 4-0 with a 2.48 ERA in his past six starts. RHP Josh Tomlin will start for the Indians.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Brandon Moss gave the Kansas City Royals an early lead, and rookie Scott Alexander made it hold up in a tense ninth inning.

Moss hit a grand slam in the first Tuesday for his third consecutive game with a homer, leading the Royals to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Alexander worked out of a ninth-inning jam for his fourth save in six chances. He yielded a double to Adam Engel and a single to Yolmer Sanchez to lead off the inning. He struck out Yoan Moncada, retired Jose Abreu on a pop to Whit Merrifield and got pinch hitter Matt Davidson on a grounder to end the game.

“I was just trying to get outs any way I can,” Alexander said. “In that situation, such a great game, everybody played great, you don’t want to be the one to blow it. I was just doing everything I can to keep that run from scoring or at least not give up the lead.”

White Sox rookie Dylan Covey (0-5) walked the bases loaded in the opening inning before Moss drove a full-count fastball to right-center.

It was Moss’s fourth career grand slam and his first since July 24, 2014. He has nine RBI in his past three games.

“I don’t think you can ever go up to the plate with the bases loaded and not be excited,” Moss said. “That’s always a fun situation to hit in. The ultimate goal is always a grand slam. You don’t hit with the bases loaded very often. You’re trying to get a pitch to drive.”

Covey allowed just one more hit, a double to Eric Hosmer to lead off the sixth, before leaving after 5 2/3 innings. He threw 34 of his 83 pitches in the first inning and walked only one, Moss in the fourth, after the first.

“I was struggling with command early on,” Covey said. “You’d like to make the adjustment the next pitch, but it came a little later for me. It was halfway through the Moss at-bat when I started to get a little bit of rhythm. Unfortunately he got hold of one, but it was the walks that did me in.”

Sam Gaviglio (4-5) picked up his first Royals victory in his second start after being picked up on waivers Sept. 1 from Seattle. He yielded two runs on seven hits over five innings.

Sanchez’s double in the third scored Rymer Liriano, who had singled and stole second, for the first White Sox run.

Delmonico and Avisail Garcia led off the White Sox fourth with singles. Tim Anderson’s one-out single scored Delmonico and advanced Garcia to third. Anderson swiped second, his 10th stolen base in 11 attempts. Gaviglio prevented further damage by striking out Lirano and retiring Engel on a grounder.

The White Sox trimmed the lead to one run in the eighth when Rob Brantly’s double off Peter Moylan scored Delmonico.

“We got down early, but our starter bounces back and gives us a great rest of the game,” Engel said. “He really settled in. The offense chipped away, and we put ourselves in a good situation there late.”

MARCH MADNESS

The White Sox and Royals will start the 2018 season on March 29 at Kauffman Stadium.

SMALL CROWD

The announced attendance of 17,727 was the smallest for a Royals’ home game this season.

ROYALS ADD MORIN

The Royals claimed RHP Mike Morin off waivers from the Angels. He was 0-0 with a 6.91 ERA in 10 relief appearances this season with the Angels. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Salt Lake, where he was 0-1 with a 3.20 ERA in 22 games. Morin, 26, went to Shawnee Mission South High, a Kansas City suburb, and was drafted in the 40th round in 2009, but chose to go to North Carolina. To make roster room for Morin, the Royals designated for assignment LHP Onelki Garcia, who was 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA in two appearances.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: CF Lorenzo Cain (quads) and 3B Mike Moustakas (right knee) did not play. “We’ve had an off day planned for Cain and Moose for four or five days because this is a quick turnaround,” Royals manager Ned Yost said of a noon game after a night game. “The training staff is here early. They’re here early to do everything they can to get on the field.” Paulo Orlando started in center and Cheslor Cuthbert at third base.

UP NEXT

White Sox: RHP Lucas Giolito. He was ejected by plate umpire Gabe Morales in the sixth inning in his Friday start for arguing balls and strikes.

Royals: LHP Eric Skoglund. He has not pitched since Sept. 2 when he threw 81 pitches in three innings of relief against the Twins, giving up a three-run homer to Brian Dozier.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jose Abreu had four hits, Adam Engel hit a three-run homer and the Chicago White Sox pounded out an 11-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night.

Abreu, who hit for the cycle Saturday and had two home runs Sunday, drove in two and scored once while raising his average to .306. He was a homer shy of another cycle.

Engel went deep off Brandon Maurer during a six-run sixth.

Yolmer Sanchez, Yoan Moncada and Abreu, the first three White Sox hitters, combined to go 9 for 16 with six runs and four RBI. Moncada had his first career three-hit game.

Reynaldo Lopez (1-3) gave up three runs and eight hits in six-plus innings to pick up his first victory since Sept. 29, 2016.

The loss dropped the Royals three games behind the Minnesota Twins with 19 games left for the second AL wild card.

Jason Hammel (8-11) was pulled after giving up five runs in 3 1/3 innings, his shortest start since going three innings on April 30. He walked two, including Nicky Delmonico with the bases loaded in the fourth.

The White Sox scored two runs in the first with Moncada’s triple. He scored on Abreu’s single.

Eric Hosmer singled in the Royals’ second, his ninth straight hit, matching the longest streak in the majors this season and one shy of the Royals’ record. He grounded out to third baseman Sanchez leading off the fourth to end the streak.

Brandon Moss homered to begin the Royals’ three-run fifth. Whit Merrifield tripled home Alex Gordon with the second run and scored on Lorenzo Cain’s single, cutting the White Sox advantage to 5-3.

The White Sox have outscored the Royals and San Francisco Giants 32-5 during a three-game winning streak.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (elbow impingement) threw a 46-pitch, three-inning simulated game. “I felt really good,” Duffy said. “I’m anxious to get back and help this team down the stretch. I’ve never been more ready to get back on the field and get ready to go. It’s not ever going to go away until I take care of it. I’ve just got to push through until the end of the season.” If Duffy feels good the next two days, the Royals plan on starting him this weekend at Cleveland. … Royals manager Ned Yost said RHP Ian Kennedy (rotator cuff fatigue) would be skipped a start.

UP NEXT

White Sox: RHP Dylan Covey will make his first start since May 23. He is 0-4 with an 8.12 ERA in eight starts this season.

Royals: RHP Sam Gaviglio will make his second start after being obtained on waivers Sept. 1 from the Mariners.

— Associated Press —