It was a night of individual achievements for the Kansas City Royals and another step closer to a dubious distinction for the Chicago White Sox on Friday.

Royals pitcher James Shields struck out 10 and scattered four hits over seven innings for his 100th career win, and the Royals beat Chicago 6-1 to ensure the White Sox of their worst record since 1970.

Shields (13-9) gave up just one run and walked one as Chicago lost its fourth straight.

”I’m really excited I got my 100th win today,” Shields said. ”I’m just proud of my season this year. A hundred wins in the big leagues is a pretty special moment.”

Also receiving accolades was Royals third baseman Jamey Carroll, whose fourth-inning double was the 1,000th hit of his major league career.

”It’s something one day you can look back and have a lot of pride in, when your kids are asking what that ball’s for or what that jersey is all about,” Carroll said, adding with a laugh, ”only 22 more years to 3,000.”

Carroll’s teammates put a bottle of 1,000 Island salad dressing in his locker as a memento of his achievement.

The mood in the White Sox locker room was more somber.

At 62-98 and with two games remaining, the White Sox will finish with the second-most losses in franchise history, ahead of only the team that went 56-106 more than four decades ago.

”Nobody wants that,” manager Robin Ventura said before the game of reaching 100 losses. ”Is it going to be the big difference going into next year? Probably not, but nobody wants that.”

The White Sox will finish last in their division for the first time since 1989 (69-92), and will end the season with a losing record against every team in the American League.

Billy Butler led the Royals with three hits and two RBIs, while Emilio Bonifacio drove in two runs with two hits.

The Royals’ 85th win is their most since 1989 when they were 92-70.

The Royals took a 3-0 lead in the first off White Sox starter Chris Sale (11-14).

Bonifacio walked and stole second, moved to third on Eric Hosmer’s single, and both scored on Butler’s double. Butler scored on Lorenzo Cain’s single.

”To give Shields a 3-0 lead in the first, it’s quite comforting,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”He’s given us not only No. 1 starter stuff, he’s provided great leadership, has been a great example for our guys. He’s a big part of our season and why we’re at 85 wins now.”

Kansas City, which has won 21 of its last 31, made it 4-0 in the fourth on Carroll’s milestone double and scored on Bonifacio’s single.

Sale was lifted with one out in the top of the sixth. He gave up four runs and nine hits, walked one and struck out five. He also hit a batter.

”I think that’s a reoccurring theme every year: My last (start is) always a bad one,” Sale said. ”Hopefully, I can fix that next year. I just didn’t have it tonight.”

Sale’s replacement, Jacob Petricka, promptly gave up two runs. Alcides Escobar singled and scored on Alex Gordon’s double. Gordon scored on another single by Bonifacio.

Chicago’s run came on Gordon Beckham’s fifth home run of the season in the sixth. The following batter, Alexei Ramirez, appeared to follow with another homer, but Gordon grabbed the ball at the fence in left field.

— Associated Press —

Jeremy Guthrie pitched seven strong innings, and David Lough hit a two-run homer to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.

One day after being eliminated from the postseason, the Royals earned their 84th win, their most since 1993.

The Royals’ 6-0 loss to Seattle on Wednesday, combined with victories from all three teams ahead of them in the AL wild-card standings, officially eliminated them from playoff contention.

Guthrie (15-12) became the Royals’ third 15-game winner since 1997. He gave up two runs and four hits, striking out four and allowing one walk. Guthrie already surpassed his career best win total when he won his 12th on Aug. 5 against the Twins.

Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn hit solo homers for the White Sox, who have lost 21 of their 27. The White Sox are 35 games under .500 (62-97) for the first time since ending the 1970 season 56-106 and must win once in this series to avoid finishing with 100 losses, which would be the fourth-most in franchise history.

White Sox starter Andre Rienzo (2-3) pitched six-plus innings and allowed three runs, two earned, and four hits.

Royals closer Greg Holland pitched a scoreless ninth for his 46th save in 49 chances as the Royals ended a two-game losing streak. Holland set a franchise record in saves, surpassing Dan Quisenberry (1983) and Jeff Montgomery (1993).

Trailing 1-0 in the fourth inning, Lough hit a two-run homer, snapping a streak of 21 scoreless innings for the Royals. The last time the Royals scored was in the 12th inning of a 6-5 victory at Seattle on Monday.

Dunn tied the game in the sixth with a long home run to right. It was his 33rd of the season and it was measured at 442 feet.

In the seventh inning, Justin Maxwell led off with a single and advanced to second on Lough’s bunt, then he came around to score after catcher Bryan Anderson fielded George Kottaras’ sacrifice bunt and threw it down the right-field line to give the Royals a 3-2 lead.

Konerko, who missed Wednesday’s game at Cleveland after fouling a pitch off his knee on Tuesday, homered in the first inning. It was his 12th of the season. Konerko is possibly playing his last series with the White Sox. He is a free agent after the season and has been a member of the club for the last 15 seasons.

— Associated Press —

Needing wins in Seattle to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, the Kansas City Royals’ offense went into a slump.

Hisashi Iwakuma pitched eight scoreless innings in Seattle’s 6-0 win against Kansas City on Wednesday, eliminating the Royals from the playoff hunt.

It was the second straight night the Mariners shut out Kansas City as the teams ahead of the Royals in the wild-card race – Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Texas – won. The Royals haven’t scored since the 12th inning of Monday’s 6-5 win.

”Back-to-back shutouts, you’re not going to win any games scoring zero runs,” Alex Gordon said. ”It’s kind of a tough way to go out.”

Mariners catcher Mike Zunino homered twice, Michael Saunders also homered and Kyle Seager hit a two-run double for Seattle, which has won three of four.

Zunino and Saunders hit back-to-back homers with two outs in the eighth inning, the 14th time this season Mariners have hit consecutive home runs.

The Royals entered Wednesday four games behind Cleveland for the second wild-card berth with five games to play and needed a victory.

Iwakuma made sure they didn’t get one.

”We put ourselves in the situation to maybe find a way to sneak in, but we just came up a little short,” Gordon said. ”It’s unfortunate, but we’ve got four more games and we’re going to try to finish the season strong.”

Iwakuma (14-6) finished his season without allowing a run in three straight starts, a streak of 23 scoreless innings.

Against the Royals, he gave up four hits and never allowed more than one base runner in an inning. He didn’t walk anyone until the eighth. He had nine strikeouts, the 13th time in 33 starts he struck out at least seven.

”He handcuffed us, we couldn’t do anything,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Iwakuma’s 2.66 ERA is third-best in the American League, and he finishes the season 4-0 in his final eight starts.

”It sort of caps off the year he had,” Zunino said. ”He just keeps getting stronger. Every start is getting better and better.”

Ervin Santana (9-10) matched Iwakuma and kept the Mariners scoreless for the first four innings before Seattle broke through. Santana went six innings, allowing four runs and five hits with two strikeouts and four walks.

Zunino broke the scoreless tie leading off the fifth inning, taking Santana’s first pitch deep to left field.

The blast sparked more scoring for the Mariners. With one out, Brad Miller doubled and Nick Franklin walked. With Seager at the plate, Santana’s pickoff attempt to second ended up in center field, putting runners on second and third. Seager then laced a double down the right field line to give Seattle a 3-0 lead.

The Mariners added a run in the seventh. Dustin Ackley led off the inning with a double, and Yost walked out to the mound to signal Santana’s night was done.

”I just told him, ‘You know Erv, you had a great year. Real proud of you.’ That was it,” Yost said.

Miller pushed a bunt up the first base line and reliever Will Smith’s throw to first baseman Eric Hosmer was wide, allowing Ackley to score.

The Royals’ best offensive chance came in the fifth, when Mike Moustakas doubled with one out and took off running when Jarrod Dyson hit a line drive which looked as if it might reach the outfield.

Instead, Miller at shortstop timed his jump and snared the ball, then jogged to second to double off Moustakas and end the inning.

The Royals, who were six games below .500 at the All-Star break, head to Chicago to finish up the season with a four-game series against the White Sox.

Even without a shot at the playoffs, Kansas City (83-75) is assured of its first winning season in a decade, and one more win will give them their best record since they finished 84-78 in 1993.

”We’ve had a real good second half,” Billy Butler said. ”We have one more series and we get to build on this for next year. We had a good run, and the guys in here played hard.”

Yost said he’ll have a chance to give some young players an opportunity over the final four games, but doesn’t expect any letdown despite no longer having a shot at the postseason.

”I think we’ve made a lot of progress as an organization,” Yost said. ”It was a giant step forward for us, and it was a step we definitely needed to take this year.”

— Associated Press —