CHICAGO (AP) — Whit Merrifield had a chance to hit for the cycle. He settled for a really fun day.

Merrifield hit a three-run homer and drove in a career-high five runs, and the Kansas City Royals pounded the Chicago White Sox 14-6 on Sunday.

Drew Butera had four of Kansas City’s 16 hits, helping the Royals climb back over .500 at 59-58. Jorge Bonifacio hit his 15th homer, and Lorenzo Cain had two hits and two RBI.

Merrifield needed a double for the cycle when he came to the plate with the bases loaded in the eighth inning. But he popped out on a shallow foul ball to right fielder Avisail Garcia.

“With the game like it was, it (the cycle) was on my mind,” Merrifield said. “Hit a ball in the gap. I made a pretty poor swing, on a slider.”

Merrifield still finished with three hits. The 28-year-old second baseman is batting .296 with 14 homers and 56 RBI.

“He’s worked himself into a very nice major league player,” manager Ned Yost said. “He has a little power and plays solid defense.”

Jason Vargas (14-6) worked six innings to match his career high for wins set in 2012 with Seattle. The left-hander allowed three runs and six hits, struck out seven and walked two.

The Royals won the last two games of the weekend set after dropping five in a row and 10 of 12. They remain in the mix for the second AL wild card.

“We were kind of spinning our wheels for while trying to gain some momentum,” Yost said. “It’s hard to get, but easy to stop.”

Tim Anderson hit a two-run homer for AL-worst Chicago, and Garcia added a two-run double.

White Sox left-hander Derek Holland (6-12) lasted just two-plus innings in his shortest start of the year. He was charged with seven runs and seven hits.

“I don’t even know where to begin,” Holland said. “Today was just, in my eyes, embarrassing.”

Kansas City grabbed control with four runs in the second and four more in the third. Bonifacio led off the third with a drive to left and Merrifield made it 8-0 when he went deep against Mike Pelfrey.

“It does seem to come in bunches at times,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said.

Merrifield added a two-run triple in the sixth, making it 12-3.

BY THE DOZEN

White Sox rookie Nicky Delmonico reached in his 12th straight game to begin his career, extending his team record. He also has a 10-game hitting streak.

He was hit by a pitch in the second and walked in the fourth. He also doubled home a run in the seventh and was robbed of a potential home run by a leaping grab by Alex Gordon in center for the final out of the game.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: INF Mike Moustakas (left knee soreness) was the designated hitter for the second time in the three-game series at Chicago, but Yost said he hoped to have the slugger back at third base Monday in Oakland.

White Sox: INF/DH Matt Davidson said he is recovering from a bruised right wrist more slowly than expected and is still not able to swing a bat. Davidson had hoped to return this week against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. “We’re going to re-evaluate in the next couple of days and go from there,” he said. Davidson has been on the DL since being hit by a pitch by Toronto’s Marcus Stroman on Aug. 1.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Jake Junis (4-2, 4.70 ERA) will be recalled from Triple-A Omaha for his eighth start Monday against Oakland. Jharel Cotton (5-9, 5.72 ERA) pitches for the Athletics in the opener of a three-game series.

White Sox: RHP Miguel Gonzalez (6-10, 4.85 ERA) faces Dodgers LHP Alex Wood (14-1, 2.37 ERA) on Tuesday in Los Angeles. Wood has won three straight since his only loss this season.

— Associated Press —

CHICAGO (AP) — Melky Cabrera showed the Chicago White Sox what they are missing.

Cabrera hit a go-ahead, two-run homer against his former team in the eighth inning, and the Kansas City Royals beat the White Sox 5-4 Saturday night to stop a five-game losing streak.

Cabrera, acquired from the White Sox on July 30, homered with one out off Aaron Bummer (1-3) and drove in Lorenzo Cain, who led off the inning with a walk against Chris Beck. Cabrera has an eight-game hitting streak.

“These kind of wins are wins that help you stop the bleeding,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “I was sitting there thinking about this group. What do you tell them? They’re not pressing. They’re competing their tails off. All you can tell them is, `Hang in there, keep battling, it is going to get better.’ And a win like this does a lot for their spirits.”

Cabrera fell behind 1-2 in the count and homered on the ninth pitch, his third home run since the trade and 16th this season. He extended his hitting streak to eight games.

“I am grateful to Ned for playing me every day,” Cabrera said through a translator.

Scott Alexander (3-3) won after allowing a two-run, two-out single in the seventh to Leury Garcia that put Chicago ahead 4-3.

Joakim Soria pitched a perfect eighth, and Kelvin Herrera worked around a walk in a hitless-but-eventful ninth for his 25th save in 28 chances.

After pinch-runner Tyler Saladino stole second, third baseman Mike Moustakas made a diving stop on Adam Engel’s grounder and threw to first for the final out, ending Chicago’s four-game winning streak.

“I was trying to keep in the infield to make sure a run doesn’t score but I got a pretty good read on the hop so I was able to make a play on it,” Moustakas said. “We know how good we can be and we know we weren’t playing good baseball.”

White Sox starter James Shields struck out a season-high eight in six innings, allowing three runs and seven hits.

Jose Abreu hit a pair of solo home runs against Ian Kennedy, who gave up three runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. Abreu became the first White Sox player to reach 20 homers in each of his first four seasons.

“Good pitches, bad pitches, he hits them,” Kennedy said.

STREAKING

Nicky Delmonico singled in the second, becoming the first player to reach base in his first 11 games with the White Sox. He is batting .366 (15 for 41) and has a nine-game hitting streak.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: C Salvador Perez (strained right intercostal muscle) threw from 120 feet for about 10 minutes before the game and could hit off a tee next week. The Royals have lost six of seven since he got hurt and are 4-12 when he doesn’t start.

White Sox: 3B Matt Davidson (bruised wrist) may not be ready to be activated from the 10-day DL when he becomes eligible Tuesday, according to manager Rick Renteria said.

UP NEXT

Jason Vargas (13-6) starts for the Royals on Sunday against fellow left-hander Derek Holland (6-11) in the finale of the three-game series. Vargas is 1/3 with a 6.94 ERA since the All-Star break. Holland survived seven walks against Houston on Tuesday for his first win since June 13.

— Associated Press —

CHICAGO (AP) — Tim Anderson hit a two-run homer to cap a four-run, seventh-inning rally, Reynaldo Lopez pitched six strong innings in his White Sox debut and Chicago won its fourth straight, 6-3 over the sliding Kansas City Royals on Friday night.

Mike Moustakas belted a pair of deep solo shots to give him 34 homers, but the Royals lost their fifth straight and 10th in 12.

Adam Engel’s second triple of the game drove in the tiebreaking run in the seventh. Yolmer Sanchez had two RBI and Kevan Smith doubled in a run as the AL-worst White Sox kept rolling following a three-game sweep of league-leading Houston.

Aaron Bummer (1-2) pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth to earn his first major league win. Kansas City starter Danny Duffy (7-8) allowed five runs and seven hits in his second straight loss.

Tyler Clippard got the final two outs for third save in eight chances as Kansas City scored its third run on wild pitch.

Lopez allowed two runs — both on Moustakas’ homers. The 23-year-old right-hander, one of rebuilding Chicago’s prized prospects, permitted four hits and struck out six after being recalled from Triple-A Charlotte earlier in the day.

The 23-year-old Lopez was acquired by Chicago from Washington in December 2016 with right-handers Lucas Giolito and Dane Dunning for outfielder Adam Eaton.

Moustakas’ first homer, with one out in the fourth, was the first hit off Lopez.

The White Sox jumped out 1-0 in the first when Smith lined a double to the left-center gap and drove in Anderson. Engel tripled off the right-center wall, then scored on Sanchez’s grounder in the second to make it 2-0.

After Moustakas cut it to 2-1 with one out in the fourth, Cheslor Cuthbert and Alcides Escobar followed with sharp singles. But following a mound conference with pitching coach Don Cooper, Lopez settled down and got the next two outs.

Moustakas’ second homer tied it at 2-all in the sixth.

DOUBLE-TRIPLE

Engel became the first White Sox player to triple twice in a game since Alejandro De Aza did it in August 2011.

MINOR MOVES

To make room for Lopez, the White Sox assigned LHP David Holmberg to Charlotte. . Chicago acquired minor league RHP Ryan Burr from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday for international signing bonus pool money.

STREAKING

Chicago INF/OF Nicky Delmonico beat out an infield hit in the fifth and has reached base safely in his first 10 games since being called up from Charlotte on Aug. 1. Delmonico, who has an eight-game hitting streak, is the first White Sox player to reach base in his first 10 games since Larry Rosenthal in 1936.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Trevor Cahill, placed on the 10-day on Thursday with right shoulder soreness, said he was relieved to learn there was no structural damage, but did not know how long he would be sidelined. Cahill was unable to throw for 10 days after the same injury last season. . Royals CF Lorenzo Cain hit the wall awkwardly tracking Engel’s triple in the second. Cain sprawled on the warning track for a few moments, but stayed in the game.

White Sox: OF Avisail Garcia got the day off to “give his legs a break” according to manager Rick Renteria. Garcia, the White Sox’s lone 2017 All-Star, had played three straight games after missing 12 with a strained ligament in his right thumb.

UP NEXT

A pair of struggling right-handers meet when the Royals’ Ian Kennedy (4-8, 4.83) faces Chicago’s James Shields (2-4, 6.03) on Saturday night. Shields is 0-3 with a 8.13 ERA in six starts since his last win, on June 29. Kennedy has lost his last two starts, allowing 10 runs in 10 innings.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Rookie Jakob Junis would like to stay a little longer next time.

Junis pitched eight sharp innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners 9-1 to split their doubleheader Sunday.

Nelson Cruz homered twice and drove in four runs as the Mariners held off the Royals 8-7 in the first game.

Whit Merrifield homered in both games for the Royals.

Junis (4-2), who was added to Kansas City’s roster as the extra 26th man for the twinbill, retired his final 19 batters after giving up an RBI double to Danny Espinosa in the second inning.

Junis walked none and struck out a career-high seven.

“To go eight full innings and one run and have Cam (Gallagher) catch me in his debut is a pretty special day,” Junis said.

This was Junis’ sixth time up this season, twice as the 26th man, but after the outing he was sent back to Triple-A Omaha.

“I wanted to work harder to get back up here so I could get more experience,” Junis said. “I know experience is what is going help me become a better pitcher. I’ve done this (several times), coming up here and pitching and getting sent back down. I’m comfortable doing that as much as I’d rather stay up here.”

Melky Cabrera hit a three-run homer off Erasmo Ramirez (4-4) during a four-run third inning. It was Cabrera’s first home run since the Royals acquired him in a July 30 trade with the Chicago White Sox. Cabrera also had an RBI double.

Eric Hosmer homered and drove in three runs for the Royals. Seattle pitchers have allowed an AL-high 172 home runs.

“One inning was big damage,” Ramirez said. “One inning just changed everything. And, everything from now on is going to be about keeping the ball inside the ballpark because that’s the only way they’re getting the runs against me. Having the balls not going that far, everything is going to change. That’s what I have to work and execute better to pitch.”

Ramirez was charged with five runs on eight hits, including three homers, in five-plus innings.

“He had the two out, nobody on in the third inning and then home run, hit, hit, and then another home run,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “It’s a four spot. Made some mistakes with the fastball; didn’t get it in good spots, too much of the plate, probably his downfall.

Lorenzo Cain got six hits in the doubleheader, scored three runs, drove two and stole a base for the Royals.

Cruz, Danny Valencia and Kyle Seager homered in the first two innings as the Mariners took a 7-0 lead off Danny Duffy (7-7) in the opener.

Cruz, who leads the AL with 84 RBI, hit a three-run drive in a four-run second. He hit his 24th home run in the seventh off Scott Alexander, a shot estimated at 465 feet to center. It was Cruz’s 22nd multihomer game, his first this season.

Marco Gonzalez, who was making his Mariners’ debut since being acquired in a July 21 with St. Louis, failed to make it through the fifth. James Pazos (3-3) won in relief and Edwin Diaz posted his 23rd save in 27 opportunities.

Segura led off the game with a walk and scored on Valencia’s 13th home run. Seager homered with two outs in the first.

Merrifield hit a two-run homer in the third. Mike Moustakas hit his 31st homer, a two-run drive, in the eighth.

MARINERS GET ALONSO

The Athletics traded All-Star 1B Yoder Alonso to the Mariners for minor league OF Boog Powell. The left-handed hitting Alonso will be used primarily in a platoon with 1B Valencia. Alonso has 22 home runs and 49 RBI.

RARE RAINOUT

The doubleheader was caused by Saturday’s rainout, the first for the Mariners since April 30, 2014. They had played 572 consecutive scheduled games, which was the longest streak in the majors, before the washout.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mariners: RHP David Phelps left in seventh with elbow discomfort after throwing seven pitches. Servais said Phelps will return to Seattle for medical tests. He said he not sure whether Phelps will go on the DL until getting the rest results. … RHP Felix Hernandez, who went on the disabled list Saturday with biceps tendinitis, returned to Seattle and will be examined by team doctors Monday with a MRI scheduled.

Royals: C Salvador Perez went on the 10-day disabled list Sunday with a right intercostal strain. The club recalled C Cameron Gallagher from Triple-A Omaha, who made his big league debut. He got his first hit and scored in the second game.

UP NEXT

Mariners: Off Monday and will start LHP Ariel Miranda (7-5, 4.41) Tuesday at Oakland.

Royals: RHP Ian Kennedy (4-7, 4.60) will start the opener of a four-game series Monday against the Cardinals with the first two games in Kauffman Stadium. RHP Carlos Martinez (7-9, 3.59) will start for St. Louis.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — James Paxton keeps helping the Seattle Mariners get back on track.

Paxton tied a Mariners’ record by winning his seventh straight start, and Seattle beat the Kansas City Royals 5-2 Friday night to move back over .500.

Paxton (12-3) did not allow a hit until Mike Moustakas’ single with one out in the fifth, and Brandon Moss’ two-out single ended Paxton’s scoreless streak at 21 innings. Paxton gave up two runs and four hits in six innings with one walk, seven strikeouts and a pair of wild pitches.

He is 7-3 in a dozen starts after Mariners’ losses.

“That was huge for us to bounce back from that loss yesterday,” said Jarrod Dyson, who drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning.

Scott Bankhead won seven straight starts in 1989 and Jamie Moyer in 2003.

“They fouled off a lot more balls and scraped some hits together,” Paxton said. “I had a couple of wild pitches there that hurt us. That stuff happens.”

David Phelps, Nick Vincent and Edwin Diaz each followed with a perfect inning as Seattle improved to 13-8 since the All-Star break. Diaz got his 22nd save in 26 chances.

Jason Hammel (5-9) gave up three runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings. Kansas City fell 3 1/2 games back of AL Central-leading Cleveland.

“I’ve got to do a better job in the seventh of either making quality pitches or just doing a better job of putting up a goose egg there,” Hammel said. “It’s very frustrating.”

Danny Valencia drove in Jean Segura with sacrifice flies in the first and eighth innings.

Paxton’s wild pitch in the sixth scored Whit Merrifield and gave Kansas City a 2-1 lead. Merrifield doubled and advanced to third on Lorenzo Cain’s single.

“An outstanding come-from-behind win,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “Both starters were throwing the ball very well. I didn’t think there’d be a lot of runs scored, but we were able to put some pressure on them and mount an inning and put a crooked number up there, which was great. Paxton continues to really dominate when he’s out there. I thought the first time through the lineup he was right on everything.

Guillermo Heredia’s tying double chased Hamel in a three-run seventh, and Dyson and Leonys Martin hit RBI singles off Ryan Buchter.

CANO’S MILESTONE DOUBLE

Robinson Cano’s first-inning double was his 500th.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mariners: DH Nelson Cruz was a late scratch with neck and shoulder spasms. … INF/OF Shawn O’Malley was activated from the 60-day DL and optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. O’Malley had an appendectomy in March and an arthroscopic right shoulder procedure in May. He hit .311 with two home runs in 14 minor league rehab games. … The Mariners sent RHP Christian Bergman outright to Tacoma.

Royals: C Salvador Perez left after feeling discomfort in his side while swinging in the sixth inning and was replaced by Drew Butera. “He’s over getting a MRI, so we’ll know tomorrow,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “It’s the right side, but it’s a different spot, so it’s a little more concerning.”

UP NEXT

RHP Felix Hernandez (5-4), who is 2-4 with a 3.00 ERA in seven games at Kauffman Stadium, starts Saturday for Seattle and LHP Danny Duffy (7-6) for Kansas City. Duffy is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in seven games against the Mariners.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Brandon Moss did not want to see the numbers next to his name, so he refused to peek.

Moss hit two home runs and Lorenzo Cain drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as the Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners 6-4 on Thursday night.

The Royals rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 for their 32nd comeback victory. They snapped a three-game losing streak.

Moss homered in the fifth off Yovani Gallardo after Mike Moustakas had walked. That snapped a four-game homer-less skid for the Royals, which matched their longest drought of the season.

Moss also homered in eighth off Emilo Pagan for his 11th career multi-homer game. He is hitting .210 with 14 home runs and 28 RBI.

“A few weeks ago, I stopped looking up at the scoreboard every single time I went up there and worrying about what the numbers looked like,” Moss said. “They are what they are. It’s not the end of the season, so you can turn them around, but you’re not going to turn them around stressing about them.”

Moss is hitting .356 with four doubles, five home runs and 12 RBI in his past 12 home games.

“I love hitting at this ballpark and the numbers back that up,” Moss said.

Pagan (0-2) took the loss, giving up two runs, one unearned, in the seventh. Alcides Escobar led off the inning with a single and Alex Gordon moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt.

Whit Merrifield reached on a fielding error by first baseman Danny Valencia. Cain punched a single to right to score Escobar and Cabrera singled home Merrifield.

Ryan Buchter (1-0), the fourth of six Kansas City pitchers, threw one pitch to retire Kyle Seager to end the seventh and picked up the victory.

Kelvin Herrera worked the ninth to log his 24th save in 27 chances. He yielded a run on Robinson Cano’s two-out single.

Seager and Valencia hit solo home runs for the Mariners. Guillermo Heredia’s sixth-inning single scored Valencia, who led off the inning with a double.

“We really needed that big two-out hit earlier in the game to get you over the hump and stretch out the lead a little bit,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “We didn’t get that. We felt the momentum was still on our side, but look up at the scoreboard and it was still 2-0 and they could tie it with one swing of the bat.”

Trevor Cahill, who the Royals picked up in a July 24 deal with the San Diego Padres, allowed two runs and six hits over 4 2/3 innings in a no-decision.

“I actually felt a lot more comfortable than I thought,” Cahill said of his first Kauffman Stadium start as a Royal. “I’ve been pitching for a long time. I felt pretty normal. It seemed like a pretty exciting atmosphere, so it was all fun.”

Mariners starter Yovani Gallardo was removed after five-plus innings.

“I was getting early contact the first five innings except for that pitch to Moss,” Gallardo said. “Just a curveball was up in the zone and he just took advantage of it. I made a mistake up in the zone.”

DYSON RETURNS

Jarrod Dyson, who was the Royals’ 2006 50th-round draft pick and played a key role on their 2014-15 World Series teams, was back at Kauffman Stadium for the first time as a visitor. The Royals traded him to the Mariners in January. “It’s kind of weird being on the other side, in the visitor’s locker room, but coming back is home for me, you know,” Dyson said. “The only team I’ve ever been with. And I had some good memories here, some fun times.” Dyson tipped his batting helmet to a standing ovation before singling in the second inning.

YOST TOSSED AGAIN
Royals manager Ned Yost was ejected for the second straight game. Yost protested when a crew chief review failed to overturn Valencia’s fourth-inning home run and was run by plate umpire Larry Vanover. Yost was ejected in the ninth inning Wednesday in Baltimore. Yost has 42 career ejections, but this was the first time they were back-to-back.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mariners: OF Mitch Haniger remains on the disabled list with a concussion and facial lacerations after being hit by a pitch. “The swelling is almost all down,” Servais said. “He needs to get clearance from the doctor to start lifting and working out a little bit, which he’s hoping to get today or tomorrow.”

Royals: Cain was back in the lineup after not playing Wednesday because of a sore hamstring.

UP NEXT

Mariners: LHP James Paxton, who went 6-0 with a 1.37 ERA in July, will start the second game of this series.

Royals: RHP Jason Hammel will face Seattle for the first time since 2014.

— Associated Press —