Royals beat White Sox on walk-off balk

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Field Level Media
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Sep 5, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (19) is congratulated in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Chicago White Sox in the fourth inning at Kauffman Stadium.
Sep 5, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (19) is congratulated in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Chicago White Sox in the fourth inning at Kauffman Stadium.
Image: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Royals rallied from an early six-run deficit to earn a 7-6, walk-off win over the visiting Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.

Gregory Santos (2-2) balked in the winning run, blowing his fourth save of the season as the White Sox (53-86) dropped their fifth straight game.

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Bobby Witt Jr. tied the game with a one-out RBI double before Santos failed to come set while pitching to Edward Olivares, forcing home Maikel Garcia.

Jackson Kowar (1-0) struck out one in a scoreless ninth for his first major league win.

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The White Sox built a 5-0 lead with a pair of second-inning long balls. Yoan Moncada's two-run shot to deep center opened the scoring. Korey Lee later smacked his first big-league homer, a three-run blast over the left field bullpen, to snap an 0-for-23 slump.

In the third, Andrew Vaughn's one-out solo shot to center increased Chicago's lead to 6-0. Vaughn had three of Chicago's 13 hits.

The White Sox pounded Brady Singer for six runs on nine hits and a walk over five innings.

Struggling to command his slider, Dylan Cease surrendered extra-base hits in four straight innings, including three home runs. In 5 1/3 innings, he allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.

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MJ Melendez's two-out RBI single in the third got the Royals on the board before three solo home runs cut their deficit to 6-4.

Nelson Velazquez went deep leading off the fourth for his eighth homer in 22 games with Kansas City. It was his 11th home run of the season.

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With two outs in the inning, Chicago-area native Michael Massey added a solo shot of his own. Massey is a career .389 (21-for-54) hitter with four home runs in 54 career at-bats against the White Sox.

Melendez added a two-out homer in the fifth.

The Royals won consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 3-4.

Sidelined since Saturday with right quad cramping, Luis Robert Jr. pinch-hit in the seventh.

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The White Sox have lost 16 of their last 22 games.

—Field Level Media