Royals sweep White Sox, now 1-8 to start the season

MJ Melendez and Hunter Renfroe homered, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 5-3 win over the visiting Chicago White Sox on Sunday afternoon, completing a four-game series sweep.

Melendez's third homer of the season — and of the series — gave the Royals a 4-3 lead in the seventh. Melendez collected the game-winning hit for the third straight game.

The Royals took advantage of two White Sox errors in the seventh to expand their lead to 5-3 against reliever Deivi Garcia (0-2).

John Schreiber (1-0) earned the victory with an inning of scoreless relief and James McArthur surrendered a hit and a walk in a scoreless ninth, getting his second save.

Kansas City starter Alec Marsh escaped jams in each of the first two innings as Chicago left four on base.

The White Sox broke through in the fourth on Dominic Fletcher's RBI double and Braden Shewmake's sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.

Andrew Benintendi's two-out RBI hit drove Marsh from the mound in the fifth. Marsh allowed three runs on eight hits and a walk, striking out three in 4 2/3 innings.

Chicago starter Garrett Crochet breezed through the Kansas City lineup for four innings, striking out five and inducing weak contact while allowing one baserunner.

Crochet's no-hitter was broken by Nelson Velazquez's leadoff single in the fifth. One out later, Renfroe hit his first home run of the year, cutting the deficit to 3-2.

Crochet's five strikeouts gave him 21 over his first three career starts, matching Chris Sale for the most ever in White Sox history.

Chicago collected a season-high 12 hits and also left a season-high 12 runners on base.

The White Sox have lost four straight, dropping to 1-8, their worst start since 1974 and matching their second-worst start in the franchise's 124-year history, behind only the 0-10 start in 1968.

— Field Level Media