KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Brian Bannister pitched six strong innings, Jose Guillen drove in three runs, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 Sunday.
Bannister, who had lost his previous two starts while allowing 11 runs in nine innings, retired 13-of-14 in one stretch after giving up two runs in the third inning. Bannister (2-3), who had a 7.91 ERA in 14 career starts against the ChiSox, allowed three runs and seven hits.
Guillen, who had hit .127 in his previous 18 games, had a run-producing single in the Royals' three-run fourth, then drove in Jason Kendall and David DeJesus with a two-out single in the fifth. Billy Butler and Mitch Maier had the other RBIs in the fourth.
After rookie right-hander Blake Wood threw a perfect eighth, Joakim Soria finished for his ninth save in 11 opportunities.
Gavin Floyd (1-4) gave up five runs on 10 hits and a walk in six innings, falling to 1-7 in 10 starts against the Royals. He is 0-4 with a 7.53 ERA in five starts at Kauffman Stadium.
Alex Rios homered in the second, snapping a White Sox streak of 28 innings without an extra-base hit. The 19 consecutive singles was the longest such stretch by the White Sox since Sept. 14-16, 2004.
The White Sox added another run in the second on consecutive singles by Mark Kotsay, A. J. Pierzynski and Alexei Ramirez. The Royals, however, ran themselves out of a potential big inning when Pierzynski was out trying to go from first to third the RBI single by Ramirez. Ramirez was caught stealing second for the final out.
Notes
Rios, who had three of Chicago's nine hits, is hitting .374 in his past 33 games against the Royals. Overall, he is hitting .370 in his past 19 games. Royals right-handed reliever Robinson Tejeda missed his third straight game with a strained left calf. Pierzynski is hitting .413 in his past 20 games against the Royals.