Welington Castillo picked a good time for a first hit with the White Sox, perhaps because he picked the best count.
Castillo was 0-for-8 on the young season when he came to the plate with runners on second and third and two outs in the eighth inning. Brandon Maurer started him with three straight pitches out of the zone, including one that tempted to bring #WILDPITCHOFFENSE into play.
Maurer's fourth pitch -- a 94 mph fastball -- was also out of the zone, but it must have been where Castillo looked for it. He took a pitch that was up and just off the plate and hammered it to right field, where it caromed off the top of the wall. While he missed the homer, the two-run double put the White Sox up 4-3.
Joakim Soria nailed down the save in the ninth, in part because Castillo thwarted Alcides Escobar's sac bunt attempt. He charged the nubbed bunt and threw an off-balance strike to second in time to get Alex Gordon for the first out.
I have to mention that Castillo then let a good Soria curveball get through his wickets to get Escobar into scoring position with two outs. That changed the complexion of his battle with Jon Jay, whom Soria walked to bring Whit Merrifield to the plate, but Merrifield flied out to center to end the game.
Yoan Moncada started the fateful eighth with a solo shot off Maurer, a satisfying answer for the previous at-bat, when he struck out after Rick Renteria called for a bunt on the first pitch. The first Sox run since the first inning made it a 3-2 game.
Avisail Garcia followed with an infield single that Escobar couldn't corral, although he was cut down on Jose Abreu's grounder to second. Matt Davidson drew a walk to put the go-ahead run on, although pinch-running Tyler Saladino represented it. Both runners moved up on Nicky Delmonico's chopper to first base, and both ended up scoring on Castillo's double.
That changed the story of what had been a quiet night. On a cold night, both offenses went icy after the first inning, with the Sox on the more frustrating end of a low-scoring game. Davidson put the Sox up early with an RBI single, but Delmonico popped out and Castillo struck out to limit the damage to a single run.
The Royals overcame that margin immediately because Lucas Giolito couldn't find the zone. The first four Kansas City batters reached for the second straight game -- a Jon Jay single, a hit by pitch and two walks, the second of which tied the game.
The Sox used two mound visits in the inning, and Don Cooper's took. Cheslor Cuthbert's flyout to center scored one run, but Paulo Orlando grounded into a double play to end the threat.
The Sox could've knocked Ian Kennedy out of the game earlier after racking up his pitch count, but he quieted the Sox' bats over the last three frames to go six. He outpitched Giolito, who survived six innings himself without his good stuff, but fell behind further due to additional mistakes.
Giolito had two outs and nobody on in the third when grooved a 3-1 fastball to Mike Moustakas. The subsequent liner rattled around the right field corner for a triple. Still, Giolito got ahead Lucas Duda 0-2. Alas, when he tried to put him away with a curve, he hung it instead. Duda jammed himself, but he was able to muscle it into shallow center, just out of reach of a diving Adam Engel. The RBI single made it a 3-1 game.
Despite allowing four walks and an HBP over six innings, Giolito only threw 89 pitches, shortening the game for Renteria and his better relievers. The White Sox' bullpen outpitched Kansas City's, as Danny Farquhar, Nate Jones and Soria all contributed scoreless innings.
Renteria hasn't called Soria his dedicated closer, so it's worth noting that while Jones pitched the eighth, he did face the 3-4-5 part of Kansas City's order.
Bullet points:
*Moncada pulled an Adam Dunn at the leadoff spot. He walked and scored to start the game, struck out and homered.
*The bunt attempt was frustrating because it followed two singles, including a great bunt by Engel that caught KC's defense off-guard. It put Moncada on path for a strikeout, and then Garcia grounded into a double play.
*Tim Anderson stole his first base of the season and rather easily.
*Renteria is 2-for-2 in using Leury Garcia as a defensive replacement for Delmonico.
*The White Sox are the only undefeated team in the American League.
Record: 2-0 | Box score
