Monster inning by Royals powers series-clinching road victory over White Sox
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Royals scored 8 runs in one inning, led by Salvador Perez's homer and 2-run double.
- Ryan Bergert pitched 6 innings for first Royals win, allowing 1 run with 4 strikeouts.
- Royals remain 3 games behind Mariners for AL Wild Card after 12-1 victory.
When the Kansas City Royals get rolling offensively, there isn’t much that can derail them from scoring runs in a hurry.
On Wednesday, they put up eight runs against the Chicago White Sox in one inning. And the production came in a variety of ways.
Team captain Salvador Perez led the fifth-inning charge. He belted a solo home run to begin the barrage — No. 296 for his illustrious career — and added a two-run double later as the Royals batted around in the inning.
Perez also surpassed Royals Hall of Famer Amos Otis on the club’s all-time RBIs list. With 993 in his career, Perez has an outside chance of catching another Royals Hall of Famer, Hal McRae (1012), for second place on that list this season.
“I mean, he’s a Hall of Famer,” Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia said. “He’s been doing this for a long time and we trust him. That’s why he’s the captain and we’re glad to have him.”
With 16 hits, the Royals pounded out a 12-1 victory over the White Sox at Rate Field. Perez did the most damage, but KC got production from throughout the lineup.
“To score runs like that is pretty good for the team,” Perez said.
Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino each added a pair of two-run singles. Adam Frazier also drove in a run with a single.
The Royals’ outburst snapped a streak of 23 2/3 scoreless innings by White Sox starters. Chicago got dominant starts from Shane Smith and Martin Perez earlier in the series, but veteran right-hander Aaron Civale wasn’t so lucky.
Civale surrendered five earned runs in 4 2/3 innings Wednesday. The White Sox bullpen was taxed, too, as left-handed specialist Tyler Gilbert allowed six runs in a third of an inning.
“It was an interesting first couple of innings,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said, “because for a guy that pitches up in the (strike) zone, we hit some balls on the ground.
“We were trying to get on top of the ball, because that’s what he does. He executed some pitches, especially the front-door cutters to righties. But everything loosened up a little bit when Salvy hits the homer.”
Mike Yastrzemski belted his 14th home run of the year to put the game out of reach. The Royals (69-65) finished their six-game road trip with an even split -- three wins and three losses.
“Going home on a good note after a decent road trip is nice for the confidence and for us to kind of keep it rolling,” Yastrzemski said. “Getting an-off day so we can take a little breather and be ready to go again at home.”
Bergert faces White Sox in rematch
Royals rookie starter Ryan Bergert got a second dose of the White Sox this month. Only this time, it came on the road at Rate Field.
Bergert allowed two runs (one earned) in his first matchup against Chicago on Aug. 17. He took a no-decision in the Royals’ victory. There was a lot to learn from that outing and Bergert made some key changes his second time around.
“I think he made some adjustments in-game,” Quatraro said. “I mean, he had a good fastball right from the start and he threw more sweepers early. I think after (Andrew) Benintendi hit the home run, he started to throw more sliders and it was a pretty even mix.
“And it was good stuff. He had some 20-pitch innings, so he had to work — and they made him work. And the last inning being the most efficient was nice.”
Bergert also made it through six innings for the first time in his career. In his 12th major-league start, he limited the White Sox to one run.
“Finally a quality start and finally got pass the sixth inning,” Bergert said with a smile. “But, yeah, it was really fun.”
Andrew Benintendi — a former Royals standout — tagged Bergert with a solo home run in the fourth inning. But Bergert continued to pitch efficiently. He worked around two more singles before retiring Brooks Baldwin to end the inning.
In the sixth, Bergert navigated a one-out single and error by left fielder Michael Massey. He got fellow rookie Chase Meidroth to strike out and then retired Baldwin again to finish his night on a high note.
“We wanted him to get through that sixth, but also we didn’t want to push him too far when you have a lead like that,” Quatraro said. “There’s no reason to push him, so the efficiency of the sixth inning was big.”
Bergert earned his first win with the Royals and is now sporting a 2.67 ERA in 64 innings this season.
AL Wild Card update
The Royals are looking up at the Seattle Mariners in the AL Wild Card standings.
The Mariners (72-62) took care of business by wrapping up a series win over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. They are currently three games in front of the Royals for the third and final wild-card spot.
“I think we are just trying to do our job and do our part and see what happens,” Witt said.
The Mariners and Royals are on a collision course. The Mariners come to Kauffman Stadium for a three-game series Sept. 16-18. Until then, the Royals will use upcoming series to try to overtake Seattle.
The Royals need one more head-to-head victory to own the regular-season tiebreaker. However, their looming September series will be influenced by games preceding it.
This weekend, the Royals will face the Detroit Tigers in another AL Central showdown. The Tigers took two of three games earlier on the Royals’ road trip.
What’s ahead?
The Royals are off Thursday, returning to Kauffman Stadium ahead of a three-game series against the Tigers.
KC is expected to start right-hander Seth Lugo in Friday’s series opener. He will be followed by Michael Wacha on Sunday afternoon.
Saturday’s starter, however, is yet to be determined. The spot would be rookie Noah Cameron’s regular turn in the rotation, but the Royals are still working out a plan for how they want to approach the matchup.
This story was originally published August 27, 2025 at 9:33 PM with the headline "Monster inning by Royals powers series-clinching road victory over White Sox."
