Royals 9, White Sox 1: Saturday struggles continue

South Side Sox Methup Mojo is no match for White Sox Saturday Suckage.

The White Sox are now 0-for-11 on Saturdays, although their loss bore a slight resemblance to Friday's.

For instance, the Royals took a sudden 5-0 lead, but today, their hit barrage took place in the fourth inning, rather than the first -- and it was aided by a couple of defensive miscues. They loaded the bases with nobody out against Hector Noesi with a walk and two singles, but a hard 5-4-3 double play ball bounced through Leury Garcia for an error (and he compounded matters by throwing home when he had no chance, moving a runner from second to third).

The next batter, Mike Moustakas, hit a shallow fly to left center. Most left fielders would have run it down, but Dayan Viciedo couldn't glove it with an awkward diving attempt, resulting in an RBI single and a 3-0 Royals lead.

After a single, Noesi finally got his double play, but another run scored on it. With two outs finally on the board, Omar Infante extended the inning with an RBI single, and that ended Noesi's day down 5-0.

That was more than enough for Kansas City, because Danny Duffy baffled the Sox for seven shutout innings. The Sox had a couple chances to get on the board, but they never really forced the issue. A Moustakas error turned a double play into first and second with one out in the second, but Tyler Flowers and Garcia struck out to end that threat.

Two innings later, Moises Sierra doubled to the left field corner with two outs and a runner on first. Alas, that runner was Paul Konerko, and he could only advance to third. Flowers grounded out to end the inning. Those were technically threats, but they were mild at best.

The White Sox went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and even that hit resulted in an out. Adam Eaton stood on second after a single and a Gordon Beckham walk. With one out, Dayan Viciedo shot a single to right field. Joe McEwing waved Eaton home, and Nori Aoki made a terrific throw to Salvador Perez, and Eaton made an equally valiant slide. Home plate umpire Chris Conroy ruled that Eaton got his hand in with his diving attempt before Perez placed the tag. Ned Yost challenged it, and the replay center in New York overturned the call, despite it looking just as close on replays as it did in real time.

The Sox ended that inning scoreless, and only a Konerko solo homer in the ninth off Michael Mariot spoiled the shutout. Konerko, perhaps motivated by the blog contingent, went 3-for-4; The rest of the lineup went 4-for-30.,

Until Konerko's solo shot, the only highlight of the game for the Sox was a beautiful relay from Sierra to Beckham to Garcia, foiling Aoki's attempt to turn a leadoff double into a triple. Despite the out on the basepaths, the Royals still managed to tag Daniel Webb for three runs.

Record: 33-36 | Box score | Play-by-play | Highlights