White Sox 3, Royals 2: Suspended game ends in a hurry

Poor defense is the reason this game was suspended, and poor defense is why it ended before one full inning was played.

And the Royals were the ones screwing up repeatedly!

Avisail Garcia gave the White Sox their first victory over Kansas City this season, and it was made possible when Salvador Perez failed to get down on Kelvin Herrera's pitch in the dirt. That allowed Melky Cabrera, who reached base via a walk, to move to second, which prompted the intentional walk of Jose Abreu, which brought Garcia to the plate. After fouling the first pitch off to the right side, he muscled an inside fastball into shallow left field to score Cabrera and end the game.

Back on Friday, the White Sox used Kansas City help to score both their runs. Adam Eaton led off with a drive to left center. Lorenzo Cain took a poor route on it, and while he might not have been able to catch it, he should have been able to limit Eaton to a double. Instead, Eaton took three bases, and then scored on Cabrera's sac fly to right.

And earlier in the game, Alexei Ramirez reached on an Alcides Escobar error and took second, then moved to third on Adam LaRoche's fly to right. After a Gordon Beckham walk, Tyler Flowers hit a grounder to the right side that got the run home.

It should be said the White Sox didn't play leak-proof defense, either. In fact, Abreu extended the top of the ninth when he whiffed on Kendrys Morales' bouncer to the right side. That broke up a string of 18 consecutive hitters retired by David Robertson, but it did allow Robertson to strike out the side. He picked up his second win in three appearances.

Jose Quintana was saddled with his usual no-decision, but he pitched well. He held the Royals to two runs on seven hits and a walk over seven innings, striking out five. He also worked quickly, finishing with just 98 pitches. The Royals put together assembly-line runs in the third and fifth, with Paulo Orlando scoring the first on an RBI single, and singling home the second. Fortunately, the Sox found answers for both, and they finally took the lead when it counted the most.

Bullet points:

*Abreu endured a scary moment after Quintana picked off Orlando in the third. Abreu ran Escobar to second, but tumbled over the diving Orlando as he tried to apply the tag. Abreu lay on the ground for a couple minutes while Ventura challenged the "safe" call.

Good news on both fronts -- Abreu responded to smelling salts and stayed in the game, and Ventura won the challenge.

*The Sox had an opportunity to score a run on their own merits in the third, but Danny Duffy gloved a comebacker by Abreu and caught Micah Johnson in a rundown between third and home.

*Flowers gunned down Orlando in a SHOTHO to end the fourth.

Record: 7-9 | Box score | Play-by-play | Highlights