CHICAGO — Kansas City Royals left-hander Daniel Lynch returned to the starting rotation and outshined his counterpart, another talented young hurler in White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech.
Lynch pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his first start since July 16. He struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter in a start for the first time all season.
Lynch set the tone for the Royals in a 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox in front of an announced 17,500 in the series opener of a three-game set at Guaranteed Rate Field on Monday night.
The Royals (41-62) first two runs came on solo home runs by Salvador Perez and Whit Merrifield, both off of Kopech. Perez has three home runs in the four games since returning from thumb surgery, and he now has 14 home runs in 61 games this season.
The White Sox (51-51) scored their lone run in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly by Adam Engel.
Royals reliever Scott Barlow pitched the final two innings to record his 17th save of the season.
