KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Royals rookie catcher MJ Melendez singled and scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning on his fellow rookie Emmanuel Rivera’s RBI triple, then for good measure Melendez tacked on a couple insurance runs late with his second major-league home run to help secure a series-tying victory and set up a rubber match.
The young hitters in the lineup were the driving force behind much of the offense Wednesday night as the Royals smashed 12 hits and four extra-base hits (including two home runs) in a 6-2 win over the Chicago White Sox in front of an announced 13,504 at Kauffman Stadium.
The teams have split four games this week and they’ll conclude their series on Thursday afternoon. A win would give the Royals back-to-back series wins after having won two of three games in Denver over the weekend.
Royals talented rookie shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. went 2 for 4 and blasted his fourth home run of the season. The homer marked his third in the past seven games. During that stretch, he has batted .280 with five RBIs and six runs scored.
Rivera went 2 for 4 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored. He has driven in seven runs in his last seven games. Kyle Isbel also had two hits (2 for 3) and an RBI.
Nicky Lopez went 1 for 4 with a run scored. Whit Merrifield went 1 for 5 with an RBI and a stolen base. Merrifield’s second-inning stolen base pushed him past Carlos Beltran for sole possession of seventh place on the franchise’s career leader board with 165.
Royals starting pitcher Zack Greinke allowed two runs, seven hits and one walk in 5 2/3 innings. He also struck out four in a no decision. He left the game with the score tied. He remains winless this season despite having allowed two runs or fewer in six of his eight starts.
