 walked Whit Merrifield on four pitches to begin the game, but then retired 19 straight before Alex Gordon's single with one out in the seventh. Gordon fouled off four consecutive pitches before lining a curveball into center field.Yonder Alonso preserved the no-hitter with a diving stop in the sixth, and he and Jose Abreu homered on consecutive pitches in the fourth off starter Jorge Lopez (0-1).Alex Colome pitched a perfect ninth for his first save.Giolito couldn't finish the seventh. Ryan O'Hearn drove in Gordon with a double into the right field corner, and Lucas Duda chased Giolito with an RBI single. Giolito was charged with two runs in 6 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. He threw 99 pitches.Giolito was 10-13 with a 6.13 ERA in 2018 and led the AL in walks (90) and the majors in earned runs allowed (118). In seven starts against the Royals in his career, Giolito is 4-0 with a 2.40 ERA. In 14 starts against the other AL Central teams, Giolito has a 5.62 ERA.Ryan Burr got the final out of the seventh to end the threat.Alonso had two hits and three RBIs. Four other White Sox had two hits in the game, including Abreu.Alonso also robbed Billy Hamilton of a hit by diving down the first base line to snag a line drive in the sixth.Lopez and reliever Tim Hill combined to walk three straight during the sixth inning, resulting in two runs. Lopez allowed four runs in five-plus innings.Royals right-handers Kyle Zimmer and Chris Ellis made their major league debuts. Zimmer threw a scoreless eighth inning, surrendering a single and striking out two. The fifth overall pick in the 2012 draft, Zimmer spent six seasons in the minor leagues and spent last year way from the organization while working on his mechanics at the Driveline baseball facility in Seattle.Ellis matched Zimmer with a scoreless ninth, giving up two singles and a walk in the inning after retiring the first two batters he faced.UPON FURTHER REVIEWAfter leading baseball in challenges won in 2018, going 33 for 42 (78.6%), the Royals are a perfect 3 for 3 after three games. On Sunday, the Royals had a close play at first base overturned in their favor. Chris Owings made a diving stop on a sharply hit ground ball to third base, hopped up and fired to Duda, who picked the ball off a bounce for the final out of the ninth. After Eloy Jimenez was initially called safe, replay confirmed the throw beat him by a couple inches.TRAINER'S ROOMWhite Sox: OF Jon Jay (right hip strain) will have his hip reevaluated when the team gets back to Chicago later this week, and RHP Ian Hamilton is throwing as he continues to work his way back from right shoulder inflammation. Manager Rick Renteria said both players, who have been on the 10-day injured list since March 25, are improving each day.UP NEXTWhite Sox: Ivan Nova makes his first start Monday as a member of the White Sox as Chicago travels to Cleveland for a two-game series.Royals: Brad Keller will make his second start of the season Tuesday against the Twins. Keller has pitched 41 consecutive innings without allowing a home run, dating to Aug. 31. It's the longest active streak in the AL and the second-longest streak in the majors.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Sunny skies forecast for White Sox-Royals finale Hoping that better weather will accompany the first pitch, the Chicago White Sox and the host Kansas City Royals wrap up their season-opening series Sunday at Kauffman Stadium.Snow fell intermittently Saturday, after rain delayed the start of the first two games of the season. Saturday's game was delayed 30 minutes by rain and the first-pitch temperature was 38 degrees, with a wind chill of 28.The forecast for Sunday is 51 and sunny, so a little nip in the air should be the only weather concern."I hope we'll have a nice sunny day," White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito said. "It's harder to play baseball in the cold, in general. Guys don't like hitting in the cold, and guys don't like pitching in the cold. It's just part of the game early in the year. I may have to throw some more fastballs inside, but I'll stay with my game plan and trust my stuff." Giolito will square off against Jorge Lopez for Kansas City. Giolito is 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA and a .199 opponents' batting average in six starts against the Royals. Lopez will make his first appearance against the White Sox.Chicago manager Rick Renteria said it's just a matter of adapting to the conditions."(The players) may not like it," he said. "You don't get used to it. You have to adapt to it. Both clubs have to deal with it. It's nothing you can blame for any outcome. Hitters, in cold weather, don't like pitches in because it does hurt a little bit. But I think the pitchers will follow the design and the plan they put together. If it happens to be something they believe they can use to their advantage, I'm sure they will." Kansas City skipper Ned Yost said the weather doesn't change a thing."It's not any harder to hit (when it's cold)," he said. "That's an old wives' tale. Your adrenaline is going. You're fine. If you don't catch it right, even when it's warm, you hurt. We just pitch our game. We pitch to their weaknesses." The Royals are looking to sweep the series after claiming an 8-6 win on Saturday. Jorge Soler had three hits and three RBIs and Alex Gordon scored three runs without the benefit of a hit. Billy Hamilton also had his first three hits as a Royal.Kansas City's team speed was very evident. "Speed tends to take your focus off the hitter to try to control the running game a little bit more," Yost said. "That's the type of baseball we like to play. We like to push it." Renteria is confident that Giolito will build on last year's performance."I don't think you can go into the season doubting what they can do," he said of Giolito specifically and the rotation in general. "The more time they spend at the major league level the more comfortable they are in their own skin. You're looking for them to have success. I don't know that just being here is enough." The top three starters for Kansas City are all second- or third-year players. But Yost said that doesn't impact what he expects from them, including Lopez."I expect them to go out and give me their best effort," he said. "What else can I expect. I expect them to go out, be prepared and give me their best effort." --Field Level Media
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