Even though Kansas City is one of the worst teams in the AL this year, the Sox just can’t seem to catch a break against the Royals.
John Danks made his return from a trip to the disabled list and pitched a stellar game, but the bullpen spoiled his outing by allowing the Royals to grab the game in the eleventh inning.
Danks pitched seven innings of shutout baseball, giving up just five hits and a walk while striking out six. He left the game with the Sox leading 1-0, after Carlos Quentin hit his 19th home run of the season in the top of the 5th off of Bruce Chen.
Chen also pitched well on the night, with the solo shot to Quentin his only mistake. But the Royals saved him from suffering the loss. They tied the game with a string of hits off of Matt Thornton, and that’s where the game stood heading into extras.
In the bottom of the eleventh, with two outs, Alex Gordon was walked by reliever Chris Sale. He moved up to third on a Mitch Maier single to center. Then, Sergio Santos was brought in to replace Sale, but promptly issued a wild pitch during Billy Butler’s at-bat that allowed Gordon to scamper home and seal the game and the series for the Royals.
It was a disappointing game for Danks, who had been on a great run prior to landing on the DL. The Sox are off on Thursday, and will open a road series at Cleveland on Friday.