Brady Singer fired seven scoreless innings as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Chicago White Sox 2-1 in a pitchers’ duel Tuesday night to earn a split of a day-night doubleheader.
The White Sox won the first game 3-0.
In the nightcap, Royals rookie catcher MJ Melendez recorded his first career home run in the sixth inning. He led the minor leagues with 41 home runs last season.
Singer (1-0), recalled from Triple-A Omaha after the day game, made good use of his changeup. He mixed in all three pitches, and he finished with a career-high nine strikeouts while allowing four hits and no walks.
Singer was relegated to the bullpen out of spring training, and made just three appearances, all in relief, before being sent to Omaha in late April to work on his changeup. He had success in Triple-A, going 1-0 with a 3.29 ERA in three starts.
After Royals reliever Collin Snider allowed a run in the eighth inning, Josh Staumont earned his third save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
White Sox starter Davis Martin (0-1), making his major league debut, allowed just one run on five hits in five innings. He struck out seven and walked one.
Martin, promoted from Triple-A Charlotte, had five strikeouts in the first four innings. Singer had at least one strikeout in each of the first four innings, and he struck out all three batters in the second.
The Royals, after going 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position in the first game and 0-for-2 in those situations in the first inning of the nightcap, finally capitalized in the second inning.
Emmanuel Rivera led off the inning with a double and went to third on a groundout. Michael A. Taylor then pulled a double into left field to drive in Rivera.
The Royals got another run in the sixth when Melendez launched a 1-2 pitch 425 feet to right-center.
The White Sox got a run in the eighth. AJ Pollock hit a one-out double, went to third on Josh Harrison’s single and scored on Adam Engel’s groundout. Yoan Moncada then singled to left, and Andrew Benintendi threw out Harrison at the plate as he attempted to score the tying run.
–Field Level Media
