Royals win solo-home run fest, defeat White Sox 4-2

The Royals are a first place club, the White Sox are a last place club, and the two teams showed why in Game One of their doubleheader Friday afternoon. The Royals weren't at the top of their game, but the White Sox played like a team that has disappointed fans all summer, allowing the Royals to win in rather easy fashion, 4-2.

Lorenzo Cain continued his All-Star season with an RBI double in the first (one of two hits off Jeff Samardzija, some wonderful just desserts) to score Alcides Escobar who - get this - led off the game with a walk. The White Sox would tie it in the third with a solo home run by Geovany Soto. Mike Moustakas would put the Royals on top with a solo home run of his own in the fifth, his eighth of the season, but Adam Eaton would continue the solo-home-run-a-thon with a dong in the bottom of the inning to make it 2-2.

Eric Hosmer would double in the sixth, followed by a Kendrys Morales single to put runners on the corner. Omar Infante would wipe out Morales by grounding into a double play, but Hosmer would score to give the Royals a 3-2 lead. Alex Rios, who drew ire earlier in the game by his slow run down the line on a ground ball to shortstop, homered for the first time since Opening Day to extend the lead.

Chris Young worked into trouble all day, but managed to escape many of jams through reckless baserunning and poor clutch hitting by the White Sox. He would end up going five innings, giving up just two run on three hits, with four walk and four strikeouts. Reliever Ryan Madson got into trouble when he allowed a ground-rule double to Adam LaRoche to put runners at second and third with just one out. But Madson was able to induce a pair of weak ground outs to end the threat and preserve the lead. Then it was H-D-H time, and the White Sox couldn't manage to get a runner in scoring position the rest of the afternoon. Just like that, the Royals have 53 wins.

Escobar walked, Infante walked, Rios homered - Chris Young managed to strike out four batters. Anything is possible in the second half. You just have to BELIEVE.