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John Danks Fires Gem in Zombie Night Horror Show

Seriously, can the Royals trade for that guy just so they don't have to face him anymore?

By Ryan Landreth
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

It was Zombie Night at Kauffman Stadium, but the players didn't get the memo that the event was for the fans only.

On Friday night, the Royals' play was so alarming that it left fans screaming for the exits early. The White Sox used a barrage of extra base hits and nifty defensive plays to whitewash the Royals, 12-1. Chicago banged out 17 hits, which is the highest total allowed by Kansas City's staff in a single game all year.

Oh, and then there was John Danks.

Danks (7-12), as he usually does, rolled right through the Royals' lineup with ease. This time, however, was especially agitating. He allowed four hits, three of them singles, over the course of the game's first eight innings. He lost his shutout bid in the ninth inning, which delighted the crowd. Danks entered this game with an ERA of 4.82. By the time his outing was complete, it had dropped over 20 points. His final line: seven hits, one run, five strikeouts, and nine innings. He threw 121 pitches.

The White Sox struck Kris Medlen for three quick runs in the top of the first, and they never looked back. Three more runs came in the fourth on a Tyler Flowers three-run homer, another in the sixth, and in the eighth, Chicago dropped a five-spot on Jeremy Guthrie. This included two additional home runs, a three-run shot by Royal killer Adam Eaton and a collossal bomb that cleared the second wall in center field.

Medlen (3-1) was horrific, but it's to be expected when a guy is coming off his second Tommy John surgery. He was battered for 11 hits, surrendering seven runs on 98 pitches. Guthrie wasn't much better, though he did labor through the final 3.1 frames. He gave up five runs of his own. His ERA is now 5.73.

As far as offensive highlights for the Royals, Cheslor Cuthbert got a double. Alcides Escobar had two singles. Oh, and then in the ninth inning, Kendrys Morales drove in his 99th run with a sacrifice fly. Pandemonium.

15 runs last night, almost shut out today. That's baseball.

It was the first time in seven chances that the White Sox won a game in Kansas City. The Royals are now 82-52.

Oh, and multiple Cardinals fan told me that they wouldn't trade Yadier Molina for Bryce Harper. Yup:

Tomorrow, the Royals will look to get back on track when they send Danny Duffy (7-6, 4.11 ERA) to the mound to oppose Jose Quintana, who has never beaten Kansas City.

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