Salvador Perez and Whit Merrifield hit solo home runs, Daniel Lynch took a shutout into the sixth inning in his return from the injured list and the Kansas City Royals edged the Chicago White Sox 2-1 on Monday night for their second straight win.
Perez launched a monster blast for the second straight game and his third homer in four contests after missing 31 games with a left thumb injury and surgery. The seven-time All Star catcher has eight RBI in the span.
Merrifield’s drive into the left-field bullpen in the sixth might have been his last with Kansas City. A two-time All Star in seven seasons with the Royals, the second baseman has been the subject of trade rumors heading into Tuesday’s deadline.
Lynch (4-7) allowed six hits, struck out seven and walked none in 5 1/3 innings as he returned from a rehab assignment at Triple-A Omaha and started in place of Brad Keller.
Scott Barlow got the last six outs for his 17th save in 20 chances. He worked around a single in each of the last two innings.
Kansas City swapped 3B Emmanuel Rivera to the Arizona for RHP Luke Weaver, who was 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA for the Diamondbacks.
Kansas City RHP Brad Keller (5-11, 4.18) will start on Tuesday at 7:10.