Tyler Saladino belted a three-run homer and Avisail Garcia also homered for the White Sox.

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1 WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF MAY 29, 2016 White Sox can t hang onto 6-run lead vs. KC By Jeffrey Flanagan and Scott Chasen / MLB.com May 28th, 2016 KANSAS CITY -- Rookie Brett Eibner lashed a single to right off White Sox reliever Tommy Kahnle, scoring Drew Butera to cap an incredible seven-run rally in the ninth and give the Royals an 8-7 walk-off win on Saturday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. Eibner made his Major League debut on Friday in a come-from-behind win. Kansas City knocked Chicago from its perch atop the American League Central as both now sit a half-game back of first-place Cleveland. The White Sox had held the top spot since April 22 and their largest lead was five games. "It's an incredible feeling," Eibner said after collecting his first Major League RBI and walk-off win. "I didn't think I could beat yesterday. I don't think I could draw it up any better on Day 2." Chicago's bullpen surrendered a 5-1 lead on Friday in a 7-5 loss. "It was one of the craziest regular-season games I've played in," Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer said. This time White Sox manager Robin Ventura turned to closer David Robertson to start the ninth with a 7-1 lead. But Robertson gave up six runs. Whit Merrifield had a two-run single in the inning, and Butera tied the game with an RBI double. "It was a terrible performance on my part," Robertson said. Butera was only in the game replacing All-Star catcher Salvador Perez. After a collision last Sunday in Chicago between Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas while chasing a foul fly landed both on the disabled list, Perez had to be helped off the field after colliding with third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert while also chasing a foul pop. Tyler Saladino belted a three-run homer and Avisail Garcia also homered for the White Sox. Left-hander Carlos Rodon wobbled at times, but he got through five innings while giving up six hits and one run. Right-hander Yordano Ventura retired the first five hitters he faced, then gave up three straight singles to plate a run before Saladino smacked an 0-2 curveball into the left-field bullpen. Ventura gave up six earned runs over seven innings. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED A repeat performance: In Friday's series opener, the White Sox took the lead in the sixth inning on a grand slam that followed three-straight singles. On Saturday, with two out in the second, it was more of the same. Three straight two-out singles put the Sox on top 1-0, and the lead ballooned to four when Saladino smashed his homer.

2 "You've got to get on the heater, get on the fastball, and [with] runners in scoring position cash guys in," Brett Lawrie said. "Fortunately enough, today we were able to do that and swing the bats well against their guys today." Hot Hoz: Royals first baseman Hosmer, who drove in four runs in Friday's win, was back on the RBI train on Saturday. Merrifield led off the third inning with a double into the right-field corner. Hosmer, with one out, served a ground-ball single into left field, scoring Merrifield. Hosmer also had an RBI double in the dramatic ninth, and scored the tying run. Extra padding: In the fourth inning, Garcia extended the White Sox lead by belting the second homer of the day off Ventura. The two-run blast was the fourth home run of the series. All four were hit to left field. "It looked good offensively. I thought we put some good at-bats on them," Robin Ventura said. "You score enough runs to win. It was definitely there to take." Whit's a hit: Merrifield had his fifth straight multi-hit game. After he doubled in the third, he delivered a tworun single in the frantic rally in the ninth. He also stole his first Major League base in the third inning. SALVY SLATED FOR MRI Royals manager Ned Yost said the initial report was that Perez suffered a left quad contusion, but that Perez would have an MRI immediately. Yost did not think it was a season-ending injury, though certainly a trip to the disabled list was possible. "You're always nervous, especially when you lose two All-Stars, you don't want to lose a third," Yost said. "But we'll just see what the MRI shows. "The good thing about it, at least as far as we could tell, there was no structural damage to his knee. He sustained a pretty good quad contusion." WHAT'S NEXT White Sox: Left-hander Chris Sale (9-1, 2.26 ERA) will start the finale of this three-game road set on Sunday at 1:15 p.m. CT. Sale is 2-1 against the AL Central this year. The loss came in his last outing, as he gave up six earned runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Indians. Royals: Right-hander Edinson Volquez (5-4, 3.67) will get the ball for the series finale on Sunday at Kauffman Stadium. Volquez went 6 2/3 innings and gave up two earned runs on Tuesday in a 7-4 win over the Twins. Robertson takes blame for tough loss to KC White Sox closer gives up 6 runs as Royals score 7 to win By Scott Chasen / MLB.com May 28th, 2016 KANSAS CITY -- Despite a six-run lead entering the ninth, White Sox manager Robin Ventura decided to bring in closer David Robertson to finish off the Royals. Instead, a seven-run rally off the bullpen led to an 8-7 loss on Saturday at Kauffman Stadium. Despite it being a non-save situation, Ventura said he wanted to be careful given how the White Sox had played in recent games. He added there hadn't been that many opportunities to use Robertson, who had previously pitched five days earlier. "You get to that ninth, and the way games have been going, you go to the guy to close it out," Ventura said. "Today, we couldn't close it out." It took four pitches for Robertson to get the first out. By the time the second out was recorded, his pitch count was up to 23, and the score was 7-5.

3 "They just keep coming at you," catcher Alex Avila said. At one point in the ninth, Ventura came to the mound to talk to Robertson. Rather than pulling him, Ventura said he only wanted to talk with Robertson about how to face the next batter with the bases loaded. Four hits and two walks later, Ventura came out to lift his closer. "That was a terrible performance on my part," Robertson said. "I pitched really poorly and let the whole team down." Robertson had two real chances to escape the inning before he was replaced by Tommy Kahnle, who took the loss after giving up the winning two-out single by Brett Eibner. Robertson's first opportunity to get out of a jam came right after the first meeting with Ventura. On the sixth pitch of the ensuing at-bat, Whit Merrifield hit the ball right back at Robertson. Robertson said he felt he had a chance at it, but was unable to make the play as the ball deflected off his glove. Merrifield's infield single made it 7-4. "The worst part about it was looking back and seeing Brett [Lawrie] was right there," Robertson said. "If I had just let it go, I would've gotten myself out of the inning." The second chance to escape came one batter later. Lorenzo Cain grounded into a forceout, just narrowly beating out the double play. The Royals pulled to 7-5 before two more doubles tied it. "You finally get to a point where he was done," Ventura said. "It's tough. Especially after yesterday [blowing a lead late in a 7-5 loss to the Royals]." After the game, a frustrated Robertson shouldered the blame. He credited left-hander Carlos Rodon for a good start, and he credited how the offense played before owning the responsibility for the loss. "Everyone did their job except for me," Robertson said. "It's a tough one to take. I blew the game today." Seven-run ninth inning dooms White Sox in loss to Royals By Dan Hayes / CSN Chicago May 28th, 2016 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- What an implosion. A day after they inexplicably gave away one contest, the White Sox outdid themselves on Saturday afternoon. Instead of evening the series with a decisive victory, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle allowed the Kansas City Royals to rally for seven ninth-inning runs to send the White Sox to a stunning 8-7 loss in front of 31,598 at Kauffman Stadium. Brett Eibner s bases-loaded RBI single off Kahnle capped an improbable comeback and delivered another crushing blow to the White Sox, who have lost five straight and 13 of their last 17 contests. This is a tough one, no matter how you look at it, third baseman Todd Frazier said. You saw what happened. You can go back and think about it, game we should have won and didn t win. We re all professionals and we ve seen crazy things in baseball. This is one of them. Saturday s loss ranks as one of the craziest in club history. The White Sox went from a state of joy, cruising toward a pivotal victory, to disarray in a span of 51 pitches. Leading 7-1, Robertson took over and struck out Paulo Orlando.

4 Cheslor Cuthbert then singled and Eibner doubled to deep right when Adam Eaton lost the ball in the sun. Robertson walked Omar Infante and Alcides Escobar consecutively to force in a run, which prompted a visit from White Sox manager Robin Ventura. Whit Merrifield s grounder then deflected off the glove of Robertson and a potential double play turned into a two-run single and made it a 7-4 contest. The worst part about it was looking back and seeing Brett (Lawrie) was right there, Robertson said. If I had let it go, I would have got us out of the inning. It s frustrating when you make a mistake like that. Lorenzo Cain s hustle kept the inning alive as he narrowly beat out a game-ending double play to drive in another run. Eric Hosmer followed with an RBI double to right-center field to make it a 7-6 game and end Robertson s day. It s a terrible performance on my part, Robertson said. Can t say much else about it. It doesn t matter what the score is, I still have to get three outs. I let the whole team down. Drew Butera lifted his team s spirits. The backup catcher entered in the ninth inning after an apparent knee injury knocked Salvador Perez out of the game. Already on tilt, the Kauffman crowd erupted when Butera ripped a 99-mph fastball from Kahnle for a game-tying double. The White Sox opted to intentionally walk Orlando. But it didn t prevent Kahnle from allowing Butera to advance to third as he uncorked a wild pitch. Kahnle also intentionally walked Jarrod Dyson to load the bases for Eibner, who ended a 10-pitch at-bat with the game-winning single under the glove of Sox first baseman Jose Abreu. The way games have been going, you go to the guy to close it out, because we haven t been able to get to him, Ventura said. There s no shot clock. There s no time clock. If you can t close it out, that s what happens. And today we couldn t close it out. The White Sox entered the ninth inning without a care in the world. They had bounced back definitively from Friday s stunner, when the bullpen surrendered a four-run lead over the final three innings. An opposite-field approach against Kansas City starter Yordano Ventura took hold with two outs in the fourth inning. Brett Lawrie, Alex Avila and Avisail Garcia all had opposite-field singles, Garcia s providing the White Sox a 1-0 lead. Tyler Saladino then crushed a hanging 0-2 slider from Ventura for a three-run homer to left field and a four-run lead. The White Sox offense continued to add on against Ventura. Avila doubled with one out in the fourth inning and Garcia hammered a 2-1 changeup for a two-run shot. Garcia s homer, his fifth, traveled 428 feet at an exit velocity of 113 mph and gave the White Sox a 6-1 advantage. They added another run in the fifth as Austin Jackson singled, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error by Omar Infante. And then the Royals happened again. They have mojo over there right now, Avila said. They just keep coming at you and taking advantage of the fact that we re scuffling a little bit right now. The devastating loss was the third in 18 days in which the White Sox bullpen surrendered a significant lead. The unit, which has a 4.73 ERA this month, also blew a five-run lead in a loss at the Texas Rangers on May 10. Along with a blown four-run lead on Friday, the White Sox nearly surrendered a four-run advantage in the opening game of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians on Monday.

5 It might have a lasting effect, Frazier said. There are going to be some guys who are in here who tonight aren t going to be real happy. Once you get in here and know we start over again, I ve learned from the best that you start all over like nothing happened and go about your business. White Sox have interest in San Diego pitcher James Shields By Dan Hayes / CSN Chicago May 28th, 2016 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The White Sox have spoken to the San Diego Padres about acquiring starting pitcher James Shields. The San Diego Union-Tribune confirmed an internet report Saturday that the White Sox have interest in the 34-year-old right-hander. Shields is 2-6 with a 3.06 ERA in 10 starts for the Padres this season. A member of the Kansas City Royals from , Shields is in the second season of a four-year, $75- million deal he signed with San Diego before last season. He is owed at least $44 million over the next two seasons. The contract includes a $16 million team option for 2019 with a $2 million buyout. He s earning $21 million this season and in 2017 and Shields can opt out of the deal at the end of the 2016 season. White Sox general manager Rick Hahn has made it no secret he hopes to add to a club that won 23 of its first 33 games in hopes of contending. Though the Sox had lost 12 of their past 16, they entered Saturday with a half-game lead over the Cleveland Indians and a game over the Royals. The team s interest in Shields was first reported Saturday on Twitter Robin Ventura: You always review tough White Sox losses By Dan Hayes / CSN Chicago May 28th, 2016 KANSAS CITY, Mo. He s ready to move forward Saturday, but Robin Ventura spent part of Friday night replaying a tough White Sox loss, his role included. In great position to make a strong statement at the start of a three-city road trip, the White Sox coughed up a four-run lead on Friday night and lost to the Kansas City Royals 7-5. It was another blow for a team in the midst of a long slump, their 12th loss in 16 games. The bullpen was the real culprit as it combined with starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez to yield four runs in the bottom of the seventh and allow the Royals to go ahead for good. But Ventura s bullpen management in the seventh inning when he used four relievers left him open for scrutiny, too. Should Ventura have turned to his bullpen to start the seventh inning clean instead of bringing back Gonzalez, who allowed a one-out double? Did he consider intentionally walking the Royals best hitter, Eric Hosmer, with first base open and two outs? How would they have handled it had the game gone to extras with so much of the bullpen used? There are plenty of games when you do that, especially when it doesn t go the way you want it to, Ventura said. You always do that. You talk it through. (Don Cooper) and I will talk it through. Rick (Hahn) and I will do the same thing. And when you get back here, you re back at it getting ready to go for that day. The White Sox bullpen was outstanding in April. The group posted a 1.69 ERA that month and the team was 20-0 when leading after seven innings. But this isn t April. The bullpen has struggled mightily since Texas and Friday was no different. White Sox relievers have a 4.05 ERA in May. With a man on second and one out, Dan Jennings immediately fell behind Jarrod Dyson

6 and walked him, bringing the tying run to the plate. Matt Albers took over and Alcides Escobar reached on an infield single to load the bases. Whit Merrifield found a hole against Albers for a two-run single to make it a one-run game. Albers struck out Lorenzo Cain but not before a wild pitch moved Escobar and Merrifield into scoring position. You can t go to Nate every single time in the seventh inning and have him throw the seventh and eighth, or (David Robertson) in the middle of the eighth and ninth, Ventura said. We have to get some guys that can get outs and those are the guys you use in that situation. At that point, Ventura opted for Duke to face Hosmer with Nate Jones warming in the bullpen. The numbers favored his choice -- Hosmer had a.580 OPS against lefties while on-deck hitter Salvador Perez had an.862 OPS against righties. But, Hosmer was in the midst of a good game at the plate with an RBI groundout in the first and an opposite-field homer off Gonzalez in the sixth. You consider it, Ventura said. I mean you load it up, you don t give (Jones) much to work with there. (Duke) has had some good numbers against Hosmer. Duke got ahead of Hosmer with a first-pitch fastball inside for a strike. Though Duke s next offering, a slider, was outside, Hosmer got enough of it to flip the ball into left field for a two-run, go-ahead single. Kansas City s bullpen took over from there and the White Sox suffered a cruel defeat. When it doesn t work you re bringing a guy in and immediately it might not work, Ventura said. But it is a long year and you ve seen what they can do and you want to get back to that. We also went through a stretch where we were using them a lot. Then they get a little rest, and you look at a game like last night where it doesn t work and doesn t fit and it always looks different. You can second guess anything at that point. Horror story: White Sox s monster collapse in ninth inning one for the books By Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune May 28th, 2016 It wasn't the end of the world for the White Sox on Saturday, but it definitely was within spitting distance. In a stunning collapse in bright sunshine on an otherwise gorgeous afternoon at Kauffman Stadium, the Sox gave up seven runs in the ninth inning to lose 8-7 to the Royals. The setback dropped them a half-game behind the Indians in the American League Central to third place, percentage points behind the Royals. Closer David Robertson, called upon with a 7-1 lead just to get in some work, imploded in living color while manager Robin Ventura fiddled in the Sox dugout. Robertson allowed six runs to the eight batters he faced, giving up four hits, two walks and letting a grounder glance off his glove for one of the hits. When Ventura finally budged and brought in Tommy Kahnle for only his fourth appearance in a Sox uniform, he watched him give up a game-tying double, throw a wild pitch on an intentional walk and serve up the game-winning, bases-loaded single to rookie Brett Eibner to end it. Edgar Allen Poe couldn't have written a more horrifying ending. The "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was a love story in comparison. This one was so ugly the Sox had a better chance playing blind-folded in the ninth. "It was really tough," Robertson said. "Got the first out really quick and just fell apart. They put good at-bats together and I couldn't find the strike zone for a second and one thing leads to another and you end up giving up six earned runs and blowing a chance for us to get a win."

7 White Sox manager Robin Ventura on his team's loss White Sox manager Robin Ventura discusses his team's loss in the bottom on the ninth vs. the Royals. The last time the Sox blew a six-run lead in the ninth was on Sept. 21, 2013 in Detroit, where they lost 7-6 to the Tigers in 12 innings. The last team to do likewise was the Cardinals, who led 9-3 over the Rockies on July 6, 2010 but lost Would Saturday's loss have a long-term effect on the Sox, who already were reeling and now have lost five straight and 13 out of 17? "It might," third baseman Todd Frazier admitted. "It might have a lasting effect. There are going to be some guys who are in here who tonight aren't going to be real happy. I've learned from the best that you start all over like nothing happened and go about your business. "We're all professionals and we've seen crazy things in baseball. This is one of them. And we'll see a lot more stuff like that before our careers are over." That depends on how long their careers last. Ventura is bound to take the brunt of the criticism for allowing Robertson to pitch well past his expiration date. He came out to talk to Robertson after back-to-back walks forced in a run, but wasn't ready to make a move. "No, I just talked to him about the next hitter and getting it going," he said. "I've done it before. Going out there to talk to him. And you finally get to a point when he was done. And we just couldn't close that one out." Whit Merrifield followed with a grounder that glanced off Robertson's glove and away from second baseman Brett Lawrie, bringing in two more runs. "I thought I had it, and the worst part about it was looking back and seeing Brett was right there," Robertson said. "If I had let it go I would have gotten us out of the inning. "It's frustrating when you make a mistake like that. It's a terrible performance on my part. Can't say much else about it." Lorenzo Cain beat out a potential double-play grounder to bring home a run and keep the inning alive before Eric Hosmer doubled home another run to make it 7-6. Ventura then yanked Robertson, before Drew Butera, who came in during the top of the ninth when Salvador Perez was injured on a collision, doubled off Kahnle's 98 mph fastball to tie it. Two intentional walks later, Eibner ended it with a shot past first baseman Jose Abreu into right field. Game. Set. Overmatched. Kahnle left without talking, while Robertson stood at his locker and accepted the blame. "Everyone did their job except me," he said. "It's a tough one to take. I blew the game today." Ventura said "everything that's painful has to go away at some point when you're playing," though he couldn't predict when. Frazier promised the sun would come up Sunday, though he offered no proof. At this point, Sox fans will believe it when they see it. Not much to say after White Sox blow game in ninth By Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune May 2th, 2016

8 Asked if he spoke to his team after Saturday's wrenching 8-7 loss to the Royals, White Sox manager Robin Ventura replied, "There's stuff to talk about tomorrow." There also was plenty of stuff to talk about Saturday, like the sight of Tommy Kahnle throwing a wild pitch on an intentional walk during the ninth-inning meltdown and a couple of other pitches on another intentional walk that catcher Alex Avila had to reach for to prevent them from going wild. Nerves? "I don't know," Ventura said. "You'd have to ask him." What did Ventura see? "I wasn't as worried about his intentional walks as much as I was worried, or concerned, about him pitching to the next guy," he said. "And he seemed to throw strikes." Kahnle did not speak to the media afterward. Avila said he had "no idea" if Kahnle was just nervous, admitting you "don't see" wild pitches on intentional walks often. "Sometimes guys are just not used to throwing it like that," Avila said. "You alter something to make that throw, and it kind of sails. I had to be on my toes." David Robertson on the White Sox's collapse Pitcher David Robertson talks about the White Sox's ninth-inning collapse against the Royals. Fork in the road: Avila said the Sox understand some fans will jump off the bandwagon after the stunning defeat, coupled with a prolonged slump that includes six straight series losses. "It's an extremely tough loss, for sure," he said. "That's a game we should've won. Because of the way we've been playing, a lot of people doubt. But if guys in here have any shred of doubt in their mind as far as what they can do, even though right now we're struggling, then don't even come. No one is going to feel sorry for you in this game." Was Ventura angry or frustrated with the loss? "Well, you don't like it when you feel like you gave one away," he replied. Shields rumor: The San Diego Union-Tribune reported the Padres were in discussions with the White Sox about starter James Shields, who is owed about $55 million through That would be a significant investment for the Sox and a signal they're serious about winning in Crazy seventh inning backfires on White sox By Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune May 27th, 2016 White Sox manager Robin Ventura used four relievers in the fateful seventh inning of Friday s 7-5 loss to the Royals, mixing and matching as he s done all season long. But the end result was another loss, wasting a fine performance by Miguel Gonzalez. You end up getting kind of the matchups you want, but tonight it didn t work out, Ventura said. A tough one. You can t hold onto that. I think Gonzo got us in a great spot, and you let that one slip away. It wasn t as though the bullpen gave up rockets during the seventh. The Royals did just enough to get the job done, as the Royals often do.

9 With runners on first and second and one out, Matt Albers broke the bat of Alcides Escobar and induced a soft grounder to short. But Jimmy Rollins couldn t make a play at second on speedy Jarrod Dyson, and didn t bother to throw to first to try and get Escobar. That was a little unfortunate, obviously, Albers said. If that ball is hit harder or right at him, it s a double play and we get out of it. Unfortunately it didn t. Just frustrating. A little bit of luck on that side, or we win that game. Ventura said Rollins had no chance at first and had to eat the ball. By the time he got to it, Dyson had a good lead and was probably going to beat it out if he went to second, Ventura said. Once he double-clutches, he didn t have a shot at it at first. With a 5-4 lead and two outs, Ventura brought in Zach Duke against Eric Hosmer with the go-ahead and tying runs on second and third. Hosmer reached out and dumped a two-run single to left to give the Royals the lead for good. Unfortunate stuff right there that happens, Dukie with Hosmer, Ventura said. He got the bat on it and it ended up in the right spot. It seemed like anything we tried to do, it didn t work. Ventura said he considered walking Hosmer and bringing in Nate Jones to pitch to Salvador Perez with the bases loaded, but felt if you load it up, you don t give Jonesy much to work with there. Dukie has some good numbers against Hosmer. The Royals have been doing the same thing for the last few years, making contact and rarely striking out. Even with Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon out, their replacements have the same basic approach. When you put the ball in play, you ve got good opportunities, Todd Frazier said. Things happen. That s the type of team they are. They find a way to put the ball in play and find some holes. You see the new guys come in and they do the same thing. They figured they were still in the game down four runs. Tough loss. Saturday s recap: Royals 8, White Sox 7 By Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune May 28th, 2016 The Royals staged an incredible ninth inning comeback on Saturday, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the ninth for an 8-7 win over the White Sox. Brett Eibner's bases-loaded, two-out single past Jose Abreu won it. At the plate The Nos. 8 and 9 hitters, Tyler Saladino and Avisail Garcia, both homered. Austin Jackson has three hits. On the mound Closer David Robertson had a meltdown in the ninth, allowing six runs in 2/3 of an inning before being replaced by Tommy Kahnle, who retired no one and got the loss. Carlos Rodon was in and out of trouble but escaped several jams, allowing one run on six hits and two walks over five innings. Zach Putnam threw 2 1/3 hitless innings. The quote "It doesn't matter what the score is. I've still got to get three outs. I pitched really poor. I let the whole team down, and I can't do that. That's not what I'm here to do."-- Robertson Key number

10 6 The last time the Sox blew a six-run lead in the ninth and lost was Sept. 21, 2013 at Detroit, when they fell 7-6 in 12 innings. Next up At Royals, 1:15 p.m. Sunday. LH Chris Sale vs. RH Edinson Volquez. Epic fall: Royals score seven in ninth to stun White Sox By Daryl Van Schouwen / Chicago Sun-Times May 28th, 2016 KANSAS CITY, Mo. It was epic, it was stunning and it came of course against the hard-charging Kansas City Royals. The question now, as the Sox sort through the rubble of the biggest Royals comeback ever is, how much recovery power will they have after watching the a rally against, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle who tried but failed to rescue the $46 million closer for seven runs in the ninth inning of an 8-7 debacle? It came the day after the bullpen blew a three-run lead to start a nine-game road trip. It was the Sox fifth loss in a row and 13th in their last 17 games and it left more than a couple players sitting at their lockers in stunned silence, a scene more common in late August or September than late May. When they won, I was like, This is true? I can t believe it, Sox left fielder and former Royal Melky Cabrera said. I just can t believe it. Nor could a Sox fan base that saw its team storm to a start and six-game lead in the American League Central. As the Cleveland Indians, who took three of four from the Sox at U.S. Cellular Field to start the week, won in Baltimore to knock the Sox out of first for the first time since April 22, fire Robin Ventura petitions were circulating on the Internet. You get to that ninth, and the way games have been going, you go to the guy to close it out, because we haven t been able to get to him, said Ventura, noting Robertson s light workload of four appearances in the last 18 days and his first in five days. There s no time clock. If you can t close it out, that s what happens. And today we couldn t close it out. With Nate Jones having warmed up in the seventh, Ventura was reluctant to get him back up again to bail out Robertson. In excruciating real time, the Royals pecked away after Robertson retired the first batter and put together a stunning rally capped by Brett Eisner s smash past first baseman Jose Abreu against Kahnle with the bases loaded. Kahnle s pitch, his 10th in the at-bat to Eisner, was a 98-mile per hour low fastball on the outside corner. The inning also included a double to the right field wall by Eibner that right fielder Adam Eaton lost in the sun, a bases loaded walk to Alcides Escobar by Robertson after being in a 1-2 count, a single by White Merrifield off Robertson s glove that deflected into right field (likely negating what would have been a double play ball to second baseman Brett Lawrie) and RBI double by Eric Hosmer that made it a one-run game. Kahnle relieved Robertson and catcher Drew Butera who had replaced an injured Salvador Perez doubled in the tying run. After a couple of intentional walks and a wild pitch, Eibner delivered the gamewinner. They put good at-bats together and I couldn t find the strike zone for a second and one thing leads to another and you end up giving up six earned runs and blowing a chance for us to get a win, Robertson said. Robertson is always hard on himself after a blown save, but he seethed after this one, which wasn t even a save opportunity.

11 It doesn t matter what the score is, he said. Everyone did their job except me. It s a tough one to take. I blew the game. And the defending world champion Royals (25-22), injury depleted or not, got the recharge they needed after a lackluster start. They have mojo over there right now, Sox catcher Alex Avila said. They just keep coming at you and taking advantage of the fact that we re scuffling a little bit right now. There are losses, there are tough ones and there are historic ones. This one will be tough to recover from, although having Chris Sale pitching Sunday can t hurt. It might have a lasting effect, third baseman Todd Frazier said. There are going to be some guys who are in here who tonight aren t going to be real happy. White Sox discussing trade for Padres James Shields By Daryl Van Schouwen / Chicago Sun-Times May 28th, 2016 KANSAS CITY The White Sox and San Diego Padres have discussed a potential trade that would bring veteran right-hander James Shields to the South Side. The Padres are looking to shed salary and the Sox are looking to bolster their pitching, and Shields, signed to a four-year, $75 million deal as a free agent before the 2015 season, is the type of starter the Sox need to not only contend for the American League Central but to provide a legitimate No. 3 type starter in a potential playoff series behind ace Chris Sale and No. 2 Jose Quintana. Shields, 34, has pitched to a 3.06 ERA in 10 starts for the Padres. He is owed $21 million in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and his deal allows him to opt out after this season. A major league source said the Padres have asked about shortstop Tim Anderson, the Sox top prospect, which for the Sox would be a steep price to pay. It would be going for it now, the source said. Shields is in his mid 30s so it s a significant risk. Unless of course the Padres eat money in order to get a better return of players. The talks seem to be very specific at this point. The Padres are willing to absorb some of Shields contract in a trade, the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Sox saved $13 million in payroll when Adam LaRoche retired during spring training. Shields is with a 3.72 ERA over 11 seasons with Tampa Bay, Kansas City and San Diego. General manager Rick Hahn has made it clear he s looking to deal as soon as possible. Assistant general manager Buddy Bell said Friday that the Sox, despite having needs in their everyday lineup, are prioritizing pitching as they look to bolster their roster. To beat better pitching you have to have better pitchers, Bell said. You have to be better yourself. That s how I look at it. Overall we still like our team. There is no reason not to. But you can always add pitching. You can always look to get better there. The problem is every one is looking for that. We re going to contend all year so it s sort of a no brainer for us. Rick and Kenny [Williams] are going to add whenever they can. Pitching is always the first priority. It always will be that way in our organization.

12 White Sox start to fade, Cubs are rolling again By Rick Telander / Chicago Sun-Times May 28th, 2016 The White Sox and Cubs started off red-hot. For those few of us who are entertained by and even easy now like both teams, seeing the Sox start to fade away is painful and dispiriting. But stuff happens. If the Sox end up behind the Indians, Royals and Tigers by September instead of in first place in the American League Central well, isn t that where a lot of experts had them before the season started? Not so your Cubs. People thought they were good in spring training, and they re even better now. If there s a more talented, better-functioning team in baseball, tell me who it is. Yes, the Giants are on a roll. The Red Sox have a very nice team, and the Mets are excellent. The Nationals and Mariners are cruising, and, hey, keep an eye on those Pirates. But there s nobody like the Cubs. They hit a stretch in the last couple of weeks where they showed they weren t a fantasy team straight out of Field of Dreams Jake Arrieta giving up four earned runs in five innings to the Cardinals the other day was shocking enough but they haven t faded to the middle. They have the best record in the majors and could lose 17 consecutive games and still be over.500. And for stat-heads, there s something as basic as the amount of runs you have scored more than your opponents. The Mets are plus-32, the Red Sox plus-70, the Mariners plus-54 and the Giants plus-14. The Cubs? (Please turn away, Sox fans.) They re plus-123. That s ridiculous. It means many of their 32 victories have been slaughters, and their losses have been narrow ones. It means Cubs pitchers are not giving up a lot of runs and Cubs hitters are spanking the ball. We re nearly a third of the way into the season, and there has been time for every team to have its slump. All teams slump, going 3-7 or 2-8 during a 10-game span, and other teams get hot and gain ground on them. If that didn t happen during a 162-game season, players wouldn t be human, arms and legs would never break down and there wouldn t be such a thing as bad luck. We can only hope the Sox are having bad luck right now, that Chris Sale s stunning loss last week I m sorry, but I thought he was going to go 31-0! is just a sustained hiccup that can be cleared with a team Heimlich maneuver and maybe a big, new left-handed bat. But if these are the real Sox, farewell, friends. The Cubs went 4-8 during a 12-game stretch from May 11 to May 23. Then they won three in a row. If that s as bad as it s going to get, where is the Cubs weakness? Maybe it will be injuries that haven t happened yet. Losing Kyle Schwarber for the season with a knee injury hasn t derailed the Cubs, but you can t help wondering if his big lefty bat will be missed.

13 Outfielder Jason Heyward crashed into the wall making a catch last week, and he came ever so close to really hurting himself. Typical of the Cubs, even when Heyward was out briefly, fill-in Matt Szczur played well. Free agent Ben Zobrist was a brilliant addition to the Cubs infield, making Starlin Castro s offseason departure to the Yankees easy to take. Kris Bryant is slugging like he did last year and probably always will, and getting Dexter Fowler back in center field was a coup of major proportions. Can any team have enough starting pitchers and relievers? No. But the Cubs starting group of Arrieta, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Jason Hammel and Kyle Hendricks is top-of-the-line, and the relief corps of Justin Grimm, Trevor Cahill, Adam Warren, Pedro Strop and closer Hector Rondon is doing fine. Rondon has an ERA of 1.10, for you stat-heads. So this is a team built to go all the way. It s odd even to say that, knowing the Cubs history of futility that goes back four or five generations. Which brings us to manager Joe Maddon, a man of many tastes and curiosities who will be called upon to keep the Cubs going straight when some crazy, unfortunate thing happens this season that might throw them off the plank. Said Maddon after the Cubs 6-2 victory Friday over the Phillies, All these guys are going to keep getting better. Wouldn t that be something. White Sox looking to cash in with three Top 50 draft picks By Scot Gregor / Daily Herald May 28th, 2016 On the Chicago White Sox's last homestand, Nick Hostetler checked in at U.S. Cellular Field looking very much like his business card's title -- director of amateur scouting. In his first year in the key position after taking over for Doug Laumann, Hostetler has been evaluating amateur talent almost nonstop since being promoted last August. Hanging over a railing in the Sox's dugout, Hostetler's face was deeply tanned by all of the sun he absorbed at all the collegiate, high school and showcase games he's attended. He laughed at all of the ribbing he took for the untouched portion protected by his sunglasses, but Hostetler understands that "Raccoon Eyes" comes with the territory. Hostetler also realizes how important the June 9 draft is, considering the White Sox have the Nos. 10, 26 and 49 overall picks. The Nos. 10 and 49 picks are courtesy of last year's record, the Sox's third straight losing season. The No. 26 pick comes from the San Francisco Giants as compensation for signing free-agent starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija. According to Hostetler, this year's draft doesn't feature any bona fide superstars, but there is quality depth. Considering they likely wouldn't get a can't-miss pick at No. 10 overall, a deep draft could turn out to be a productive draft for the White Sox. Kenny Williams has been out scouting for the draft as well, and the Sox's vice president also raved about the depth.

14 "Evey game I see, it seems like there's another player we want," Williams said. We're not going to do an NFL-style mock here, because the MLB draft is just too difficult to project, especially at Nos. 26 and 49. But we can mention five players who are very likely on the Sox's radar: Zack Collins, Miami: If he is around at No. 10, the White Sox should pounce on Collins, a junior All-American catcher for the Hurricanes. The Sox have been looking for a reliable catcher since A.J. Pierzynski exited as a free agent after the 2012 season, and Collins fits the bill. While his defense has shown steady improvement, Collins is a big (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) left-handed hitter with a potent bat. Current White Sox catchers Dioner Navarro and Alex Avila are aging veterans and free agents at the end of the season. If the Sox can land Collins, he should be ready to go on Opening Day, Corey Ray, Louisville: Collins is expected to be available when the Sox's turn comes at No. 10. Ray is not. Baseball America has the Louisville outfielder pegged at No. 3 overall (Atlanta), but if he slips down seven spots, the White Sox would likely pounce on the South Side product. Before achieving great collegiate success with the Cardinals, Ray played in the Chicago White Sox Amateur City Elite program. An athletic center field with standout speed, Ray has gradually added power to his game and should be in the majors next year. Blake Rutherford, Chamindae Prep H.S.: The Sox strongly prefer taking college players with their high picks, just because they're easier to project and closer to being major-league ready. They might make an exception with Rutherford, who resides in Canoga Park, Calif. Rutherford already has a picturesque left-handed swing and should add power as he matures. Dakota Hudson, Mississippi State: The White Sox always crave pitching, and quality college arms like Chris Sale, Carlos Rodon and Carson Fullmer are typically their top priority. It wouldn't be shocking if the Sox follow that trend at No. 10 overall with Hudson, who didn't do much for the Bulldogs as a freshman or sophomore. Hudson broke out in the Cape Cod League last summer and has carried the success over into his junior season with Mississippi State. With a big fastball and major-league slider, Hudson is an obvious target for the Sox.

15 Ian Anderson, Shenendehowa H.S.: A high school pitcher, Anderson was initially linked with the White Sox when the first mock drafts started coming out during spring training. The Sox are aware of Anderson, but they do not seem to be enamored with the tall, lanky right-hander from Clifton Park. N.Y. If he is still there at No. 26, which is highly doubtful, the Sox would likely move on Anderson. At No. 10? That would be a shock. Ostrowski: What happened to the White Sox? By Joe Ostrowski / Daily Herald May 28th, 2016 It takes about 50 to 60 games before you know what kind of team you have. One-third of the season is a fair sample size. Baseball analysts and general managers say it all the time. We're there and you aren't a bad White Sox fan if you aren't sure what this team is yet. We might look back on April and May and point out that the Sox were at their best and worst in the first two months of the season. After May 9th, the Sox had a six-game lead in the AL Central with a record. What happened next was the worst possible scenario outside of a Chris Sale injury. The Sox lost their next six series, including a 3-7 homestand. The last time that happened was nearly a decade ago in 2007 when they lost eight consecutive series. A lineup that included Tadahito Iguchi, Jerry Owens, and Rob Mackowiak. So what happened? The needs are pretty much the same as the start of the year. Back of the rotation and left handed bat to start. Add shortstop and catcher if you're looking to build a team without many holes. In recent weeks, the basics have given Sox fans flashbacks to the night sweats they dealt with a year ago. The defense and base running hasn't looked as sharp as it did in the first five weeks. That's when many were in shock of how they were back to being a professional baseball team. Chris Sale and Jose Quintana have shown they are in fact, human. Their 2.22 and 2.26 ERAs are good for 2nd and 3rd best in the American League. Sale gave up 6 earned runs in 3.1 innings to Cleveland. It took seven previous starts and over 54 innings for Sale to allow 6 earned runs prior to that outing. The Sox have lost Jose Quintana's last 3 starts. None of the three were really Quintana's fault, since two of the performances were quality starts. The offense scoring just one run in two of those three games was the issue. In the bullpen, Matt Albers shined before things took a bad turn. Through May 9th, Albers had a 0.57 ERA and.189 BAA in 15 appearances. In the reliever's last 7 trips to the mound, 4.2 IP, ERA,.435 BAA, and a whopping OPS. Many have pointed to the Sox offense. When they were 23-10, they averaged 4.2 runs per game. In their next 16 games, their scoring only dipped to 3.9 runs per game. Their runs allowed went from 3.1 to 4.8.

16 Most of the lineup's offensive numbers are right in line with what they were when the Sox were winning consistently. The production that dropped off was in the bottom of the order with Brett Lawrie and Avisail Garcia. The timely hitting late in games has also been missing. Scot Gregor suggested that it might be time to call up shortstop Tim Anderson. After struggling with a.170 average in his first 12 games, the prospect has bounced back with a.381 avg and.415 OBP in his last 30 games. June won't get any easier with a schedule packed with first place teams and division opponents. We might be back on Robin watch. Royals score 7 in 9 th to beat White Sox 8-7 Associated Press May 28th, 2016 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Brett Eibner wondered whether anything could surpass the Kansas City Royals' rally Friday night, when they overcome a four-run deficit to beat the Chicago White Sox in his major league debut. He did not have to wait long to find out. Eibner singled to cap the biggest ninth-inning comeback in Royals history, a seven-run rally off David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle that lifted the World Series champions over the Chicago White Sox 8-7 Saturday. "I didn't think I could beat yesterday and, sure enough, we come around and do this," said Eibner, who also doubled to helped spark the inning. "It's super fun. There's nothing like it. I don't think I've ever experienced that." Kansas City's Salvador Perez was injured in the ninth when third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert slid with a forearm and elbow into the left thigh of the All-Star catcher, who called off Chien-Ming Wang (3-0), settled under Adam Eaton's foul popup about 30 feet from the plate near the third-base line and snagged the ball just before he was hit. Perez was taken for a MRI after the game and the extent of his injury was not announced. The preliminary diagnosis was a bruised left thigh. "Now it's a waiting game," Eric Hosmer said. "We won the game today, but that will be the more important win if we find out nothing serious with him happened. Salvy is our guy. He's the leader of this team. He's an All-Star. He's everything. When you see a guy like that goes down, it fires you up. You want to pick up the pace cause you've got to pick him up." Perez immediately raised his right arm, signaling for assistance. Two minutes later, Perez hobbled off the field with his arms draped over the shoulders of manager Ned Yost and head athletic trainer Nick Kenney. "The good thing about it, at least as far as we could tell, there was no structural damage to his knee," Yost said. "So, that was what I was worried about. He sustained a pretty good quad contusion Cheslor suffered a mild quad contusion, when they hit." Held to six hits through eight innings, the Royals doubled their total in the 32-minute bottom of the ninth and overcame a six-run deficit for the first time since beating San Francisco on June 22, The inning included four walks, two of them intentional, and four runs scored with two outs. "There's no shot clock, there's no time clock," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said after Chicago lost for the 13th time in 17 games. "If you can't close it out, that's what happens. Today we couldn't close it out."

17 Eibner had the second and third hits of his big league career. The designated hitter drove in the gameending run with a full-count single on the 10th pitch of his at-bat against Kahnle (0-1). Eibner grounded a 98 mph fastball on the low, outside corner to the right of a diving Jose Abreu at first, and Drew Butera, who had replaced Perez, raised an arm in triumph as he crossed the plate. Robertson relieved with a 7-1 lead in a non-save situation and threw a called third strike past Paulo Orlando before Cuthbert singled and Eibner doubled on a fly that dropped behind right fielder Adam Eaton, who lost the ball in the sun. A walk to Omar Infante loaded the bases, and Robertson forced in a run when he walked Alcides Escobar after getting ahead 1-2 in the count. Whit Merrifield, who made his big league debut May 18, hit a hard grounder up the middle that deflected off Robertson's glove and into right field for a single as two runs scored, cutting the deficit to 7-4. Lorenzo Cain hit into a run-scoring forceout to shortstop, easily beating second baseman Brett Lawrie's relay to first to avoid what would have been a game-ending double play. Eric Hosmer followed with an RBI double to deep right-center, pulling Royals within a run. Kahnle relieved Robertson, who threw 29 pitches, and Butera doubled on his third offering, driving the ball on one hop to the left-field wall. Butera advanced on a wild pitch. Orlando was intentionally walked and took second on defensive indifference, and an intentional walk to pinch-hitter Jarrod Dyson loaded the bases for Eibner, who fouled off three 2-2 pitches, took a ball and fouled off another before the winning hit. Tyler Saladino and Avisail Garcia each homered and drove in three runs as Chicago built its lead. The bottom four White Sox hitters - Brett Lawrie, Alex Avila, Garcia and Saladino - went a combined 8 for 16 with six runs. "I wouldn't say I'm shocked or surprised we didn't win that game," Avila said. "I've seen comebacks like that. There's not a whole lot that surprises me. You have to make sure you're prepared for things like that. But, at the same time, I'm absolutely upset that we didn't win." Chicago starter Carlos Rodon gave up one run and six hits in five innings in a no-decision. Royals starter Yordano Ventura allowed seven runs, six earned, and nine hits in seven innings. Ventura is 2-4 with a 7.16 ERA in his past six starts. TRAINER'S ROOM Royals: RHP Chris Young (right forearm strain) was reinstated from the disabled list and put in the bullpen. LHP Brian Flynn was optioned to Triple-A Omaha, where the Royals want him to transition back to being a starter.... DH Kendrys Morales, who has not played since Tuesday because of swelling on his right middle knuckle, probably will return Monday against Tampa Bay. UP NEXT White Sox: LHP Chris Sale (9-1), who leads the AL in wins, complete games (three) and opponents' batting average (.179), is to start Sunday's series finale. Royals: RHP Edinson Volquez (5-4) has a 2.06 ERA at home this season and a 6.55 ERA on the road.