27-74. The number continues to grow in the loss column as the Kansas City Royals have swept the Chicago White Sox, picking up a 4-1 win. Not only did KC get the sweep, but they also got a complete game from Seth Lugo, which was the first of his career.

There weren’t many positives in this one, but Drew Thorpe shined on the mound today as his teammates let him down offensively. Three games in a row with just one run isn’t going to really win you any games. It was a pitchers’ duel, with the game’s first run coming in the top of the sixth inning by the South Siders. Nicky Lopez started off the inning with a hit-by-pitch and moved to second on a ground out. With two outs, Tommy Pham drove in their lone run on a single to center field.

Well, the lead didn’t last long. Actually, it did last an inning, so I’ll give them that, but as soon as Thorpe got pulled, the bullpen gave up the lead. Thorpe actually had an outstanding day on the mound, tossing six innings with three hits, no runs, two walks, and five strikeouts. His ERA now sits at 3.03 as he continues an impressive rookie debut.

Justin Anderson started the bottom of the seventh, where the unraveling began. With one out, Maikel Garcia and Dairon Blanco had back-to-back singles, and of course, the squeeze play was deemed successful as Kyle Isbel laid down a bunt and scored a runner from third.

In a 1-1 game in the bottom of the eighth inning, John Brebbia took over and allowed back-to-back singles to Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino. Hunter Renfroe singled to give the Royals the 2-1 lead. With two outs, the Royals added some extra insurance, but they did not really need it. Garcia and Blanco had back-to-back RBI singles to double their run total to 4-1. From there, a comeback didn’t seem likely as the Good Guys went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth.

Lugo went the full nine innings for the Royals with a final line of nine innings, three hits, one run, and six strikeouts. He lowered his ERA to 2.38 and overall record to 12-4 as he continues to have a breakout year. These three games helped the Royals stay in that third wild card spot and are now 10 games over .500. Meanwhile, the White Sox continue to have jaw-droppingly bad statistics as they drop to 27-74 and are 1-9 over their last ten games.

We continue to witness history in the worst way, and every day, it gets harder to believe that changes aren’t being made. There are just 61 games left until this mess of a season is over. We will see if the team can get a win in Texas, as they play the defending World Series Champion Rangers, because why not, right? Erick Fedde will be on the mound amidst trade rumors, and we will see what tomorrow brings. Until then, enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and we will see you tomorrow.

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