By the time the fading of the injury-replacement starter in the sixth inning becomes a game-changing problem, several things have already gone wrong.
A punchless night for the White Sox offense in Kansas City was stretched into a pitcher’s duel for awhile behind a surprisingly game effort from Mike Pelfrey. But it wasn’t enough to save them from their second loss this week to the league-worst Royals, and they fell 6-1.
The Sox introduced themselves to Royals starter Nate Karns very rudely last week, but were more polite to him in his home park. Melky Cabrera was the only one to break ranks, collecting a two-out single in the first, and creating a small mini-rally by taking a walk with two outs in the sixth — only a rally because it was followed by Yolmer Sanchez reaching on a strikeout that bounced past Salvador Perez.