White Sox Waste Strong Start from Cannon, Fall Again to Royals in 2–1 Loss

Another day, another wasted pitching performance. The White Sox dropped their third straight on Tuesday night in a 2–1 loss to the Royals, and the series' theme remains the same: solid starting pitching, invisible offense.

Jonathan Cannon was sharp, giving the Sox six shutout innings, working around nine hits and a walk. He deserved better. But once again, the lineup couldn't cash in.

Bobby Witt Jr. belted a two-run homer in the fifth and made the kind of play that separates winners from whatever the White Sox are right now. 

The Royals have now won 14 of their last 16 and beat the Sox 10 straight times at Kauffman Stadium.

Ninth-Inning Noise, But Too Late Again

The Sox didn't score until the ninth, and it took Miguel Vargas smacking a one-out double to get anything started. Luis Robert Jr. followed with a single to bring him home, but stood and admired it in the batter's box long enough to miss a free second base.

That extra 90 feet would've helped, because Matt Thaiss kept the train moving with another single. First and second, no outs, go time… right?

Wrong. Andrew Vaughn struck out, Brooks Baldwin grounded into a fielder's choice on a slick play by Witt, and Josh Rojas went down swinging to end it. A brief flicker of offense, immediately snuffed out.

The Sox finished with just six hits and struck out 10 times. They had runners on the corners with two outs in the second inning, too, but they couldn't come through then either. 

This is the story of the season.

Roster Shuffle: Benintendi to IL, Maton Returns

The Sox placed Andrew Benintendi on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 5) with a calf strain. To fill the spot, they called up infielder Nick Maton from Charlotte.

What's On Tap Next?

Davis Martin gets the ball in Wednesday's finale. He'll try to keep the solid pitching streak alive, and maybe—just maybe—the offense will decide to show up before the ninth inning.

The Royals will send out Cole Ragans, who has been nasty all year with an ERA under 2.00. Good luck.

First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. CT on CHSN.