Keller struggles in second straight start as White Sox blank Royals 6-0
CHICAGO — Lance Lynn pitched a five-hitter for the first complete game and shutout in the major leagues this season, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 6-0 on a rainy Thursday.
Yermín Mercedes kept up his scorching start with a 485-foot homer. Yoán Moncada went deep, and the White Sox gave manager Tony La Russa the win in his first home game on the South Side in 35 years.
Lynn (1-0) struck out 11 and walked none in his second shutout in 238 career starts, his first since a five-hitter against the New York Yankees on May 27, 2014.
A 33-year-old right-hander acquired from Texas in the offseason, Lynn threw 79 of 111 pitches for strikes in his fourth career complete game.
Moncada hit a two-run homer in the first, and Mercedes followed with a long shot to left-center against Brad Keller to make it 3-0. The 28-year-old rookie went 2 for 4, giving him a major league-leading 15 hits in 27 at-bats. And the White Sox came away with an easy win in a game delayed more than two hours at the start.
La Russa had not managed a home game on the South Side since a loss to the California Angels on June 11, 1986. Chicago fired him soon after in a move chairman Jerry Reinsdorf regretted allowing, and the White Sox brought back the Hall of Famer in October to replace Rick Renteria, hoping he can push them to a championship.
Keller (0-1), coming off the shortest Opening Day start in franchise history, got tagged for four runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings after getting just four outs against Texas last week.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: GM Rick Hahn said the White Sox expect star SS Tim Anderson (strained left hamstring) to return once he’s eligible to be activated from the 10-day injured list on April 15. … The White Sox placed OF Billy Hamilton (strained left hamstring) on the 10-day injured list and selected the contract of OF Nick Williams from their training facility in Schaumburg. Hamilton was replaced in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s loss at Seattle due to tightness in his hamstring after stealing third. … The White Sox also transferred LHP Jace Fry to the 60-day injured list. He’s recovering from a microdiscectomy to repair a herniated disk.
UP NEXT
The White Sox will try to win their 18th straight game against a left-handed starter and tie a major league record set by Atlanta from 2004-05 when they meet Mike Minor (1-0, 6.00) on Saturday. Chicago’s streak dates to a loss to Detroit on Sept. 28, 2019, when lefty Tyler Alexander started for the Tigers but did not figure in the decision. RHP Dylan Cease (0-0, 5.79 ERA) pitches Saturday for Chicago.
