Luis Robert helped create some distance for the Chicago White Sox with a monster three-run home run to left in the seventh inning Thursday against the Kansas City Royals.
Robert's 458-foot blast capped a five-run inning for the Sox in an 11-6 victory at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
Edwin Encarnacion and Tim Anderson also homered as the Sox snapped a two-game skid.
The Sox (23-15) moved within a half-game of the idle Cleveland Indians for first place in the American League Central.
Encarnacion's solo home run to left off Danny Duffy started a five-run second. Robert scored on a bases-loaded walk to Anderson, giving the Sox a 2-1 lead. Danny Mendick scored on a wild pitch, and Jose Abreu drove in two more with a double, making it 5-1. Abreu went 2 for 5 with three RBIs, giving him 36 in 38 games.
Anderson homered to right-center in the fourth. He went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs.
Sox starter Dylan Cease (5-2) allowed three runs on four hits with one strikeout and two walks in five-plus innings. He surrendered a homer to Hunter Dozier in the first and exited after allowing back-to-back doubles to Maikel Franco and Alex Gordon to begin the sixth.
The Royals scored three runs in the sixth, cutting the Sox lead to 6-4. The Sox answered with the five in the seventh, highlighted by Robert's 11th homer of the season.
The Sox improved to 12-0 in games against left-handed starters.
