Sept. 06--In his first major-league start in more than 16 months, White Sox right-hander Erik Johnson earned the victory as the Sox held on to beat the Royals 7-5 on Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. The Sox jumped on Royals right-hander Johnny Cueto for five runs in three innings, including run-scoring singles from Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia in the first inning.
Pivotal at-bats
Sox center fielder Adam Eaton hit his 12th homer of the year and the sixth Sox home run of the weekend in the sixth inning. He was 3-for-5 with three runs scored, including a double and run in the ninth.
On the mound
Three of the Royals' five hits off Johnson in his six innings were solo home runs. He left with a 6-3 lead, but the Sox bullpen coughed up two runs in the seventh.
A scare
Alex Gordon's broken bat sailed toward Johnson's head in the sixth inning, but Johnson blocked his head with his glove and his arm. Gordon was originally called safe, but a review ruled him out to end the inning.
Key number
2 -- Hits and strikeouts from third baseman Mike Olt in his White Sox debut.
The quote
"He's had a good year, and he's going up against a tough team. Part of coming up here is you're going to end up facing (the Royals) 18 times, and you're going to get a pretty good idea today of where he's at." -- Sox manager Robin Ventura on Johnson
Up next
Vs. Indians, 1:10 p.m. Monday, CSN.
