CHICAGO _ Yasmani Grandal led off the ninth inning with a home run Friday, giving the Chicago White Sox a 6-5 victory against the Kansas City Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Grandal hit Ian Kennedy's fourth pitch of the inning over the right-field wall, and the Sox (20-12) won for the 10th time in 11 games to move into a tie for first place in the American League Central.
Luis Robert homered in the second to give the Sox a 1-0 lead.
The Royals scored twice in the third off Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez.
The Sox rallied in the fifth. With two outs, Tim Anderson reached on an infield hit. Eloy Jimenez followed with a home run to center, his 11th of the season. Nomar Mazara drew bases-loaded walk in the sixth, stretching the lead to 4-2.
The Royals tied the game on Jorge Soler's two-run home run off Matt Foster in the seventh.
The Sox loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, and Yoan Moncada singled to right on the ninth pitch of his at-bat against Scott Barlow. Jimenez scored, putting the Sox ahead 5-4.
The Royals tied the game with a wild sequence in the ninth. Maikel Franco got a one-out hit to left-center, and Bubba Starling moved to third on the play.
Franco got caught in rundown between first and second and made it to second as Jose Abreu attempted a diving tag. Abreu fired home while Grandal's head was turned. The ball went to the backstop, and Starling scored to tie the game at 5.
Grandal ended the game with his fourth homer of the season.
