Nori Aoki went 2-for-4 and scored the deciding run in the bottom of the eighth inning that gave the Kansas City Royals a 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Aoki also had an RBI on a third-inning single, but it was his two-strike bunt base hit to lead off the Royals' half of the eighth with the game knotted at 1-1 that turned into the game's pivotal moment.
Alcides Escobar followed with a sharp double off Chicago starter Jose Quintana for his second hit of the night, which set up Billy Butler's tie-breaking sacrifice fly that brought home Aoki without a throw.
Quintana (2-4), who entered the eighth having retired 10 straight Royals, was charged with all three runs over 7 1/3 innings in a hard-luck defeat.
Wade Davis (3-1) fanned two during a 1-2-3 top of the eighth to record the win in relief of Jeremy Guthrie, who limited the White Sox to one run and just three hits over the first seven innings.
Danny Valencia also drove in a run to help Kansas City avoid a sweep of the three-game series.
[SportsNetwork.com]
