White Sox defeat Kansas City Royals 7-6

Paul Konerko's two-run homer in the fifth helped the Chicago White Sox erase an early five-run deficit and defeat the Kansas City Royals, 7-6, in the opener of a three-game set.

Alexei Ramirez had a three-run homer and four RBI and Dayan Viciedo added a solo shot for Chicago, which snapped a two-game losing streak.

Zach Putnam (2-0) earned the win in relief and Jake Petricka recorded the final two outs in the ninth to nail down his first career save.

Royals starter Jason Vargas (4-2) yielded seven runs on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings in the loss.

Eric Hosmer finished with three RBI and Lorenzo Cain knocked in two runs for the Royals, who had won two straight entering the contest.

[SportsNetwork.com]