White Sox need 12 innings to win sixth in row

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Rookie Conor Gillaspie hit the game-winning homer, Addison Reed picked up another save, and Jake Petricka collected a victory in his major league debut.

It all added up to the Chicago White Sox's sixth consecutive win.

Gillaspie led off the 12th inning with a home run, and the White Sox rallied to beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 Thursday night.

"Hochevar's got good stuff," Gillaspie said, "but I got a good piece of one tonight. He's not an easy guy to face. I wasn't sure it was over, but as soon as I rounded second I saw Joe (McEwing, the third base coach,) kept waving me."

Gillaspie drove an 0-1 pitch from Luke Hochevar (3-2) just over the glove of right fielder Justin Maxwell for his 11th home run.

"I was close," Maxwell said.

Reed, who has converted saves in six consecutive games, a White Sox record, walked Billy Butler to start the bottom of the 12th. Jarrod Dyson ran for Butler and stole second on the first pitch to pitch hitter David Lough.

Reed struck out Lough, retired Chris Getz on a line drive to shortstop and got Emilio Bonifacio on a fly ball to center to end the game to log his 34th save.

"I felt like I had enough to get through another night," said Reed, who got a bit of a break when the White Sox were idle Monday. "If I'm in, it's a good thing."

But a bad thing for the Royals.

The Royals squandered an opportunity in the 11th. David Purcey, the fifth White Sox pitcher, walked Jamey Carroll and hit Alex Gordon with a pitch to open the inning. After Purcey retired Eric Hosmer on a fly ball, Petricka took over on the mound.

Petricka got Salvador Perez to ground into an inning-ending double play. Thanks to Gillaspie's homer, Petricka is now 1-0 as a major-leaguer.

"You don't have time to think when you've got the game-winning run at second," Petricka said.

The White Sox's winning streak, all on the road, is the team's longest of the season. Chicago swept a three-game series in Kansas City for the first time since 2005.

The Royals have dropped six straight and eight of 10.

With the losses mounting, Royals manager Ned Yost was short and but anything sweet in his postgame media conference.

"This one is really frustrating," Yost said. "They're grown men. They've got to pull themselves out of it. We've got to find a way to get out of this and get out of this real quick."

Asked if he considered having Hosmer bunt in the 11th with two runners on and nobody out, Yost succinctly replied, "no."

The White Sox trailed 3-0 after five innings before they rallied.

Chicago grouped four hits in the sixth for two runs. Jordan Danks, who doubled, scored on an Alexei Ramirez single. Dayan Viciedo singled home Gordon Beckham to slice the Royals' lead to 3-2.

The White Sox tied it in the seventh. Gillaspie led off with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Josh Phegley, who had only one extra-base hit in his previous 23 games, doubled home Gillaspie.

White Sox starter Jose Quintana picked up his major-league-leading 15th no-decision, exiting after seven innings with the score tied at 3. Quintana permitted three runs on four hits while striking out seven and walking one.

Royals starter James Shields, 4-2 since the All-Star break, also got a no-decision. Shields failed to hold a 3-0 lead, giving up three runs on nine hits in seven innings. He struck out eight and didn't issue a walk.

"I didn't do my job," Shields said. "It's frustrating. We've just got to come up with some wins soon. You never want to get swept. We don't have any quit in us. We've just got to keep grinding it out."

Shields made his American League-leading 21st quality start. He threw 110 pitches, moving his pitch count for the season to 2,922. Only Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander has thrown more pitches this season.

The Royals, who had averaged two runs a game in losing seven of their previous nine, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fifth.

Butler began the inning with a walk, and then Maxwell and Mike Moustakas singled to load the bases. Bonifacio's single to center brought home Butler.

Alcides Escobar and Carroll drove in the other two runs with sacrifice flies.

NOTES: 1B Paul Konerko was a late scratch from the Chicago lineup after feeling lightheaded following batting practice. Adam Dunn, who was the designated hitter in the original lineup, replaced Konerko at first, while Viciedo was switched from left to DH and moved from the eighth slot to fifth in the batting order. ... Yost shook up the Royals' lineup, shifting Gordon back to the leadoff slot after he hit cleanup for 17 games. The Royals are 47-37 when Gordon hits first. Perez hit third, while Butler dropped from third to fourth. "Just trying to get the offense going," Yost said. ... The White Sox promoted INF Leury Garcia from Triple-A Charlotte. ... Carroll, who was acquired in an Aug. 11 trade with the Twins, made his first start at second base for the Royals. He became the fifth Kansas City player to start at second this season.