White Sox hope Keuchel's back stiffness not a long-term problem

Dallas Keuchel was humming along Sunday in Kansas City.

The White Sox righty was hitting his spots, confusing hitters and enjoying his best start of an already impressive season.

Then it happened.

A fifth-inning ground ball came back to the mound, and Keuchel felt something grab in his lower back.

After the Sox scored in the top of the sixth to make it 2-0, Keuchel went back to the mound, threw a couple of warm-up pitches and signaled to the dugout that he was done.

The Sox went on to beat the Royals 8-2 thanks to Edwin Encarnacion's 4 RBI and the bottom three batters in the order going 6-for-13 - but all anyone was talking about afterward was Keuchel's injury.

"It grabbed and it wasn't a very comfortable feeling by any means," said Keuchel, who has been dealing with back stiffness all season. "It's disappointing just because of the pace I was at and how comfortable I had been up to that point."

Keuchel (6-2) needed just 49 pitches to get through 5 innings. He allowed 2 hits and struck out two.

"I felt like I had the chance to go 9, but my body said different," Keuchel said. "We're just gonna have to ride the wave. Hopefully tomorrow I wake up and I'll be all right."

It's a hope that all Sox fans must have.

Keuchel boasts a 2.19 ERA and is part of an intimidating starting staff that includes Lucas Giolito (4-2, 3.29) and Dylan Cease (5-2, 3.29). Losing the 32-year-old for any part of the playoffs would be a huge blow for Rick Renteria's squad.

"Any time you have a health issue that can linger, yeah it's something you are aware of," Renteria said. "I'm more of an optimist than a pessimist. I'll deal with the issues that present themselves when they present themselves.

"At this point I'm not worried about it. We're gonna continue to play and do what we do."

Keuchel wasn't thrilled about having to get on a plane to Pittsburgh - where the Sox play Tuesday and Wednesday - and said he'll probably err on the side of caution Monday. After that, they'll take it day by day and hope he can be ready to start against the Tigers on Saturday.

"I don't really like to talk about nagging injuries, just because I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me," Keuchel said. "I'm not going to make excuses or anything like that. Just talking about it in general kind of frustrates me."

The Sox led 2-0 after six innings, then blew the game open when Encarnacion blasted a 3-run homer to left in the seventh. It was his eighth of the season and it scored Yasmani Grandal (2-for-4) and Jose Abreu, who singled to extend his hitting streak to 20 games.

The Royals got 2 runs back in their half of the seventh, but the Sox scored 3 more in the eighth to put the game away.

"Right now you don't see me jumping for joy and I'm trying to contain myself that we were able to do that," Renteria said of the late-game explosion that helped him save his bullpen. "It was a big boost."

The 7-8-9 hitters - Nomar Mazara (2-for-5, RBI), Danny Mendick (2-for-5) and Yolmer Sanchez (2-for-3, 2 walks, 2 runs scored) - all played big roles in the victory.

The Sox (26-15) are 16-4 in their last 20 games and remain in first place in the AL Central, a half-game ahead of Cleveland.