Rodon suffers first loss of season as Sox fall to Royals

Salvador Perez hit a 3-run homer for the second straight day, and the Kansas City Royals handed Carlos Rodón his first loss of the season with a 5-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday night.

Whit Merrifield had 2 hits and scored twice as the Royals got to Rodón (5-1) for 4 runs in the first three innings. The left-hander allowed 2 earned runs in 31 innings while winning his first five starts of the year, including a 3-0 victory at Kansas City in his previous start on May 7.

The big blow was Perez's ninth homer, an opposite-field drive on a 96-mph fastball up and out of the zone in the third. The veteran catcher also hit a 3-run shot during Kansas City's 6-2 victory over the Sox in the opener of Friday's doubleheader.

The AL Central-leading White Sox dropped to 22-2 since the start of last season when their opponent starts a left-handed pitcher. Their only other loss occurred on April 11 when Minor got a no-decision in Kansas City's 10-inning victory.

José Abreu accounted for the Sox's only run with his eighth homer on the ninth pitch of his at-bat in the fourth. The drive to left gave him 33 RBIs on the year and 704 for his career, snapping a tie with Magglio Ordóñez for 10th on the franchise list.

Abreu was back in the starting lineup after he got hurt in a collision with Kansas City's Hunter Dozier in Game 1 on Friday. The reigning AL MVP suffered a facial bruise and cut, along with a bruised left knee. Tests for a concussion were negative.

Manager Tony La Russa said Abreu made a "remarkable comeback." The collision "was scary," La Russa said. "Looked scary, sounded scary."

Notes:

The White Sox announced they have passed the 85% COVID-19 vaccination threshold for Tier 1 players and staff. That means some of MLB's coronavirus protocols will be relaxed for the team, including some movement restrictions on trips.