Vaughn's clutch home run helps White Sox snap 8-game losing streak

For the first time since April 16, music was playing in the White Sox's postgame clubhouse.

The dead silence was gone, and so was the eight-game losing streak. Even manager Tony La Russa did a little dance before meeting the media after the Sox beat the Royals 7-3 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

"It's a lot more fun winning," third baseman Jake Burger said after the White Sox avoided their first nine-game slide since June 2017. "Everybody's laughing, having a good time, music's bumping when you come back in. We want to keep it that way."

When Andrew Vaughn stepped to the plate with two runners on and two outs in the seventh inning, the Sox were in pretty sorry shape.

They had an early 3-0 lead thanks to Reese McGuire's sacrifice fly in the second inning, Vaughn's RBI double in the third and Burger's solo home run in the fourth, but Kansas City seized the momentum with 2 runs in the sixth inning and another n in the seventh to tie the game.

After Danny Mendick singled with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and went to third on Tim Anderson's single, Vaughn hit K.C. right-hander Scott Barlow's first pitch into the White Sox's bullpen beyond the left-field fence for a 3-run homer.

"This is definitely something to build off," Vaughn said. "Great at-bats, but I think we still have more in the tank."

Heavily favored to win the AL Central for the second straight year, the Sox had more than a few impatient fans ready to flush the season following the long losing streak.

"It's a game of baseball, a game of failure, it's going to happen a lot," Vaughn said. "We just kept grinding, going out there every single day and doing our best. We have 140 more (games) to go, at least, so just keep going and keep playing."

Dylan Cease started for the Sox and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks to go with 9 strikeouts in 6 innings.

"Obviously, that streak was not ideal and not enjoyable but we've got a lot of guys that have 10-plus years here and they've kind of gone through it all," Cease said. "I think they did a good job of keeping us on track and I think everyone just kept showing up and continued to follow their process, too."

Now, the White Sox have to keep that going.

"It wasn't that the guys weren't trying," La Russa said. "If it was all about trying, then I would have been a star. I tried and I was terrible. In this game, you have to try and then you have to execute. We've had periods, we had at least three heartbreaking losses there. But we are capable of better if we just keep pushing."