KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. hit a two-run homer to give Michael Wacha all the support he needed as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Chicago White Sox 2-1 on Wednesday night.

It was the third straight quality start for Wacha (2-4), who allowed just three hits in seven innings, walked one and struck out five.

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The Royals, who won for the 14th time in their last 16 games, lead the majors with 18 quality starts.

The White Sox got a run in the ninth off Carlos Estévez on a single by Luis Robert, but left the tying run stranded at third. Estévez allowed one run and three hits, but struck out two, including Josh Rojas for the final out to earn his 11th save.

Jonathan Cannon (2-4) took the loss, allowing two runs and nine hits in six innings.

The White Sox have lost nine straight against Kansas City and 10 in a row at Kauffman Stadium. Both are franchise records against the Royals and in Kansas City.

Both starting pitchers were effective early on a damp, cool night. With a mist falling and game-time temperatures in the low 60s, Wacha and Cannon each threw four scoreless innings.

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But while Wacha threw up another zero in the top of the fifth, Cannon ran into trouble in the bottom of the inning. Luke Maile led off with a single and, with two outs, Witt hit his fifth homer of the season to left field.

Key moment

The White Sox had runners on first and second with two outs in the second inning, but Wacha got Lenyn Sosa to line out to right. That was Chicago’s only inning with two runners on base against Wacha.

Key stat

The Royals have scored four runs or fewer in 32 of 38 games this season. They’re 16-16 in those games.

Up next

The White Sox and Royals will conclude their four-game series with an afternoon game Thursday. RHP Davis Martin (1-3, 3.52 ERA) will start for Chicago, while Kansas City will counter with LHP Kris Bubic (3-2, 1.98).

— AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB