Grandal's walk-off blast ties Sox for 1st place

CHICAGO -- The White Sox are a first-place team.

They are actually in a three-way deadlock atop the American League Central with the Indians and Twins following a 6-5 victory over the Royals on Friday night, courtesy of Yasmani Grandal’s walk-off home run against Ian Kennedy. But it’s first place nonetheless, leaving the Sox at 10-1 in their last 11, with eight straight wins at home and a 9-0 ledger against left-handed starters this season.

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“It’s exciting for everybody,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “I’m sure it’s exciting for the fans in watching these guys continue to develop. We are glad we are there but there’s so much left, and we have to stay focused on playing the game.”

“We feel happy because we’ve been working the last couple of years for this,” said White Sox starting pitcher Reynaldo López, who lasted four innings and 70 pitches in his second start off the 10-day injured list. “Now that we’re here, it’s a really sweet moment for us and a reward for all the work that we’ve put in the past and that we continue to do in the present.”

Grandal needed to connect on his third career game-ending home run after a strange play in the top of the ninth allowed the Royals to tie the game against closer Alex Colomé. With one out and pinch-runner Bubba Starling on first, Maikel Franco sent Starling to third with a line drive to left-center off a cutter.

Franco strayed too far beyond first and was caught in a rundown on the throw back to the infield, but Franco beat first baseman José Abreu to second and was ruled safe. Abreu ended up on the ground when he dived to make the tag, and thinking Starling might be running, threw the ball home. But Grandal wasn’t looking, thinking the play was dead and glancing into the dugout to see if a replay challenge was needed, with the ball rolling between his legs and the tying run scoring.

“It’s something to learn from, make sure that I’m aware as to when the play is over and when the umpire is actually calling timeout,” Grandal said. “I guess if I were to change it, I would have had to throw my hands up and make sure that [home-plate umpire] Laz [Diaz] calls timeout before I turn around to the dugout and make sure of what they’re doing.”

Luis Robert and Eloy Jiménez homered off of Royals starter Danny Duffy in the victory, with Jiménez launching a 452-foot blast to center. Jiménez has recorded a hit in eight straight games and homered in four of his last seven.

All of that work set up Grandal, who blasted a 2-1 four-seamer 402 feet down the right-field line.

"I was going to take one shot. If not, I was pretty much going to battle and try to get on base so that Abreu can come up to hit,” Grandal said. “Obviously he's one of the, if not the hottest hitter in baseball right now.”

“Someone from the dugout called that homer. It was crazy,” Yoán Moncada said through interpreter Billy Russo. “The celebration, in the moment, we felt very good. It was a sensational moment for us. I don't know who exactly. I just know that somebody called that Yasmani would hit a homer, and he did it.”

There was pregame talk among the White Sox about whether to play amid protests around professional sports following the shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha, Wis. Renteria talked with shortstop Tim Anderson, one of two African American players on the team, during batting practice around the batting cage, and Anderson told him the team was ready to play.

Jackie Robinson Day was celebrated Friday around baseball. Grandal said the White Sox might have gone a different route if not for this special recognition.

“If there’s one day you want to play, it’s today,” Grandal said. “If you don’t play today, what’s the point? We feel like today was the day to play.”

“We do have each other’s back,” Renteria said. “Whatever they would have decided to do, how they wanted to proceed, we would have followed.”