CHICAGO -- The White Sox trailed the Royals by six runs Sunday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field when fortunes suddenly changed, eventually leading to a 7-6 victory and a fourth win in the last five games for the White Sox (46-77).
First, the team announced Michael Kopech, the No. 2 White Sox prospect per MLB Pipeline, will join the team Tuesday and make his Major League debut against the Twins. How do you top that sort of buzz? How about a six-run fourth inning to tie the contest.
Seven straight players produced hits for the White Sox. That included a three-run home run from Avisail Garcia, who has been playing with a balky right knee, a two-run opposite-field shot from Tim Anderson and a solo blast from Omar Narvaez all off of Royals starter Heath Fillmyer.

"It was certainly a great team win for sure," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "I thought we put together some pretty good at-bats. Obviously, some guys hit the ball out of the ballpark, and the relief corps coming in doing a very nice job of containing [the Royals] the rest of the ballgame. It says a lot about them, because they're [battling]."
Narvaez singled home Garcia with what ended up as the winning run in the fifth, with Garcia hustling to beat the throw home from left fielder Jorge Bonifacio. The bullpen did the rest, with Hector Santiago, Jeanmar Gomez, Xavier Cedeno, Luis Avilan, Thyago Vieira and Jace Fry (second save) combining to throw seven scoreless innings.

Santiago (5-3) emerged with the victory and as the unsung hero in early relief of Reynaldo Lopez. The veteran threw four scoreless innings, striking out six and walking two.

"He threw the ball really well, came in and shut us down," said Royals manager Ned Yost of Santiago. "From that point, he changed speeds on us really, really well, but just pounded in, down and away. He did a nice job of doing what we couldn't do in that fourth inning, and what Lopez couldn't do in the second inning, stop the bleeding."
Lopez needed just 11 pitches to get through a hitless first, but the Royals followed up with a six-run second. Ryan O'Hearn, Whit Merrifield and Alex Gordon went deep to account for all the damage, with Merrifield and Gordon connecting with two out. Both Renteria and Lopez felt he had good stuff and fatigue was not a factor as Lopez touched 98.7 mph with his fastball, but his execution was an issue.
"I didn't do my job, and just to see the guys come back and [battle] the way that they did and win the game, it was important," said Lopez through interpreter Billy Russo. "The key is always the same: work hard, try to keep your focus the whole game. It is not something easy, but sometimes you have to grind through."
"He's not hitting the spots that he needs to and that's more just a feel," Renteria said. "His ball runs pretty well, so he's got to get a feel of his release point, things of that nature. I don't think it has anything to do with fatigue, to be honest."

MOMENT THAT MATTERED
You can put it on the board: Paul Konerko, whose retired No. 14 jersey hangs at Guaranteed Rate Field, did an exceptional job as the guest analyst with Ken 'Hawk' Harrelson as part of the celebration for Harrelson's 33rd and final season in the broadcast booth. The two had an immediate chemistry, forged during the 16 years Konerko played for the White Sox, and Konerko was well-informed as always. Harrelson introduced him as "future Hall-of-Famer," with Konerko quickly adding "don't forget scared broadcaster."
SOUND SMART
The White Sox hit back-to-back home runs for the eighth time this season. They also hit three home runs in an inning for the fourth time this season.

HE SAID IT
"That's him. He's pushing himself. He's a little sore, but he's pushing himself when he needs to and that's all I can ask of him." Renteria, on the hard-nosed Garcia, who homered, drove in three and scored the winning run

UP NEXT
Lucas Giolito (8-9, 6.15 ERA) is scheduled to make his 25th start of 2018, 13th on the road and fourth against the Minnesota Twins in a one-game makeup Monday night at Target Field, with a first pitch scheduled for 6:10 p.m. CT. Stephen Gonsalves will make his Major League debut for the Twins. Giolito is 4-2 with a 4.92 ERA over his last 10 starts.