CHICAGO (Interstat) — Steven Cruz earned the win and Alex Lange recorded the save as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Chicago White Sox 5-4 on Sunday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The Royals improved to 35-50 while the White Sox dropped to 43-39 in front of 27,301 fans. The game lasted 2 hours, 52 minutes.

Kansas City jumped on White Sox starter Anthony Kay early, scoring one run in the first inning, two in the second, one in the third and one in the fourth. The Royals finished with 11 hits. The White Sox answered with two runs in the first and two in the second but were held scoreless the rest of the way, managing just seven hits.

Carter Jensen led the Royals’ offense, going 3 for 5 with two RBIs. His double in the fourth inning drove in Bobby Witt Jr. to give Kansas City its final margin. Lane Thomas, Salvador Perez and Starling Marte each had two hits for Kansas City.

Miguel Vargas had the big blow for Chicago, finishing 2 for 2 with a two-run home run in the first inning and a double in the second. Kyle Teel drove in two runs with a single in the second inning.

The game was defined by the early offensive outbursts and the subsequent shutdown relief pitching from both sides.

Kansas City struck first in the top of the first. Thomas led off with a single to center. Witt lined out sharply to center, but Thomas tagged and advanced to third. Jensen then singled to left, scoring Thomas. Marte struck out on a foul tip, but Perez singled to center, putting runners on first and second. Michael Massey lined out to first to end the inning with the Royals ahead 1-0.

The White Sox answered in the bottom of the first. Sam Antonacci walked. Vargas then crushed a 2-0 pitch to left-center for his 19th home run, scoring Antonacci and putting Chicago ahead 2-1. Kyle Teel was called out on strikes after a challenge confirmed the call. Andrew Benintendi singled to right, but Colson Montgomery struck out swinging. Chase Meidroth walked, putting runners on first and second, but Braden Montgomery lined out to right to end the inning.

Chicago added two more in the second. Tristan Peters grounded out, Jacob Gonzalez grounded out, but Antonacci reached on an infield single to right. Vargas doubled down the left-field line, sending Antonacci to third. Teel then singled to left, scoring Antonacci and Vargas to give the White Sox a 4-1 lead. Benintendi grounded out sharply to first to end the inning.

Kansas City chipped away in the second. Isaac Collins was hit by a pitch. Tyler Tolbert reached on a fielding error by shortstop Colson Montgomery, putting runners on first and second. Kameron Misner flied out to right, but Thomas singled to left, scoring Collins. Witt then hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Tolbert and cutting the deficit to 4-3. Jensen flied out to center to end the inning.

The Royals tied the game in the third. Marte singled to right and stole second base. Perez struck out swinging, and Massey grounded out to second, moving Marte to third. Collins then doubled to right, plating Marte and making the score 4-4. Tolbert lined out to right to end the inning.

Kansas City took the lead for good in the fourth. Misner grounded out, Thomas grounded out, then Witt walked. Jensen doubled to right, scoring Witt and giving the Royals a 5-4 advantage. Marte popped out to second to end the inning.

From that point, the game turned into a showcase of relief pitching. Luinder Avila started for Kansas City and worked into the fourth, but the Royals bullpen took control. Matt Strahm pitched a scoreless inning, striking out one. Beck Way allowed one hit but no runs. Lucas Erceg worked a perfect inning. Cruz entered in the seventh and retired the side in order with one strikeout. Lange closed the ninth with a perfect inning, recording his seventh save of the season.

The White Sox bullpen also held firm. Jordan Hicks pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Trevor Richards followed with 1 1/3 scoreless frames and one strikeout. Seranthony Domínguez allowed one hit in a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. Kay took the loss, allowing five runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings, falling to 6-3. Cruz improved to 2-2.

The critical sequence came in the second inning after the White Sox had taken a 4-1 lead. Kansas City answered with two runs in the top of the second, then tied the game in the third. Jensen’s go-ahead double in the fourth proved to be the decisive blow. Chicago had runners on base later in the game — Vargas walked in the seventh and Peters singled in the sixth — but each threat was snuffed out by double plays or strikeouts.

The Royals snapped a three-game losing streak with the win, having lost the first two games of this series by scores of 22-1 and 2-1. The White Sox had won four of their previous five games entering Sunday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Kansas City Royals 5, Chicago White Sox 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected the White Sox with a 53.20 percent probability to win. Chicago had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 9 went under the over/under line of 8.5.