KANSAS CITY (Interstat) — Maikel Garcia hit a two-out double in the seventh inning that scored Bobby Witt Jr. with the go-ahead run, and the Kansas City Royals held on for a 5-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium. The loss prevented Chicago from moving into a tie atop the American League Central after Cleveland dropped a 1-0 decision to Boston at Fenway Park. The White Sox remain in possession of the third and final AL wild-card spot, with Texas trailing by three games, but they sit one game back in the division with four games to play.

The Royals opened the scoring in the first. Carter Jensen singled to right, and Bobby Witt Jr. singled to center to put runners at the corners. Jac Caglianone grounded out to first, moving Witt to second. Garcia then singled to right to score Jensen and Witt. Vinnie Pasquantino lined a double to left to score Garcia. Michael Massey followed with a single to shortstop, and a throwing error by Colson Montgomery allowed Pasquantino to score. John Rave flew out sharply to right to end the inning with Kansas City ahead 4-0.

Chicago had no answer in the second. Munetaka Murakami flew out sharply to right, Andrew Benintendi flew out to center, and Tristan Peters grounded out. The White Sox then broke through in the third. Chase Meidroth bunted for a single, and Colson Montgomery struck out. Braden Montgomery singled to right to move Meidroth to third. Sam Antonacci was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Kyle Teel lined a two-run single to left. Miguel Vargas singled to center to score Antonacci. Murakami doubled to right to score Teel and tie the game 4-4. Benintendi then reached on a fielder’s choice; Vargas was thrown out at home, and Murakami moved to third. Peters was hit by a pitch, but Meidroth popped out to the catcher to end the threat.

Kansas City put a runner on in the third when Salvador Perez singled, but Massey lined out and Rave grounded into a double play. In the fourth, Isaac Collins walked, but Carter Jensen struck out and Witt grounded into a double play. Chicago threatened in the fourth when Braden Montgomery singled, Antonacci singled, and Teel walked, but Vargas grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Both bullpens settled in. Caglianone struck out to start the bottom of the fifth, Garcia singled, and Pasquantino grounded into a force out. Perez flew out sharply to center. In the top of the fifth, Murakami, Randal Grichuk, and Peters all flew out or lined out sharply. Meidroth singled in the top of the sixth but was thrown out at second trying to advance. Colson Montgomery and Braden Montgomery then grounded out. In the bottom half, Massey flew out, and Rave and Collins were both called out on strikes.

The decisive rally came in the seventh. Jensen singled with one out against Hagen Smith. Witt reached on a force out that retired Jensen, and Caglianone grounded out to move Witt to second. Garcia then lined a double to left to score Witt. Pasquantino flew out to center to end the inning. Garcia finished 3 for 3 with three RBIs. The Royals had 12 hits and grounded into two double plays. Chicago had nine hits.

Chicago went down in order in the eighth on a strikeout by Murakami and groundouts by Grichuk and Peters. Kansas City added a hit in the bottom half when Massey singled, but Perez grounded out and Rave popped out before Collins struck out. The White Sox tried to rally in the ninth. Meidroth struck out, and Colson Montgomery struck out on a foul tip. Braden Montgomery kept the inning alive with a two-out single to right, but Antonacci flew out to center fielder Kyle Isbel to end the game.

Kansas City’s bullpen protected the lead. Connor Thomas earned the win with two innings of relief, allowing one hit and striking out one. Steven Cruz worked a scoreless ninth for his eighth save, giving up one hit and striking out two. Anthony Gose retired all five batters he faced over 1 2/3 innings, walking one, and Lucas Erceg tossed a perfect inning with one strikeout. The Royals’ relief corps combined to shut out Chicago over the final six innings.

Chicago’s bullpen also delivered. Erick Fedde pitched 2 2/3 innings in relief, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out two. Sean Newcomb followed with two scoreless innings, yielding one hit and striking out two. Jordan Hicks added a scoreless inning with one hit and one strikeout. Hagen Smith took the loss, giving up one earned run on two hits over two innings with two strikeouts. He is now 3-3. Connor Thomas improved to 2-1.

Murakami drove in a run and finished 1 for 4 for Chicago. The contest took 2 hours, 31 minutes and drew an announced crowd of 17,114. Chicago fell to 81-77, while Kansas City improved to 68-90. The teams meet again Thursday afternoon in the series finale at Kauffman Stadium. The White Sox then return home to face Colorado, while the Royals will host Cleveland. Chicago remains in the middle of a playoff push despite the loss, while Kansas City snapped a four-game losing streak with the win. The White Sox remain ahead of Texas for the final wild-card position.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Chicago White Sox 8, Kansas City Royals 6. Interstat’s ELO system had given the White Sox a 50.3 percent probability to win. Chicago had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The combined nine runs exceeded the over/under line of 8.5.