Nick Pratto’s two-homer game leads KC Royals’ offense to 9-7 win at Chicago White Sox

Kansas City Royals rookie first baseman Nick Pratto smashed 36 home runs in the minor leagues last season, and he found that highly-productive power stroke again on Tuesday night. Pratto’s first two swings each resulted in home runs off of Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito.

Pratto’s first multi-homer game in the majors came as part of a four-hit game for the left-handed hitting slugger and helped the Royals clinch the season series against the White Sox.

Pratto went 4 for 5 with two home runs, a double, three RBIs and three runs scored to help guide the Royals to a 9-7 win over the White Sox in front of an announced 17,130 in the first game of a three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.

The Royals set a new franchise record for home runs by rookie players in a season. They’ve now had 57 home runs by rookies with 32 games remaining this season.

Despite a day off on Monday, the Royals managed to carry over some of the offense from a 15-run game on Sunday.

They scored in seven consecutive innings in the opener against the White Sox, from the second inning through the eighth. It was just the second time in franchise history the Royals scored in seven straight innings. The other came Sept. 14, 1998.

Seven players recorded at least one hit, three had multi-hit games, and they smacked eight extra-base hits — including a season-high four home runs.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez went 3 for 5 with a home run and drove in three runs. Perez finished the game a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.

Michael A. Taylor went 2 for 4 with a home run, a walk, a stolen base, two runs scored and three RBIs.

That marked the back-to-back games in which both Perez and Taylor had multi-hit games that included home runs by each of them.

Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer allowed four runs — all in the fifth inning — on nine hits and one walk in 4 2/3 innings. Singer struck out four, but he couldn’t get out of the fifth inning after he threw four scoreless to start his outing.

The Royals’ took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Pratto’s fifth home run of the season.

Pratto entered the series on a three-game hitting streak, going 4 for 12 during that stretch. Pratto had three doubles, a home run and seven RBIs in that three-game span.

With Pratto’s blast, the Royals tied a franchise record for most home runs by rookies in a season. Pratto’s homer gave the Royals 56 home runs by rookies this season, matching the record set in 1969.

Pratto hit a record-breaking home run two innings later, but the next two Royals’ runs came courtesy of the long ball off the bat of a veteran.

After a leadoff walk by Taylor, Perez poked a two-run homer into the right field stands with one out in the third inning. That gave Perez 19 home runs this season and pushed him one ahead of rookie Bobby Witt Jr. for the team lead.

Pratto’s second homer of the night, a leadoff blast on the first pitch of the fourth inning, gave the Royals a 4-0 advantage.

In the fifth, Perez drove in Witt (1 for 5, double, run scored) with an RBI single to give the Royals at least one run in four of the game’s first five innings.

Singer maneuvered deftly through the first four innings, and didn’t allow a run on three hits. He stranded runners in the second, third and fourth innings.

With two outs in the fifth, Singer gave up five consecutive hits, including an RBI single by Eloy Jimenez for the White Sox’ first run of the game as well as a three-run homer by Gavin Sheets that made it a one-run game.

Singer turned the game over to the bullpen with two outs and two runners on in the fifth. Reliever Jose Cuas threw one pitch to get the final out of the inning and keep the Royals’ one-run lead intact.

Cuas pitched 1 1/3 scoreless to earn the win.

Taylor’s two-out, two-run bloop single with the bases loaded in the sixth gave the Royals bullpen a 7-4 lead with which to work.

The Royals tacked on two more runs in the final three innings.

The White Sox’ final three runs came on a Jimenez solo homer off Carlos Hernández in the seventh and Sheets’ second home run of the season off Scott Barlow in the ninth.