KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Things unraveled quickly for the White Sox in their 10-0 loss Thursday to the Royals, which saw infielder Jacob Amaya make his first major-league appearance as a pitcher. He pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Starter Davis Martin was hit around in his shortest start of the season, allowing four runs and seven hits in 4⅓ innings. He did well to limit the damage, despite the traffic he faced early on. In the fifth, however, he allowed a leadoff walk to Jonathan India and a single to Bobby Witt Jr. and was replaced. Mike Vasil and Jared Shuster followed, allowing six runs combined.
The Royals swept the four-game series, extending the Sox’ franchise-record losing streak at Kauffman Stadium to 11. They’re 2-14 against the American League Central this season.
‘‘Not good,’’ manager Will Venable said. ‘‘We just couldn’t get anything going offensively. Davis actually pitched OK, then in the fifth ran into some trouble trying to keep it close. At the end, [the game] got away from us.’’
The Sox were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. In the fifth, they had runners on first and third with no outs after a leadoff double by Andrew Vaughn and a single by Joshua Palacios. But Vaughn was cut down at the plate on Lenyn Sosa’s tapper, and Brooks Baldwin hit into a double play to end the inning.
‘‘In that situation, if it’s not a double-play ball, then you don’t have to go,’’ Venable said. ‘‘It’s something that we’ll talk about and walk through. It’s kind of one of those in-between plays where you know they’re back, so you think that they’re not going to come get you, but you don’t have to go. It’s not a double-play ball.’’
The Sox scored only four runs in the four games, with three coming in the 4-3 loss Tuesday that saw them cough up a 3-2 lead in the ninth.
Martin said the desire and effort are there, but the team has to execute better and not let games get away.
‘‘It’s the big leagues,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s always a point in the game where you lose it or you win it.’’
Taylor reaches 10 years of service time
Milestones offer time for reflection. Outfielder Michael A. Taylor reached 10 years of major-league service time Thursday and was greeted at his locker with balloons forming the No. 10.
‘‘It’s very special,’’ Taylor said. ‘‘Definitely grateful for an opportunity to play this game as long as I have.’’
Taylor has played 1,114 career games with five teams in his 12-year career. He hasn’t had the easiest of roads, navigating a rocky, circuitous route.
‘‘It hasn’t been smooth sailing the whole time, but I think that’s what makes it special,’’ Taylor said.
Injury report
Catcher Korey Lee (sprained left ankle) and infielder Gage Workman (strained right hip flexor) will begin rehab assignments Friday at Triple-A Charlotte.
Outfielder Mike Tauchman (strained right hamstring) is scheduled to begin his assignment in Charlotte on Saturday.