Royals 2, White Sox 1: Jeremy Guthrie posted his first victory in over two months, tossing eight shutout innings as visiting Kansas City took two of three from Chicago.
Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez belted solo homers and Jeff Francoeur collected two hits for the Royals, who have won two in a row following a season-high six-game road losing streak.
The White Sox maintained their slim half-game lead atop the American League Central after Detroit dropped a 12-8 decision to the New York Yankees on Wednesday.
Acquired from Colorado on July 19, Guthrie (1-3) had lost his first three starts with Kansas City before righting the ship on Wednesday. The veteran right-hander scattered five hits and struck out six to snap a nine-game losing skid and win for the first time since defeating Houston on May 31.
Greg Holland yielded A.J. Pierzynski's RBI single in the ninth inning but got Alexei Ramirez to line out to end the game. Holland secured his third save in as many opportunities since Jonathan Broxton was traded to Cincinnati.
Moustakas provided the early offense in the second inning after depositing a fastball from rookie Jose Quintana (4-2) into the seats in right field. The blast was Moustakas' 17th this season - and first since he homered off Quintana on July 13.
Perez doubled the advantage in the fourth after he drilled an outside fastball from Quintana into the bullpen in right-center field.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Quintana pitched well aside from the homers. He permitted two runs on five hits in seven innings to take the hard-luck loss. ... Veteran Kevin Youkilis returned after missing Tuesday's contest with a sore right knee and went 0-for-4. ... The Royals have won five of the nine meetings between the division rivals this season. ... Kansas City will continue its road trip by starting a four-game series with Baltimore on Thursday. ... Chicago will enjoy a day off before hosting Oakland for a three-game set beginning on Friday.