Mike Sweeney hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Kansas City Royals rallied for a 4-3 home victory over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.
The White Sox, who won 16 of their first 20 games last season, have lost four of their first five in defense of their world championship.
Sweeney homered on a 2-2 pitch off Cliff Politte (0-1) with Mark Grudzielanek, who had singled for his third hit, aboard. Sweeney's first homer of the season landed in the first row over the left-field fence.
Javier Vazquez, who was making his White Sox debut, tossed seven strong innings. He allowed five hits and a walk and left with a 3-2 lead.
The White Sox had managed just two hits before the seventh when they strung together four hits and scored two runs off Andrew Sisco, the third Kansas City pitcher. Jim Thome's double off the left-field wall scored Brian Anderson, who led off the inning with a double, to tie it at 2. A.J. Pierzynski's infield single scored Scott Podsednik with the go-ahead run.
Vazquez held the Royals to two hits over five shutout innings before Grudzielanek singled in the sixth and Sweeney was hit by a pitch. Reggie Sanders' double to the left-center gap drove in both runners.
Elmer Dessens (1-0), the fourth of five Kansas City pitchers, picked up the victory. Ambiorix Burgos worked the ninth for his first save of the season.
BLUE JAYS 8, DEVIL RAYS 4: At Toronto, Gregg Zaun hit a go-ahead homer and the Toronto Blue Jays rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the Devil Rays.
Zaun — activated from the disabled list before the game after being sidelined with a sore right calf — gave Toronto a 5-4 lead with a two-run homer off Jason Childers (0-1) in the fifth. Brian Tallet (1-0) pitched 2 2-3 innings for the win.
INDIANS 3, TWINS 0: At Cleveland, Jason Johnson pitched shutout ball for seven innings in his Cleveland debut and Travis Hafner homered again.
Hafner went 3-for-3 to extend his streak of reaching base safely to 10 straight over three games and helped the Indians stretch their winning streak to four after an opening-night loss in Chicago.
RED SOX 2, ORIOLES 1: At Baltimore, Curt Schilling pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Jason Varitek had a hand in both Boston runs, and the Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles.
Varitek hit two doubles, scored a run and drove in one. Manny Ramirez had two hits for the Red Sox, who have won three straight to improve to 4-1, their best start since 2002.
Schilling (2-0) struck out four and walked two. A year ago, the right-hander had a difficult time recovering from offseason ankle surgery and didn't earn his second win until July.