Jorge Soler powers Kansas City Royals to sixth consecutive win with two-homer game

Kansas City Royals slugger Jorge Soler has snapped out of a months-long slump and turned home plate into a launching pad reminiscent of 2019, when he set the franchise single-season home run record.

Soler, perhaps creating trade value for himself where none seemed likely a couple weeks ago, hit two more home runs to bolster his season total to 13, with six coming in his last six games.

He provided half the Royals’ scoring output Monday night as they increased their win streak to six games with a 4-3 win over the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox in the first game of a four-game series in front of an announced 12,384 at Kauffman Stadium.

The six-game win streak is the Royals’ longest since they won six straight from Sept. 8-13 in 2020.

“He has the capability of doing things that most people that play this game, they don’t have,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Soler. “When he gets it figured out, and I know our fans have seen that in that season he had in ‘19, it’s pretty amazing what he was able to accomplish.”

Matheny said Soler had been rewarded for his perseverance through his struggles — Soler entered the night batting .190 — and called him a “game changer.”

Soler went 2 for 4 with the two homers, while Andrew Benintendi went 2 for 4 with one home run and Whit Merrifield smoked an RBI double. Jarrod Dyson also doubled and scored a run for the Royals (43-55).

Royals starting pitcher Mike Minor (8-8) turned in the fifth quality start during the six-game streak, which began with Minor’s start last week in Milwaukee.

“We were hopeful when we brought Mike in that he’d be the kind of guy that would set that tone for our guys with the experience that he has had and the success that he has had, kind of set the bar for the rest of the staff,” Matheny said.

Minor allowed two runs, three hits and two walks in six innings. The veteran left-hander struck out seven, and turned the game over to the bullpen with a lead.

Facing the White Sox for the fourth time this season, he held the visitors scoreless through the first five innings. He limited their offense to one hit and one walk through five innings.

His counterpart, White Sox starter Dallas Keuchel, had a rough outing, in large part due to Soler.

Soler blasted his fifth homer in six games on the first pitch he saw from Keuchel to start the bottom of the second inning. Soler crushed the sinker that stayed up and over the outer half 449 feet to center field to give the Royals a 1-0 advantage.

The one-run lead held until the fourth inning, when Soler came to the plate. He fell behind 0-2 in the count, and then ran into a cutter from Keuchel. He launched that pitch to left field for another solo homer.

“I have a lot of confidence,” Soler said. “I’m looking at and identifying pitches well.”

Soler pointed to the way he’s getting ready earlier, loading his hands earlier, as the biggest difference with his swing and his at-bats now as opposed to earlier this season.

The two homers made Soler the second Royals hitter this season to record back-to-back two-homer games. Salvador Perez did so on June 1 and June 3.

In the fifth, Dyson ripped a two-out double over the head of right fielder Adam Engel. It bounced over the wall and into the bullpen. Merrifield then smoked a double into the right-field corner that scored Dyson for the third run of the game. Merrifield advanced to third as Engel misplayed the ball.

The White Sox pulled within a run in the top of the sixth thanks to a leadoff walk by Seby Zavala, a double by Tim Anderson and a two-run single from Andrew Vaughn.

All of a sudden, Minor wasn’t quite on cruise control anymore, and the Royals’ lead went from three to one in the matter of three batters.

“I was kind of all over the place and didn’t understand why,” Minor said. “When Salvy and (pitching coach) Cal (Eldred) came out there, they told me I was standing a little bit upright and I wasn’t really using my legs or anything. Once that happened, I felt like I made some really good pitches and got out of the inning.”

Minor retired the next three batters in order on a fly ball and a pair of strikeouts to end the inning and keep the Royals’ one-run edge intact.

With two outs in the sixth, Benintendi swatted a 3-2 sinker from Keuchel over the left-center field wall for his 11th homer of the season. At the time, the solo homer gave the Royals a 4-2 lead, and it ended up providing the margin of victory.

After Kyle Zimmer pitched a scoreless seventh, reliever Scott Barlow pitched the final two innings. He gave up one run in the ninth on the way to his sixth save of the season.

“Guys are kind of expecting to win,” Minor said of the club’s recent run. “Once you get a couple in a row and the starters have been throwing really well. The bullpen has been picking us up, but we’ve been going deep in games. Then we’ve got Brad (Keller) going tomorrow, which he has had some really good starts here lately. … We just keep it rolling, and guys are feeling good right now.”