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The White Sox won the game last night – 5-2 over the Royals in KC – but still lost ground in the Central Division race to the Surprising Indians, who took two from the Twins and now lead the South Siders by 4.5 games. (Speaking of surprises, the Pirates are also in first place! Hell, they haven’t had a winning record for the season since Barry Bonds left in 1992. And speaking of Hell, I believe it’s about to freeze over.) At least, the Good Guys gained a game and a half on the Twinkies, who were getting too close for comfort.

The key to last night’s game was Mark Buehrle. By throwing seven innings of two-run, five-hit ball, he picked up his 22nd career win over the Royals – the most among active pitchers. The bullpen was even better. Jesse Crain held KC hitless and scoreless for 1.0 innings; Matt Thornton did the same for 0.2 innings; and Sergio Santos did so for 0.1 innings. Buehrle threw strikes on 76 of his 111 pitches or 68%. Crain and Thornton topped that with 10 of 12 and six of eight, respectively. Santos was right there with three of five. Good things happen when you throw strikes.

The Sox managed only seven hits but converted those safeties into five runs with the help of a Royals error that made two of the runs unearned. Juan Pierre collected two of those seven hits as he continues to make himself trade bait, which doesn’t fit with the All-In theme, but makes sense given the need to find somewhere for Dayan Viciedo to play. Viciedo isn’t a leadoff man, though, so how this rumored departure of Pierre works out is anyone’s guess.

Meanwhile, Gordon Beckham went 1 for 4 and lowered his batting average. Just a month ago, a 1 for 4 game was a big improvement, but Becks has been on a tear lately.

The same can’t be said about Adam Dunn, who has now dipped below .160. It actually pains me to watch him hit, having seen him when he was a stud for the Nats for the last two years and knowing what a good guy he is. But no one’s crazy enough to take on his or Alex Rios’s contracts, so get used to seeing those guys destroy any hope of a White Sox offense.

Go Sox!