CHICAGO – Missing two of their best hitters, the White Sox made beleaguered right-hander Jeremy Guthrie look like a Cy Young Award candidate.

Considering Guthrie was winless since joining the Kansas City Royals in late July and sporting a 7.71 ERA entering Wednesday’s showdown, the Sox had a great opportunity to rack up another series win and add to their AL Central lead. Instead, Guthrie pitched eight shutout innings to lead the Royals to a 2-1 win.

“We couldn’t get anything going; he was sinking and cutting it,” Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “It seemed like we couldn’t get anything going.”