CHICAGO (AP) In a matchup of teams on track to both lose 100 or more games Columbus Blue Jackets Hoodies Authentic , the White Sox avoided getting swept in a three-game series.Jose Abreu hit a tying home run off Jason Adam in the eighth and pinch-hitter Daniel Palka had a three-run homer off Jason Hammel later in the inning, leading Chicago over the Kansas City Royals 6-4 Thursday.Kansas City overcame a 2-0 deficit when pinch-hitter Whit Merrifield hit a three-run homer in the eighth off Xavier Cedeno (1-0), but Abreu homered with one out in the bottom half against Adam (0-3). Abreu’s 141st big league homer moved him ahead of Ron Kittle into sole possession of 10th on the White Sox career list.Avisail Garcia doubled, Omar Narvaez was intentionally walked and Hammel relieved. Palka drove a hanging slider a half-dozen rows in the right-centerfield bleachers. He tied the White Sox record of three pinch homers in one season, set by Oscar Gamble in 1977.”I wanted to hit a home run,” Palka said of his mindset.Rosell Herrera hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth off Luis Avilan, who got his first save in seven major league seasons.Chicago (38-70) won for the second time in eight games. Kansas City (34-74) had been seeking its first three-game sweep at the White Sox since June 13-15, 2014.White Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez allowed two runs and five hits in seven-plus innings, leaving with a 2-0 lead after Alcides Escobar doubled leading off the eighth and Adalberto Mondesi reached on a bunt single.Jace Fry struck out Alex Gordon Columbus Blue Jackets Hats Authentic , Mondesi stole second, and Juan Minaya struck out Salvador Perez. Merrifield greeted Cedeno with his first big league pinch-hit homer.Lopez had been 0-4 with an 8.27 ERA in his prior four starts.”I felt good. I felt in command of all my pitches. I was focused today,” Lopez said.Royals rookie Brad Keller gave up two runs, five hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings.Narvaez, who has 17 hits in 10 RBIs in his last 12 games, had a run-scoring single in the fourth. Tim Anderson had an RBI double in the seventh off Tim Hill.”Did a phenomenal job keeping us in the game,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.TRAINER’S ROOMWhite Sox: RHP Nate Jones (strained right arm) played catch for the first time in two weeks. … C Kevan Smith could to begin paternity leave Friday.UP NEXTWhite Sox: RHP Lucas Giolito (7-8, 6.26) is to start Friday at Tampa Bay.Royals: RHP Heath Fillmyer (0-1, 3.29) is to open Friday at Minnesota.— TORONTO – The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Toronto Maple Leafs are close in the standings and they won’t be far away from each other over the next few days Custom Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys , either.The Blue Jackets will visit the Maple Leafs Monday night and the teams will stage a rematch Friday at Columbus.The Blue Jackets (12-6-2) have won three in a row and are 5-0-2 over their past seven games after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 on the road on Saturday with Cam Atkinson notching his fifth career hat trick and added an assist.Article continues below ...The Maple Leafs (14-6-0) also have won three in a row, sweeping all three games in California including a 2-1 overtime victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. The Maple Leafs opened the trip with a 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Nov. 10.“A long road trip, a lot of games, a good test for us to come out here and measure ourselves so I think we’re happy with the way we played,” said Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly, who scored the overtime winner on Friday.The game Monday at Scotiabank Arena should be a test for two teams that are playing well.“It’s a fun place to play, especially how good they are and the offseason addition of (John) Tavares and guys like that,” said Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, who scored a goal at Carolina. “It’s fun the way we’re playing www.officialstarsproonline.com , the way they’re playing. It should be a high-paced game.”“We’re confident,” said Atkinson, who has 12 goals this season. “We’re holding on to pucks, our unit especially, making plays when they’re there, not forcing anything and getting pucks to the net and retrieving. Keeping it simple, nothing fancy. Taking what they give us and scoring goals, big goals.”Nick Foligno did not play against Carolina Saturday because of a family matter and his status for Monday is unknown.The Blue Jackets also have had several players, and coach John Tortorella Dallas Stars T-Shirts Authentic , were affected by an illness over the past week but the worst appears to be over. Tortorella was behind the bench Saturday.Riley Nash, Artemi Panarin and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky missed the 7-3 win over the Florida Panthers Thursday at Nationwide Arena because of illness. They returned for the game Saturday with Panarin notching three assists. Atkinson had missed the 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals Nov. 9 because he was ill.The Maple Leafs will continue to be without center Auston Matthews, who has been out since injuring his shoulder during a victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 27. The Maple Leafs are 6-3-0 since the injury to Matthews.The center, who has 10 goals and six assists in 11 games this season, practiced with the Maple Leafs Sunday but was not involved in any contact. A date has not been set for his return.“For him to be (closer to a return) is motivating,” Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri said. “We have been able to put in some work while he is gone, have been able to hold the fort. When Matts went down, even though he is an important player for us, we did not have a sense of panic at all. We just carried on with our business and that has allowed him to get healthy. He will be able to come back when he is really ready.”The Maple Leafs have been more vulnerable at home this season Dallas Stars Hoodies Authentic , going 5-5-0 while going 9-1-0 on the road where they seem more relaxed.The Blue Jackets also have been better on the road, going 7-2-1 compared with 5-4-1 at home.The Maple Leafs have a game at Carolina before they visit the Blue Jackets, who will have three days off before the game Friday.Toronto backup goaltender Garret Sparks played the loss in Boston and the win in Anaheim, which means Frederik Andersen should be in goal against Columbus.“We knew what was at stake,” Sparks said after the game Friday. “We had the opportunity to sweep the (California) road trip and we like winning hockey games as a group, so I think we poured out everything that we had left in the tank for the road here, and it was nice to see that effort was enough to win.”