KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- John Danks wasnt about to blame anyone for his own misfortune. He went eight straight starts without a victory for the Chicago White Sox simply because he didnt perform. He finally did Tuesday night in Kansas City. Danks shut down the Royals scuffling offence over eight innings, and the White Sox managed to squeak out just enough support for a 2-0 victory in the opener of their three-game series. "You can look at each game and pick out an at-bat or a certain pitch where I didnt do myself any favours. Fortunately, I was able to stay away from that today," said Danks, whose last win came against the Orioles on July 2. "I felt like I was giving myself the best chance to win tonight." Hard to give your team a better chance than by blanking your opponent. Danks (3-10) ended his exasperating winless streak by scattering seven hits and a walk. That the veteran left-handers finest start of the year came against the Royals wasnt much of a surprise, either: Danks improved to 5-0 against them in 13 career starts. "There were a lot of guys swinging early, but he was throwing strikes," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "For him to go eight against a lineup like this thats been tough on us is pretty good." White Sox closer Addison Reed worked around a leadoff single in the ninth for his 32nd save. It wrapped up the fourth straight win for the last-place White Sox, and their first shutout victory since beating the Los Angeles Angels 3-0 on May 17. "Hopefully this will get us on a little streak to finish the season on a high," Danks said. Gordon Beckham homered off Santana (8-7) in the first inning for the only earned run. The other run for the White Sox came in the second, when Paul Konerko trotted home from third on a passed ball that curiously disappeared in the padding behind home plate. Except for those two blemishes, Santana matched zeros with Danks through six innings. He walked two and struck out five, including Josh Phegley to leave the bases loaded in the fourth. It was the fourth straight win for the White Sox and the third consecutive loss for the Royals, who are slip-sliding out of wild-card contention after a spirited run. Theyve lost six of their last eight games, their lone wins coming in a sweep of a double-header in Detroit. Things are going so badly that balls are disappearing on them at the worst of times. Konerko led off the second inning with a double, and Avisail Garcia singled to put runners on the corners for the White Sox. Santana was facing Conor Gillaspie when he threw a pitch that hit the tip of Salvador Perezs glove and bounced toward the backstop behind home plate. The ball disappeared in the green padding above one of the advertising signs, and Perez threw up his hands as if to say, "What now?" Meanwhile, Konerko had started to trot home with a confused look on his face, and for a moment nobody in the ballpark seemed to know what was going on. "I never seen anything like that," Santana said. "I was looking at Salvy and he was looking at me. I was like, Wheres the ball? Hes like, I dont know! It was hard." Garcia was awarded second base, but Santana retired the next three batters to limit the damage. "I mean, that stuff happens," Ventura said. "Its one of those you lose in the tarp or the way they have advertising now, its just one of those that kind of goes your way." Kansas Citys bullpen pitched three shutout innings once Santana left the game, but its woeful offence couldnt break through against Danks, who came into the game with a 4.54 ERA. He never allowed a runner to reach third base, and even picked off a runner at first in the eighth. "We werent doing anything offensively, and then he got ahead of us," the Royals Alex Gordon said. "A lot of guys were taking, trying to get something going. But he was pounding the zone, throwing a lot of strikes. Give credit to him, but we just didnt do a very good job offensively." NOTES: Royals 3B Mike Moustakas (left calf) expects to play Wednesday, manager Ned Yost said. ... White Sox 3B Jeff Keppinger (sore back) was a late scratch from the starting lineup. Gillaspie took his spot after missing two games with a bruised left hand. ... Royals OF Lorenzo Cain (oblique) is progressing with workouts but has not started baseball activities. ... White Sox RHP Andre Rienzo will start Wednesday nights game against Royals RHP Jeremy Guthrie.Nike Shox NZ . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. Homme COMME des GARÇONS x Nike Vapormax Noir/Anthracite . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. http://www.airvapormax.fr/nike-shox-nz-pas-cher.html . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Nike Vapormax Noir . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Nike VaporMax Pour Homme Noir et Argenté . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres.ALBANY, N.Y. -- Mike Rowley scored 16 points and grabbed five boards and David Nichols added 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting to lead Albany past NCAA Division III-member SUNY Oneonta 97-56 Wednesday night.The duo combined to shoot 13 for 19 from the floor as Albanys 12-man roster saw action with 10 players scoring and six of them reaching double figures in points.The Dragons posted their only and brief lead when Mikey McElroys 3 put SUNY Oneonta up a point less than 1:30 into the conteest.ddddddddddddAfter a pair of Rowley free throws that made it 25-18 with midway through the first half, Albany (2-1) pulled away on a 28-8 run before halftime and were never threatened after halftime.McElroy led the Dragons with 16 points, shooting 5 for 13 from the floor.The Great Danes had a 69-31 rebounding advantage, collecting 25 on the offensive end. 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