The Royals stumbled into the All-Star break with a 10-1 loss to the White Sox in Chicago.  Reliever Enny Romero yielded five runs in the fifth inning to put the Royals down by nine runs.  Starter Burch Smith gave up two runs in two innings to take the loss.  Adalberto Mondesi homered in the eighth to prevent a Kansas City shutout.  The Royals dropped to a major league-worst 27-and-68 record, which is one more loss than the 2015 World Series champion club had.

“It’s been tough. Losing sucks, and we’ve lost a lot,” Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield said after Sunday’s game.

Just how bad has it been?  The Royals have given up more run than any other pitching staff in baseball and have scored fewer runs than any other offense in baseball.

>>Perez To Start All-Star Game

Royals catcher Salvador Perez will start his fifth consecutive All-Star game tomorrow night in D.C.   He replaces Rays catcher Wilson Ramos, who will skip the game after suffering a hamstring injury Saturday.

>>Royals Take Four-Day Break

The Royals are off until Friday when they open a homestand after the All-Star break.  Left-hander Danny Duffy will start the first game of the series against the Twins.  Minnesota will counter with Kyle Gibson.