The White Sox plan to give away a Melk Man t-shirt to fans on May 19.

But they very easily could have distributed it on Friday night as Melky Cabrera delivered against the Minnesota Twins. Cabrera finished with four hits, including a pair of critical ones with two outs, and made a fantastic running catch as the White Sox beat the Twins 10-4 in front of 23,054 at U.S. Cellular Field.

Cabrera doubled in two runs in the first inning and singled in another during a critical fifth-inning rally that secured a 5-0 start for Mat Latos, who lasted five frames and allowed four runs. The White Sox became the first American League team with 20 victories courtesy of seven two-out RBIs, including three by Cabrera.

“This is definitely a win for the offense,” Latos said. “It’s not something you want to do, give up four runs. But it’s definitely good to have the offense that we have to come pick us up whenever we do give up that many runs.”

Unlike Thursday night, when they couldn’t take advantage of myriad opportunities, the White Sox offense cashed in on Friday. A team that entered the game 20th in the majors with a .237 average with runners in scoring position went 8-for-14, including five hits with two outs.

Cabrera was the first to strike against Ricky Nolasco when he followed a two-out error by Eduardo Escobar in the first inning with a two-run double to left-center field to make it a 2-0 game.

Four innings later, Cabrera boosted his offense again with another critical two-out hit in a 5-4 contest. It appeared as if the White Sox, who stranded 11 runners in Thursday’s loss, might come up empty again after Adam Eaton tripled and Austin Jackson singled on the infield with no outs.

With the infield drawn in, both Jose Abreu, who had a solo homer in the third inning, and Todd Frazier hit grounders directly at a Twins infielder, allowing no runs to score. But Cabrera worked the count and singled to left on a 3-1 pitch from Nolasco to drive in Jackson for a two-run lead. Brett Lawrie followed with another RBI single to make it 7-4.

“That was a big one,” manager Robin Ventura said. “You had an opportunity there and he came through. He's been swinging it great for us.

“Melky, there have been some big hits from him, knocking in some runs. And Brett's been doing the same thing. It was a big one later on, he hit one down the line that kind of started moving the needle for us and getting us a good lead.”

The White Sox scored three more runs in the seventh inning, all with two outs.

Dioner Navarro had a bases-loaded infield single and Tyler Saladino drove in two with a single to center.

The support proved to be critical for Latos, who allowed four earned runs in five innings for a second straight start. Latos retired the first five batters he faced, but got into trouble with two outs in the second inning as Kurt Suzuki singled in a run to make it a 2-1 game.

Two innings later, Latos left one up outside and Oswaldo Arcia blasted a two-run homer to left to reduce the White Sox lead to 5-3. Eduardo Nunez doubled to start the fifth inning and advanced on two consecutive deep fly balls — one on which Cabrera made an outstanding running catch in the left-field corner — to get the Twins within a run. Jackson and Eaton also contributed a pair of web gems to the cause of Latos, who allowed seven hits and walked two in five innings. The right-hander threw strikes on 55 of 95 pitches.

But he earned his fifth win in six starts as the White Sox continued to lavish him with run support. Latos started the game 35th among 151 starting pitchers with a per game, run-support average of 5.4 runs.

“It isn’t what I wanted, to go five innings,” Latos said. “Some day, sometime, I’ll find the seventh inning. It’s a team win. The guys really had my back.”

Eaton singled in two runs in the second inning to give the White Sox a 4-1 lead.

Abreu — who was later angered when Trevor May hit him with a pitch in the eighth inning, resulting in benches cleared and a Ventura ejection — homered off Nolasco in the third to make a four-run lead.

“That's what we expect,” Saladino said. “You're not always going to score a bunch of runs, but when you put up runs like that, it's not a surprise. It just shows that we put some good at-bats together and timely hitting, and like I said, it's what we expect of ourselves.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — They may be reeling from two awful losses, but Alex Avila expects he won’t see any let up from his White Sox teammates.

He’d better not.

Whereas they should be in position to close out a sweep of the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, the White Sox are trying to avoid one after consecutive stunning losses, including allowing seven runs in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday in an 8-7 loss.

Asked how they have to respond, the veteran catcher said his White Sox teammates have little choice — play hard or don’t bother showing up.

“The way you stop it is you come back tomorrow and make something happen,” Avila said. “They’re not going to feel bad for us. So you can’t feel sorry for yourself. It’s an extremely tough loss for sure. That’s a game we should have won. There’s been a few games we should have won. The way we’ve been playing have given a lot of people doubt.

“But guys in here, if they have any shred of doubt in their mind of what they can do, even though we’re struggling, don’t even come. No one’s going to feel sorry for you in this game. Even if you’re struggling, battle your ass off. There’s no room for feeling sorry for yourself and doubting your ability and your team’s ability. We’re going through a tough two-week stretch. The good thing is it’s right now at the end of May here. Try to finish these last few games in May strong and take it into June and see if we can make a better month out of it.”

The White Sox appeared to respond well to Friday’s game, one in which they blew a four-run lead, until the bullpen melted down for a second straight day. Even though none of their big run producers came through, the White Sox pulled ahead 7-1 on the strength of home runs by Tyler Saladino and Avisail Garcia.

But then the impossible happened and the Royals rallied to win a game in which their win probability was 0.1 percent after David Robertson struck out Paulo Orlando to start the ninth inning. Robertson only recorded one more out as he allowed six runs and Tommy Kahnle allowed another in an 8-7 loss.

“I’m not surprised or satisfied the way our team has responded to tough losses,” Avila said. “I expect it. No matter what the situation was the game before, I expect each guy in here to be prepared the very next day. If they’re not, then there’s an issue. Guys have been coming to play every single day and doing their homework and getting prepared for each game. If they weren’t, it’d be an issue. But guys have been doing that and we’re kind of going through one of those spells where instead of finding ways to win, we’re finding ways to lose games. Most teams will go through it or have gone through it. I know the first month we were playing great and the Royals weren’t playing well, the Tigers weren’t playing well and Cleveland wasn’t playing well. It was like, ‘Well, we’re going to run away with it,’ and flipped the script. Things can change pretty quickly over the course of a week or two weeks, even a month. That’s my point on why you have to come and make sure you’re prepared — that doubt in your mind about the day before is gone and you have to be ready no matter what because nobody is going to feel sorry for you.”

The White Sox take on the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, and you can catch all the action on Comcast SportsNet. Coverage begins with White Sox Pregame Live at 12:30 p.m. Be sure to stick around after the final out to get analysis and player reaction on White Sox Postgame Live.

Sunday’s starting pitching matchup: Chris Sale vs. Edison Volquez

Click here for a game preview to make sure you’re ready for the action.  

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- What an implosion.

A day after they inexplicably gave away one contest, the White Sox outdid themselves on Saturday afternoon.

Instead of evening the series with a decisive victory, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle allowed the Kansas City Royals to rally for seven ninth-inning runs to send the White Sox to a stunning 8-7 loss in front of 31,598 at Kauffman Stadium. Brett Eibner’s bases-loaded RBI single off Kahnle capped an improbable comeback and delivered another crushing blow to the White Sox, who have lost five straight and 13 of their last 17 contests.

“This is a tough one, no matter how you look at it,” third baseman Todd Frazier said. “You saw what happened. You can go back and think about it, game we should have won and didn’t win.”

“We’re all professionals and we’ve seen crazy things in baseball. This is one of them.”

Saturday’s loss ranks as one of the craziest in club history. The White Sox went from a state of joy, cruising toward a pivotal victory, to disarray in a span of 51 pitches.

Leading 7-1, Robertson took over and struck out Paulo Orlando.

Cheslor Cuthbert then singled and Eibner doubled to deep right when Adam Eaton lost the ball in the sun. Robertson walked Omar Infante and Alcides Escobar consecutively to force in a run, which prompted a visit from White Sox manager Robin Ventura.

Whit Merrifield’s grounder then deflected off the glove of Robertson and a potential double play turned into a two-run single and made it a 7-4 contest.

“The worst part about it was looking back and seeing Brett (Lawrie) was right there,” Robertson said. “If I had let it go, I would have got us out of the inning. It’s frustrating when you make a mistake like that.”

Lorenzo Cain’s hustle kept the inning alive as he narrowly beat out a game-ending double play to drive in another run. Eric Hosmer followed with an RBI double to right-center field to make it a 7-6 game and end Robertson’s day.

“It’s a terrible performance on my part,” Robertson said. “Can’t say much else about it.

“It doesn’t matter what the score is, I still have to get three outs. I let the whole team down.”

Drew Butera lifted his team’s spirits. The backup catcher entered in the ninth inning after an apparent knee injury knocked Salvador Perez out of the game. Already on tilt, the Kauffman crowd erupted when Butera ripped a 99-mph fastball from Kahnle for a game-tying double.

The White Sox opted to intentionally walk Orlando. But it didn’t prevent Kahnle from allowing Butera to advance to third as he uncorked a wild pitch. Kahnle also intentionally walked Jarrod Dyson to load the bases for Eibner, who ended a 10-pitch at-bat with the game-winning single under the glove of Sox first baseman Jose Abreu.

“The way games have been going, you go to the guy to close it out, because we haven’t been able to get to him,” Ventura said. “There’s no shot clock. There’s no time clock. If you can’t close it out, that’s what happens. And today we couldn’t close it out.”

The White Sox entered the ninth inning without a care in the world. They had bounced back definitively from Friday’s stunner, when the bullpen surrendered a four-run lead over the final three innings.

An opposite-field approach against Kansas City starter Yordano Ventura took hold with two outs in the fourth inning. Brett Lawrie, Alex Avila and Avisail Garcia all had opposite-field singles, Garcia’s providing the White Sox a 1-0 lead. Tyler Saladino then crushed a hanging 0-2 slider from Ventura for a three-run homer to left field and a four-run lead.

The White Sox offense continued to add on against Ventura. Avila doubled with one out in the fourth inning and Garcia hammered a 2-1 changeup for a two-run shot. Garcia’s homer, his fifth, traveled 428 feet at an exit velocity of 113 mph and gave the White Sox a 6-1 advantage.

They added another run in the fifth as Austin Jackson singled, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error by Omar Infante.

And then the Royals happened again.

“They have mojo over there right now,” Avila said. “They just keep coming at you and taking advantage of the fact that we’re scuffling a little bit right now.”

The devastating loss was the third in 18 days in which the White Sox bullpen surrendered a significant lead. The unit, which has a 4.73 ERA this month, also blew a five-run lead in a 13-11 loss at the Texas Rangers on May 10. Along with a blown four-run lead on Friday, the White Sox nearly surrendered a four-run advantage in the opening game of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians on Monday.

“It might have a lasting effect,” Frazier said. “There are going to be some guys who are in here who tonight aren’t going to be real happy. Once you get in here and know we start over again, I’ve learned from the best that you start all over like nothing happened and go about your business.”