The White Sox suffered a heartbreaking defeat, losing to the Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Wednesday in 11 innings.

How it happened: Sergio Santos’ wild pitch slider in the dirt that A.J. Pierzynski couldn’t knock down allowed Alex Gordon to score from third base with the Royals’ game-ending run in the 11th inning. The White Sox scored their lone run on a Carlos Quentin home run and couldn’t break through again with Royals lefty Bruce Chen starting. John Danks threw seven scoreless innings in his return from the disabled list.

What it means: The White Sox’s offense that appeared to come to life against Justin Verlander and Co. this past weekend is in a funk again. They have scored a combined three runs over the past two games against a pair of Kansas City left-handed starters. At nearly four months into the season it no longer looks as if this run of inconsistency is something they will be able to shake.

Outside the box: Danks was receiving 3.45 runs of support per game, which would have been sixth worst in the American League if he qualified. And that was before they scored just one run for him Wednesday. It was the sixth time the offense scored one run or less for Danks.

Up next: After a day off Thursday, the White Sox open a three-game series at Cleveland on Friday. White Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd (7-9, 4.37 ERA) will face off against Indians right-hander Carlos Carrasco (8-7, 4.25).