Danny Duffy received two ovations from the crowd of 28,508 at Kauffman Stadium in the sixth inning on Friday.
The first was to salute a magnificent beginning to his third starting assignment of the season. Duffy retired the first 16 Chicago White Sox.
The second was bathed in sympathy as he left the mound without retiring another batter and surrendering five runs.
But in the end, Duffy was applauding his teammates.
The Royals battled back from a four-run hole and beat the White Sox 7-5 on in the series opener.
The deficit was the largest overcome by the Royals this season.