KANSAS CITY— Adam Eaton had four hits, including a three-run homer, and Alexei Ramirez had four hits as well as the White Sox gave left-hander John Danks plenty of support in a 12-1 romp over the Royals on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.

Tyler Flowers also hit a three-run homer for the White Sox, who banged out 17 hits.

The Royals’ magic number to clinch the American League Central dropped to 16, even with the loss, as the Twins lost 8-0 to the Astros on Friday night.

Danks upped his career record to 10-2 against the Royals, going the distance while giving up seven hits and one run. He walked one and struck out five. Danks threw 121 pitches, second highest of his career (123 pitches vs. the Rays last season).

Manager Ned Yost has no idea why Danks is so effective against the Royals.

“If you figure it out, you let me know,” Yost said. “I have not figured it out. I mean, seriously, I haven’t. He’s … I don’t know. Certain players have certain teams that they do really well against. It’s like certain players have certain pitchers they do really well against, and other guys that they don’t. There’s just no explanation for it.”

“I’ve always enjoyed coming here in general. This is one of my favorite cities we go to over the course of the summer,” Danks said. “I’ve spent a lot of time in this ballpark. I guess there is a certain level of comfort there, but that’s a pretty good team over there. It’s certainly not fun. I know I’ve had some success, some coincidence, some catching some breaks, but it’s still not a fun game to try to maneuver through that lineup.”

Royals right-hander Kris Medlen, making his third start, never got into a rhythm as he gave up a career-high seven runs and 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings. He threw a season-high 98 pitches.