Nick Madrigal got his first major league hit, then added 3 more in a White Sox victory

Nick Madrigal was starting to lose sleep after two frustrating games without his first big league hit.

Once the top prospect finally got it, they kept right on coming.

The Elk Grove High School graduate followed his first career hit with three more Sunday, pacing the Chicago White Sox to a 9-2 romp over the Kansas City Royals to complete a three-game sweep. The 23-year-old infielder had two hits in a seven-run seventh inning, when he scored the go-ahead run and had his first career RBI, and barely missed out on a 5-for-5 day on a ground ball in the ninth inning.

“It’s hard when everyone knows that you hadn’t gotten a hit yet,” said Madrigal, who was brought up for the start of the three-game series Friday night.

“They kind of joke with you and the pressure builds,” he said, “but once I saw that first one fall the weight was off me.”

Madrigal, the fourth overall pick out of Oregon State in the 2018 draft, had been hitless through two games. He finally got the first of his career in the third inning — and the White Sox made sure he got the ball — then added another in the fifth before scoring on a bases-loaded walk.

Madrigal put an exclamation mark on his big afternoon in the seventh. He led off with a single and scored the go-ahead run on Jose Abreu’s base hit, then singled again and drove in his first career run when the White Sox batted through the lineup.

If not for Salvador Perez beating him to first base in the ninth, it would have been even more spectacular.

“I think he was a little calmer,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “After the first hit he was much more relaxed. When you get to the big leagues, one of the things you want to do is get that one out of the way.”