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 Konerko, batting only .198 when he came up against Jimmy Gobble (0-1), hit his seventh homer, a drive to left field to score Carlos Quentin, who had drawn a leadoff walk.
Octavio Dotel (3-2) pitched 2 2-3 innings of hitless relief for Chicago. Each team used seven pitchers in the 4-hour, 23-minute game.
The Royals got a runner to third in the 14th, but White Sox second baseman Alexei Ramirez raced in to pick up David DeJesus' grounder and made a throw to first on the run to end the inning.
DeJesus hit a tying two-run single in the ninth off White Sox closer Bobby Jenks but was then picked off first for the second out of the inning. John Buck and pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspo opened the ninth with singles and after a sacrifice, DeJesus delivered a single to center as Jenks blew his third save in 17 chances.
Joe Crede and Jim Thome homered for the White Sox. Miguel Olivo and Mark Teahen had homers for the Royals.
After Olivo was hit in the side by a Dotel pitch in the 13th, he slammed his bat to the ground and was escorted to first base by coach Rusty Kuntz and manager Trey Hillman
Crede's 10th homer broke a 2-2 tie in the fifth and he added a two-out RBI double in the following inning.
Thome's 464-foot blast to center -- the ninth longest homer in U.S. Cellular Field history
-- tied it at 2 in the fourth. It was his 11th of the season and 518th of his career.
Chicago starter John Danks went 5 2-3 innings, giving up six hits and two runs.
Royals right-hander Luke Hochevar also lasted 5 2-3, giving up five hits, four runs and five walks.
After Crede's homer off Hochevar in the fifth, it appeared initially the White Sox added another run when Ramirez raced home from second as Kansas City shortstop Esteban German committed an error on Quentin's grounder.
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Ramirez slid into the plate as he was blocked off by Royals catcher Buck who didn't catch the ball. Ramirez got up and went into the dugout as the run went up on the scoreboard. But moments after Hillman came out to talk to home plate umpire Bill Miller, Ramirez was ruled out for not touching the plate when Hochevar tossed the ball to Buck as Konerko was coming to bat. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen came out of the dugout for a ruling but did not argue.
Olivo led off the second with a solo homer and Teahen added another in the fourth to give Hochevar and the Royals a 2-0 lead.
The Royals loaded the bases on two singles and a walk in the fifth before Nick Masset relieved Danks and struck out Buck to end the threat.
After Crede's double in the sixth made it 4-2, the White Sox loaded the bases but A.J. Pierzynski flied out.
Notes: Crede left the game after the 12th inning with a bruised right wrist. He made a nice stop in the top of the inning on a hard grounder by DeJesus. ... Royals 3B Alex Gordon made a great catch of Nick Swisher's foul pop in the fourth inning. He fell over the tarpaulin along the third base line and into the seats but hung on to the ball. ... Thome is two homers behind Frank Thomas, who is 18th on the all-time homers list.
[Associated Press; By RICK GANO]
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