Series Preview: Kansas City Cooking
The White Sox could use some good KC cooking in their weekend tilt with the Royals.
The Cincinnati road trip did not quite live up to expectations for some, especially after how it started. It a was tale of two different teams. The first being a dominant pitching effort followed by an excellent hitting display. And day two, solid pitching and the lack of offense. This is all while there is no leadership late in games which basically blows their chance of coming out victorious.
Say what you want about Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa but he’s here and is not going away. Even after he admitted to making several mistakes just in his first month of managing.
The only way to not think about La Russa is for the Chicago White Sox to tear apart the Kansas City Royals this weekend as they did in 2020.
Royals are on a five-game losing streak and now find themselves slipping in the standings. They now sit in third place and a game back of first in the AL Central. A three-game series begins tonight at Kauffman Stadium.
Pitching Probables vs. Kansas City
Friday, May 7 @ 7:10 PM CST
LHP Carlos Rodón (4-0, 0.72 ERA) vs. RHP Brad Keller (2-3, 8.06 ERA)
Rodón is 2-3 with a 3.69 ERA in seven career starts vs. Royals.
Rodón is winless at Kaufman stadium.
Carlos Santana vs. Rodón- 9/27, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K, .938 OPS.
Saturday, May 8 @ 7:10 PM CST
RHP Lance Lynn (2-1, 1.82 ERA) vs. LHP Daniel Lynch (0-0, 5.79 ERA)
Lynn pitched a complete game shutout against the Royals on April 8. He also had no walks and 11 strikeouts in that dominant performance.
This will be Daniel Lynch’s second career start.
Sunday, May 9 @ 1:10 PM CST
RHP Lucas Giolito (1-3, 4.99 ERA) vs. LHP Mike Minor (2-1, 5.23 ERA)
Giolito is 7-2 vs. Royals.
Also, Giolito has pitched well at Kauffman during his young career. He is 4-1 with a 2.98 ERA over eight starts. It also includes a 33-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Hunter Dozier is 5-for-16 with three extra-base hits and four RBI against Giolito.
Minor faced the White Sox back on April 11. He went four innings, allowed four hits and one earned run while walking three and striking out three batters.
Who’s Hot (Stat from Cincinnati series)
Dylan Cease (pitching)- 1 G/GS, W, 6 IP, H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 11 K
Dylan Cease (hitting)- 1 G/GS, 3/3, R, 2B, 1.000/1.000/1.333/2.333
White Sox pitching- 18 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 11 BB, 19 K, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP
José Abreu- 2 G/GS, 2/7, R, HR, 3 RBI, BB, 2 K, 1.048 OPS
Who’s Not (Stat from Cincinnati series)
Yasmani Grandal- 2 G/GS, 0/3, R, 5 BB, 2 K- He’s hitting .125 so far this season which is not great. He needs to help drive in runs. He could also be added to the “Who’s Hot” for his walk abilities. He had 5 walks in the two-game series in Cincy.
Adam Eaton- 1 G/GS, 0/3, 3 K, HBP- He’s 0 for his last 16 at-bats with 11 strikeouts.
Final Notes
White Sox announced Luis Robert will not need surgery and will be reevaluated in eight weeks.