Two months ago the Kansas City Royals sat one game back of the AL Central lead after their toughest stretch of the season. Now, with a sizable division lead, they’re taking another rough patch in stride. The White Sox look to climb back into contention for wild card but face an uphill battle after losing six of the last seven in Kaufmann Stadium.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Royals ended their 10-game road trip by dropping six of their last eight games, going down 4.62 units in that span. They look to get back on track against the White Sox with some home cooking. Kansas City is money at Kauffman Stadium, winning 11 of its last 14 entering this series and is 34-18 overall, in the black 12.48 units. The White Sox have been equally good playing on the road with 11 wins in 13 outings heading into the weekend. The Sox will need some of that road magic to get back in the wild card hunt, but history isn’t on their side. Their run of road success brought them to the break-even point for the season and they’ve lost seven of 10 to the Royals this season and six of their last seven in Kansas City.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Jose Quintana (6-9, 3.50 ERA) threw yet another quality start last time but, as has been the case this season, he did not get enough run support to earn the win. He held the Rays to two runs in six innings but took a no-decision in the Sox loss. Quintana scattered seven hits and struck out seven, but the White Sox wouldn’t score until he was out of the game. He’s recorded a quality start in nine of his last 10 outings.
Quintana hasn’t recorded a decision in three starts against the Royals this season and owns a 5.71 ERA and .356 opponent’s batting average across 17.1 innings. He’s started 15 games against KC during his career and is looking for his first win in six decisions.
Danny Duffy (5-5, 4.04 ERA) tossed seven innings of one-run ball to earn the win in his last start. KC manager Ned Yost said the lefty showcased his best slider of the season last Tuesday, when Duffy scattered five hits in a 5-1 verdict. He’s been quite good since the beginning of July, holding opponents to two or fewer runs in six-plus innings in five of his last six starts.
After getting lit up for five runs and eight hits in five innings in his first outing this seasons against the Sox on Apr. 8, Duffy has silenced their bats allowing just one earned run over 13.1 in his next two turns.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“Hopefully we can start streaking for about a month or two. We’ve definitely been Jekyll and Hyde, where it’s been one or the other. Hopefully we can get on the good side of things and roll a little bit here.” – White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
The White Sox just can’t seem to get things in sync this season, a big reason why they are on the outside looking in at a wild card in the American League. The Sox pitching staff carried the team’s postseason hopes for half the season, but they’re going through some turbulence now that the offense has snapped out of its season long slumber. Sox pitchers allowed 27 runs in a three-game series against the Yankees last weekend and then the bullpen collapsed in three straight innings of a 5-4 loss Monday against Tampa Bay. That was before the Rays hung 11 on them Tuesday with ace Chris Sale tagged for seven. The light-hitting Rays scored five times Wednesday but the Sox pulled out the walk-off 6-5 win in 10 innings. During the previous five games, White Sox relievers posted a 5.49 ERA with no one in the pen immune from the carnage.
PROP TALK
Facing White Sox starter Jose Quintana might help Salvador Perez break out of a slump. The Royals All-Star catcher saw his average dip to .243 but responded with four hits in two games against the Tigers before taking Wednesday off. A rested Perez is not a pleasant site for Quintana. Perez is batting .368 over his career against the Sox righty with 14 hits in 38 at-bats. Half his hits have gone for extra bases with four doubles, one triple and two home runs along with eight RBIs.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
A recent seven-game winning streak that lifted the White Sox into the thick of the crowded AL wild card race may have given the club false hope. After all, those victories came against last place Cleveland and Boston. Since then the Sox dropped two of three in back-to-back series with AL East heavyweights New York and Tampa Bay. Facing a Royals squad that has owned them this season, the White Sox will fall deeper in the wild card standings.
Kansas City 5, Chicago 3
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