VS 
RECORDS: White Sox 42-47 Royals 32-62
GAMETIMES: Mon/Tue/Wed 7:15, Thurs 12:15
TV: WGN Mon, Tue/Wed/Thurs NBCSN
ALL YOUR BBQ ARE BELONG TO US: Royals Review
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1: Lucas Giolito vs Jake Junis
Game 2: Dylan Cease vs Glen Sparkman
Game 3: Chevy Nova vs Danny Duffy
Game 4: TBD vs TBD
PROBABLE WHITE SOX LINEUP
Leury Garcia – SS
Yoan Moncada – 3B
Jose Abreu – 1B
James McCann – C
Eloy Jimenez – LF
Jon Jay – RF
AJ Reed – DH
Yolmer Sanchez – 2B
Ryan Cordell – CF
PROBABLE ROYALS LINEUP
Whit Merrifield – RF
Alex Gordon – LF
Adalberto Mondesi – SS
Jorge Soler – DH
Chelsor Cuthbert– 1B
Hunter Dozier – 3B
Bubba Starling – CF
Nicky Lopez – 2B
Martin Maldonado – C
Another week, another series against the Royals for the Sox. Yet these teams couldn’t have started their post All Star break more differently. The Royals handily took their opening series against the moribund Detroit Tigers, while the Sox got their lunch fed to them by the A’s. Apparently having 3 days off in a row turned the Sox into a bunch of slap hitting singles monsters, as in the first 2 games they managed a whopping ZERO extra base hits. The Royals, meanwhile, banged out a boatload of them, and also ran wild on the basepaths.
Yet nothing seems to be the cure for what ails the Sox like this KC Royals team, as so far they’re 7-3 against them with two of the losses coming in the opening series of the season. This Royals lineup looks mostly the same since the last time these two teams faced off, with one exception. KC called up their “Feel Good Hit Of The Summer Local Boy” in Bubba Starling right before the All Star break. Starling, the Royals 1st round pick in the loaded 2011 draft (taken 5th over all), had the distinction of being one of three players taken in the top 30 of that draft who had yet to reach the majors. Some of the notable names from that draft taken after Starling include Javy Baez, Anthony Rendon and Francisco Lindor, making Starling the 2011 MLB version of Sam Bowie. He also hails from Gardner, Kansas which is about 60 miles SW of KC. Starling seems to have pushed light hitting speedster Billy Hamilton out of the starting lineup, which will probably preclude his trade to a contender who has a need for speed in the postseason.
The Sox will toss out their best 3 starters to kick off the series with Giolito, Cease and (sigh) Nova to take the bump in that order. Giolito will attempt to right the ship after taking losses in his last 3 starts. He did manage a scoreless inning in his All Star game debut. Dylan Cease will make his second career major league start on Tuesday against moon-faced yahoo Glenn Sparkman. If Cease can command his fastball at the top of the zone, and dot the bottom with his breaking pitches the Royals shouldn’t have an answer for him. Nova will look to continue his “streak” of giving up less than 5 runs, which I guess is considered progress for the Sox starting rotation these days. Game 4 looks to be a bullpen one for both teams, as the Sox have no days off this week. After his disastrous start against the A’s on Saturday, Dylan Covey might not be the guy to turn to, and instead we will see some more of Hoss Detwiler.
With no Tim Anderson to throw at this series, Ned Yost will have to find something else to get pissy about if he’s gonna show his young team HOW TO PLAY THE GAME THE RIGHT WAY. The Sox get a chance to redeem themselves after the Oakland series, and Sox fans get this year’s version of “Free Eloy” as Luis Robert moves up to AAA and his first taste of the juiced balls at that level. Judging by the 2 dingers and 7 RBIs he had in his first appearance, you’re gonna hear Rick Hahn talking a lot about the holes in his defensive game before too long.
Let’s Go Sox.
