A pair of AL Central clubs that are underwhelming thus far, the Chicago White Sox (12-23) and the Kansas City Royals (9-26) will cross paths for the first time in this Monday night contest. Both teams added a much-needed win on Sunday. Last season, the Royals took the season series 10-9 over the White Sox. The first pitch of this year's season series is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. EDT in Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023. Let's see what's in store for a rivalry Monday in The K.
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— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 7, 2023
That pretty much sums up what happened in the White Sox's latest game. Chicago parlayed an 11-run second inning into an easy 17-4 victory before their flight to Kansas City. Seven of Chicago's starters picked up multiple hits and six of them collected multiple RBIs. Offensively, the White Sox entered Sunday 23rd in runs per game, and when they left they were 14th. The lineup hasn't been super productive for most of the season, except for their 91.3% success rate stealing bases. Sunday's explosion made Chicago winners in five of their last seven games heading into this series.
Of course, pitching has been a major issue with this team, as they begin the week 28th in ERA at 5.50. The bullpen enters with the highest HR/9 in the majors and the second-highest ERA as a unit. Starter Dylan Cease also hasn't lived up to his lofty expectations for this season. He'll get the call in this one after allowing at least three runs in five consecutive starts. It doesn't help that his walk rate is the ninth-highest in the league. Kansas City has rarely given Cease problems though as he owns a 2.58 ERA against the Royals in 12 starts. Last season against the Royals, it was a 1.53 ERA in 17.2 innings of work.