Series Preview – Royals (48-51) at White Sox (40-59)

Now that the “Gauntlet” has finished with Kansas City going 10-10 against teams .500 or better, the Royals embark on a nine game three city road trip. KC will make stops on the Southside of Chicago, Minneapolis and Flushing, New York before returning home. Tonight they face a White Sox team looking to find some consistency.

James Shields looks to get the Royals off to a positive start on the teams nine game road trip that begins in Chicago tonight. Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Tonight the Royals continue the current home stand against the Orioles after taking two of three over the weekend against the Tigers. These two teams haven’t seen one another since May when the O’s took two games from KC.

Series Preview –

While Kansas City has gone 5-2 against Detroit and Baltimore after the All-Star Break, Chicago is 3-4. The White Sox took two-of-three against Atlanta before losing three-of-four to Detroit on their current 10 game homestand.

Franchise Series History –

Entering this series at US Cellular Field the White Sox will look to add to their 353-328 record between the teams. On the Southside the Royals are 141-198 with a record of 71-106 at the Cell which they’ll look to improve upon this weekend.

Probable Pitching Matchups –

Friday, July 26 (7:10 pm/FSKC &610 Sports): James Shields (4-7, 3.24) v. Jose Quintana (5-2, 3.61)
– Tonight is Shields 240^th career start and 15^th career versus Chicago, this season he’s 0-1 with two no-decisions in the three previous starts against the White Sox
– On the road “Big Game” James is 3-3 with a 2.74 ERA (22 earned runs in 72.1 innings pitched) in 11 games

Saturday, July 27 (6:10 pm/FSKC &610 Sports): Wade Davis (4-9, 5.92) v. Chris Sale (6-9, 2.81)
– This will be Davis third start against the ChiSox in 2013 and has a 1-1 record with 1.38 ERA
– Against the AL Central he sports a 9-5 career record with 3.77 ERA in 38 appearances (26 starts) but is 1-3 this year and a 5.08 ERA

Sunday, July 28 (1:10 pm/FSKC &610 Sports): Bruce Chen (4-0, 1.97) v. Hector Santiago (3-6, 3.38)
– Chen makes his third start since “rejoining” the rotation, he’s 1-0 with a no-decision
– Both starts he’s gone six innings throwing 97 and 94 pitches while allowing four combined hits and one run

2013 Results –                               

At the midway point of the season series the White Sox lead five games to four, this is the first meeting between the two in Chicago since April. When the two met June 21-23 at the K Chicago won 9-1 and 3-2 before Kansas City took game three 7-6. That win by KC snapped a three game win streak the White Sox, two of the next three meetings will be here on the Southside.

TV/Radio –

Fox Sports Kansas City brings you all four games between the two teams with Ryan Lefebvre and Rex Hudler on the broadcast. Joel Goldberg and Royals Hall of Famer Jeff Montgomery host Royals Live before and after the game. As always every game can be heard on the Royals Radio Network (610 Sports Radio in KC) Royals Hall of Famer/2007 Ford C. Frick Award winner Denny Matthews being joined in the booth by Steve Physioc and Steve Stewart.

2013 Schedule/Results v. White Sox – Series Tied 5-4

April 1-4, US Cellular Field – Chicago took two-of-three games
May 3-5, Kauffman Stadium – Kansas City won two-of-three
June 21-23, Kauffman Stadium – Chicago retakes the overall series lead winning two-of-three
July 26-28, US Cellular Field
August 20-22, Kauffman Stadium
September 27-29, US Cellular Field

Current AL Central and Wildcard Standings for July 26 –

GB = Games Back

AL Central: Detroit (56-45), Cleveland (53-48/3 GB), Kansas City (48-51/7 GB), Minnesota (43-56/12 GB), Chicago (40-59/15 GB)

Wildcard Standings (Top 2 make playoffs): Rays (60-42/+3.5), Orioles (57-46/-), Rangers (56-46/.5 GB), Yankees (54-48/2.5 GB), Indians (53-48/3 GB), Royals (48-51/7 GB), Mariners (49-53/7.5 GB), Angels (48-52/7.5), Blue Jays (46-55/10 GB), Twins (43-56/12 GB), White Sox (40-59/15 GB), Astros (34-67/22 GB)

Game Notes –

Chicago
Kansas City