Game Thirty-Eight: Royals vs. White Sox

Royals look for the sweep against Chicago

Today, the Royals enter their final game against the White Sox, hoping to get a sweep and win their sixth straight game. Kansas City has been red hot, winning their last five games, as well as winning 14 of their last 16 games.

The offense has bounced back as Vinne Pasquantino has started to hit, and guys like Maikel Garcia, Drew Waters and Freddy Fermin have caught fire at the plate. Kansas City will need this too continue, as they have won 14 of 15 when they score four or more runs. Maikel Garcia has been one of the hottest players in baseball, essential to the Royals success as they have yet to lose a game when he has a multi hit game, going 12-0 in such games.

But the real headline has been the Royals pitching staff, who have been fantastic over the last two weeks and have proven to be one of the best all around units in baseball. Kansas City has posted shut outs in six of their last twelve games, twice against the Orioles, twice against the Astros, and once against the Rays and White Sox. This is an insane 50% rate where they are able to limit teams to zero runs and have only allowed three or more runs in one of their last nine games.

Despite all their success, Kansas City sits at third in the AL Central, as the Tigers and Guardians have both proven to be some of the best teams in baseball. The Royals sit six games above .500, something that many felt was unreachable just 3 weeks ago after their horrendous road trip. But they have gotten hot, and now they sit 2 games out of first place, and a sweep in Chicago would put them in a great place going forward.

The Royals have series against the Red Sox and Astros coming up who both have elite rosters and despite their middle of the pack records, have top tier rosters and will always make life hard on their opponents. Kansas City has been able to take advantage of their stretch against struggling teams, and if they can come away with a sweep against the White Sox, they are in a great spot heading into several series with better opponents.

Today, Kris Bubic will take the mound and will enter the game with a sub 2 ERA and is coming off a shut out game against the Orioles on Friday. Bubic has likely been the best Royals starter this season, and my confidence in the teams ability to win with him on the mound is through the roof.

For the White Sox, Davis Martin takes the mound and he will enter the game with an ERA just north of 3.5. He has found his groove recently and has been able to post shut outs in two of his last three starts, but gave up three runs and eight hits in his last outing against the Astros. Martin has impressive stuff on the mound and pairs his fastball, changeup and slider very well and will make for a fun matchup going toe to toe with emerging Royals star Kris Bubic.

The Royals will use a very traditional lineup, as Salvador Perez is still limited to DH and Isbel will get a day off in center field. Renfroe and Massey are both able to get back into the lineup with hopes that they can find their swing and start to heat up going forward. Martin will be tough to hit off of because of the movement on his pitches, but his command can be iffy and if the Royals can look middle and force him to get deep in counts, they will be successful.

The White Sox load up their lineup with righties, with just one left handed hitter in the lineup today to face Kris Bubic. They will give him a real test, but if Bubic is able to stay inside and force the White Sox hitters to swing the bat, he should be able to find success against their struggling lineup.