White Sox hoping to be a Royal pain again
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Chicago White Sox like playing at Kauffman Stadium much better than the Kansas City Royals. The Royals have the worst home record in the majors, losing 10 of 11 after falling to the White Sox 6-3 on Thursday night. The White Sox have only six victories this season, but are 3-0 at Kauffman Stadium. "It's pretty cool hitting here," said Matt Davidson, who hit two home runs Thursday. "It's not necessarily a hitter's park, but it's gone pretty well so far. We've won every day we've been here. So let's keep it going." The two teams tangle again Friday night in the second contest of a five-game series. In the three games in Kansas City, the White Sox are hitting .287 with a .369 on-base percentage and a .657 slugging percentage. They have blasted 12 home runs and scored 24 runs. Davidson is 6-for-10 with five home runs in the three games. "I don't look at our records and thank God. I thought we were 5-20 and we're only like 5-17 (actually 5-18), so we're better than I thought we were," Royals manager Ned Yost said and laughed. "Why I'm not freaking out or why I still feel really good about this group is to a man every single day, every single night, these guys show up and you walk in that locker room and you can't tell if we're 5-17 or 17-5. And that's the attitude I want. "When things go south, they don't quit. They continue to battle. I've got no issues with what we're doing. They just got to produce better. For me to stand there stand say produce better doesn't work." The Royals will send left-hander Danny Duffy to the mound Friday to try to slow down the White Sox momentum at Kauffman Stadium. Duffy, however, is 0-3 with a 5.26 ERA and the Royals have failed to win any of his five starts. He has walked 13 in 25 2/3 innings. In Duffy's last start, he was charged with six runs on 10 hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings in a Saturday loss at Detroit. This will be his first night start of the season. He went 8-5 with a 3.46 ERA in night games last year. He was 1-5 with a 4.60 ERA in sunlight starts in 2017. Duffy is 7-6 with a 4.46 ERA in 21 outings (19 starts) against the White Sox for his career. He suffered a 14-7 loss to the White Sox on Opening Day. The White Sox will counter with right-hander Reynaldo Lopez. While Lopez has not allowed more than four hits or two runs in his first four starts, he is winless, 0-2 with a 1.50 ERA. He yielded one run on four hits over five innings in a no-decision in his last start Sunday against the Houston Astros. Lopez is 2-0 with a 3.44 ERA in three career starts, all of them within a 42-day span last year, against the Royals. Mike Moustakas is 2-for-9 off Lopez, but both hits were home runs. Alcides Escobar is 2-for-8 with a homer against Lopez while Whit Merrifield is 3-for-9. The White Sox will be without manager Rick Renteria for the next two games after the death of his mother. He will go Friday to Austin, Texas, for the services. Bench coach Joe McEwing will manage the club in Renteria's absence. |