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The Royals have taken five out of seven from the White Sox this year, and the contrast between the two teams has been quite striking. The Royals have outscored the Pale Hose 33-19 this season. The White Sox are a bad hitting, bad baserunning, and bad defensive team with some pretty good pitching that has translated into a severely disappointing season on the South Side.
John Danks is easily the worst pitcher in the White Sox rotation, so the Royals have a decent chance at sweeping this doubleheader. Danks is just 30, but is a pitcher clearly in decline. He comes in with the sixth-worst ERA among qualified starters in the American League. The flyball pitcher has thrown the least-effective changeup in the league. Danks has beaten the Royals once in two starts this year, and has an 8-1 record with a 2.73 ERA in 18 career starts against them.
Edinson Volquez takes to the hill for the Royals, and Eddie has been pretty decent for awhile now. Over the last calendar year, Volquez is 13-5 with a 2.83 ERA in 187 2/3 innings with 7.1 strikeouts and 3.5 walks-per-nine innings, although he has a 3.83 FIP. He's no ace, but hopefully the Royals can address that need within the next few weeks.
LINE UP FOR GAME TWO!
Palmetto Rose Lineup: Escobar 6, Hosmer 3, Cain 8, Morales DH, Perez 2, Infante 4, Rios 9, Orlando 7, Coleman 5, Volquez. #Royals
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) July 17, 2015
Your game 2 lineup: pic.twitter.com/Ch8fSQCqfQ
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 17, 2015