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The enthusiasm that has built up for this series is without bounds. There is so much riding on this series for both teams that it is almost overwhelming.
Game times and pitching matchups are as follows:
- Tuesday, July 31 — 7:10 PM — Danny Duffy (L) versus James Shields
- Wednesday, August 1 — 7:10 PM — Jakob Junis versus Dylan Covey
- Thursday, August 2 — 1:10 PM — Brad Keller versus Reynaldo López
Royals at White Socks pitching matchups
| Pitcher | G | IP | K | K% | BB | BB% | ERA | FIP | xFIP | SIERA | fWAR | rWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | G | IP | K | K% | BB | BB% | ERA | FIP | xFIP | SIERA | fWAR | rWAR |
| Game 1 | ||||||||||||
| Danny Duffy (L) | 22 | 126.1 | 113 | 20.2 | 58 | 10.4 | 4.70 | 4.88 | 4.98 | 4.78 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
| James Shields | 23 | 137.0 | 104 | 17.8 | 53 | 9.0 | 4.53 | 4.62 | 5.05 | 4.92 | 1.2 | 0.7 |
| Game 2 | ||||||||||||
| Jakob Junis | 19 | 110.1 | 101 | 20.8 | 32 | 6.6 | 5.06 | 5.42 | 4.51 | 4.19 | -0.2 | 0.1 |
| Dylan Covey | 13 | 68.1 | 50 | 16.2 | 30 | 9.7 | 5.40 | 4.62 | 4.42 | 4.63 | 0.5 | -0.3 |
| Game 3 | ||||||||||||
| Brad Keller | 31 | 76.0 | 45 | 14.1 | 32 | 10.0 | 3.43 | 3.83 | 4.48 | 4.79 | 0.9 | 1.9 |
| Reynaldo López | 21 | 122.0 | 86 | 16.3 | 55 | 10.4 | 4.57 | 5.30 | 5.70 | 5.38 | 0.4 | 0.8 |
Medium Game James is still kicking it. He’s been serviceable this year. Not so serviceable that Rick Hahn and the Pail Hose front office wouldn’t like a take-back on shipping Fernando Tatis Jr. to San Diego for Shields, but serviceable all the same. Dylan Covey still has two arms and throws baseballs with one of them. He is, um, not exciting. Reynaldo López is still trying to put together the puzzle that could unlock his potential.
Chicago White Socks position players
| Name | Pos | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | fWAR | rWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Pos | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | fWAR | rWAR |
| Tim Anderson | SS | 403 | 14 | 54 | 43 | 21 | .241 | .291 | .402 | .299 | 88 | 1.6 | 2.0 |
| Yoán Moncada (S) | 2B | 429 | 13 | 52 | 43 | 11 | .228 | .306 | .406 | .310 | 95 | 1.3 | 1.8 |
| Omar Narváez (L) | C | 188 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 0 | .290 | .355 | .438 | .345 | 120 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
| Yolmer Sánchez (S) | 3B/SS | 424 | 6 | 37 | 43 | 10 | .247 | .303 | .389 | .300 | 89 | 0.9 | 1.7 |
| Matt Davidson | 1B/3B | 327 | 15 | 35 | 40 | 0 | .221 | .327 | .439 | .333 | 111 | 0.8 | 1.1 |
| Leury García (S) | Util | 225 | 4 | 22 | 27 | 11 | .285 | .313 | .407 | .311 | 96 | 0.6 | 1.5 |
| Avisaíl García | RF | 181 | 11 | 24 | 24 | 0 | .277 | .293 | .526 | .343 | 118 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| José Abreu | 1B | 442 | 16 | 52 | 59 | 1 | .258 | .319 | .455 | .328 | 108 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| Kevan Smith | C | 104 | 0 | 11 | 10 | 1 | .309 | .356 | .340 | .312 | 97 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Daniel Palka (L) | DH/OF | 254 | 15 | 35 | 38 | 2 | .242 | .283 | .500 | .329 | 108 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Nick Delmonico (L) | LF/RF | 158 | 3 | 15 | 11 | 1 | .234 | .335 | .380 | .318 | 101 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Adam Engel | CF | 298 | 2 | 33 | 20 | 11 | .221 | .274 | .306 | .258 | 60 | -0.2 | 0.1 |
In total, the Pale Hoes have slashed .244/.302/.406 with a .306 wOBA and a 93 wRC+. That’s not very good, but it’s better than the Royals. Really that’s a succinct summary of the White Sox season on the whole. Look for their entire offense to feast on Royals pitching, as Matt Davidson and Tim Anderson especially have seemed to hang dong every trip to the plate against Kansas City.
Poll
How will the Royals fare on the South Side?
This poll is closed
-
11%
Royals sweep
(27 votes) -
39%
Royals take two of three
(93 votes) -
38%
Pail Hoes take two of three
(89 votes) -
10%
White Socks sweep
(25 votes)