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This time last week, the Royals were the hottest team in baseball. They began the second half by winning nine of their first 12 games before losing four straight. A blowout win last night gave Kansas City an opportunity to win the series before heading to St. Louis.
They’ll turn to Daniel Lynch, who has turned in back-to-back solid starts after his disastrous first stint in Kansas City. He tossed eight scoreless innings against Detroit on July 25 before grinding through six innings against Toronto last week.
His ERA has dropped from 15.75 at his demotion to 6.95 in just two starts. Despite that, he’s still looking to find his groove in Kansas City, having struck out just four batters in his last 14 innings.
He’ll be faced by fellow lefty Dallas Keuchel, who has struggled thus far in 2021, specifically in his last two starts. In those starts, Keuchel has given up nine runs in just 11.1 innings.
The Royals lineup is daunting, with Hunter Dozier hitting cleanup. But in other news, Edward Oliveres is making his 4th consecutive start without being demoted! Cheers!
Daniel Lynch heads to the mound in Chicago for the deciding game of the series vs. the White Sox.#TogetherRoyal pic.twitter.com/Cfq1rkxRRD
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 5, 2021
Dallas Keuchel is 6-2 with a 2.76 ERA (23 ER/75.0 IP) in 12 career starts against Kansas City.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 5, 2021
⏰: 7:10 p.m. CT
: @NBCSChicago
: @ESPN1000 pic.twitter.com/N997TLocnZ