Carlos Rodon (1-4, 4.73 ERA) and Yordano Ventura (4-2, 4.85 ERA) take the hill in the last of a three-game series between the Chicago White Sox (25-18) and the Kansas City Royals (22-20) at U.S. Cellular Field. The Royals won the last game 2-1, and Kansas City leads the series 2-0. Action begins at 2:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, May. 22 and can be seen on WGN and FSKC.
Rodon pitched 6.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering three runs (one unearned), striking out seven and walking one in a 6-5 defeat to the Astros. Adam Eaton (.305, 19 Rs, 2 HRs, 14 RBIs, 4 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday. Ventura went 5.2 innings, surrendering four runs, striking out five and walking one in an 8-4 win over the Red Sox in his last outing.
Notes
In their last game, the Royals won by a margin of one run. The White Sox are 7-7 in one-run games. The Royals have a 7-4 record in close games.
Having scored one run in their last game, the White Sox are going to have to step it up if they want to win this matchup. The Royals have an 8-1 record in games where opponents scored one run or less.
It looks like the Royals have a slight leg up on the White Sox, as the Royals have won their last two games while the White Sox have lost their last two.
When they outhit their opponents, the Royals are 16-7. The White Sox have a 20-2 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 28th, Kansas City sits near the bottom of the league in runs, scoring 150 this season. Chicago ranks in the bottom half at 17th with 180.
Ranking 23rd, Kansas City is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.696). Chicago ranks in the bottom half at 20th with an OPS of .715.
The Royals are 11-14 when they allow at least one home run. The White Sox perform similarly when they allow one or more homers with an 11-12 record.
