Edinson Volquez (10-10, 5.02 ERA) and the Kansas City Royals (72-68) are in Chicago to meet James Shields (5-17, 6.07 ERA) and the White Sox (68-72) in a game that could have plenty of offense. This is the second of a three-game series at U.S. Cellular Field. The White Sox won the last game 7-2, and Chicago leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 7:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sep. 10 and will air on CSCh and FSKC.
In his last start, Shields pitched 2.1 innings, allowing five runs, striking out two and walking four in an 11-3 loss to the Twins. Jose Abreu (.299, 57 Rs, 23 HRs, 89 RBIs) played well again yesterday, going 2 for 4 with one RBI. The Royals were also unsuccessful the last time Volquez pitched. He struggled, going 6.2 innings, allowing four runs, striking out five and walking one in a 6-5 loss to the Tigers. Kendrys Morales (.258, 56 Rs, 26 HRs, 76 RBIs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with two RBIs.
Notes
For the 16th time this season, the White Sox registered at least two errors in a game.
The White Sox are coming off of a hot pitching game where they recorded 12 strikeouts. The Royals have a record of 5-6 when they are struck out that many times or more.
It looks like the White Sox have a slight leg up on the Royals, as the White Sox have won their last three games while the Royals have lost their last two.
When they outhit their opponents, the Royals are 55-17. The White Sox have a 49-15 record when outhitting opponents.
Chicago and Kansas City both rank near the bottom of the league in runs. Chicago sits at 24th with 586 runs this season and Kansas City ranks 25th with 580.
Chicago and Kansas City both rank near the bottom of the league for their on-base plus slugging percentage. Chicago sits at 23rd with an OPS of .725, and Kansas City ranks 26th with an OPS of .716.
The Royals are 45-55 when they allow at least one home run. The White Sox perform similarly when they allow one or more homers with a 41-50 record.
