Kansas City To Continue Dominating ChiSox

Division rivals with different paths the rest of the season square off for the last time in 2024 when the Kansas City Royals visit the Chicago White Sox for a three-game series beginning on Monday.

Kansas City has dominated the season series, winning nine of the first 10 meetings, but Chicago is looking to reverse its fortunes against the Royals this week. We’ll cover whether it can or not in our Royals vs White Sox series preview.

The Royals are in third place in the AL Central race, sitting two games behind the second-place Minnesota Twins. Kansas City has dropped two straight heading into this series but remains in the final Wild Card spot in the American League, leading the Boston Red Sox by a game.

Chicago is on a 14-game losing skid, with its last win coming before the All-Star break. The White Sox easily have the worst record in baseball, trailing the fourth-place Detroit Tigers by 25.5 games in the AL Central standings.

As you might expect, the MLB expert picks today heavily favor the Royals to pick up the win in the series opener. Kansas City is listed at -175 on the moneyline, compared to Chicago’s +145 odds for the straight-up win.

The run line doesn’t even give the White Sox an advantage, with Chicago listed at -110 when getting 1.5 runs and Kansas City getting the same odds when giving those runs. The over/under for Monday’s contest is set at nine runs, with the under getting -115 odds and the over -105.

The first two games of the series are scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET, with the series finale set for a 2:10 p.m. ET first pitch on Wednesday. All games in the series will be played at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Alec Marsh (Kansas City) vs Chris Flexen (Chicago)

Kansas City will have right-hander Alec Marsh starting in the series opener. Marsh is 7-7 with a 4.75 ERA in 18 starts and 19 appearances this season, striking out 90 in 96.2 innings of work.

Marsh has struggled in four July starts, going 1-2 with a 7.80 ERA. He’s coming off a loss against the Arizona Diamondbacks last Tuesday in which he went five innings, allowing five runs on five hits while striking out six and walking two.

The White Sox will counter with righty Chris Flexen, who will make his 21st start and 23rd overall appearance of the campaign. Flexen is 2-10 with a 5.25 ERA, striking out 78 in 106.1 innings. This is his third start against the Royals this season, going 0-2 with an 8.18 ERA in the previous two outings.

He’s lost seven straight decisions, including his last start, against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, going 4.2 innings and giving up three runs on seven hits.

Game 2: Michael Wacha (Kansas City) vs Jonathan Cannon (Chicago)

Righty Michael Wacha will start the middle game of the series for KC. Wacha is 7-6 with a 3.65 ERA in 18 starts this season, recording 86 strikeouts in 101 innings of work. He faced the White Sox on July 19, throwing seven shutout innings and allowing just four hits while striking out seven and walking one.

In his most recent start, against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, Wacha took a no-decision after going 4.2 innings and giving up three runs on six hits, including three home runs.

Rookie right-hander Jonathan Cannon makes his 11th major league start and 13th overall appearance on Tuesday. He’s 1-5 with a 4.43 ERA, striking out 44 in 63 innings of work.

The 24-year-old has faced Kansas City twice already in his initial MLB season, going 0-1 with a 4.09 ERA. He’s coming off a hard-luck loss against the Rangers on Thursday, going six innings and allowing two runs on eight hits in a 2-1 setback.

Game 3: Brady Singer (Kansas City) vs Drew Thorpe (Chicago)

Wrapping up the series for the Royals will be right-hander Brady Singer. The 27-year-old is 7-6 with a 2.82 ERA (good for ninth in baseball), with 111 strikeouts in 118 innings over 21 starts. Singer has been hot of late, going 3-2 with a 1.88 ERA in five July starts.

That ERA would be even lower if not for an ugly loss to Boston on July 14 in which he lasted just 2.2 innings and allowed four runs. His two starts since that one, including against the White Sox on July 20, have consisted of a combined 14 shutout innings and a pair of wins.

Chicago will have another rookie, righty Drew Thorpe, taking the mound for the series finale. Thorpe is 3-2 with a 4.81 ERA in eight starts, striking out 25 in 39.1 innings.

The 23-year-old threw six shutout innings against Kansas City on July 21, allowing just three hits while striking out five and walking two. Unfortunately, he followed that up with an ugly 0.2-inning start against the Seattle Mariners in which he gave up eight runs on six hits, including back-to-back-to-back home runs.

Royals All-Stars Leading The Way

Kansas City has a solid offensive attack, ranking 12th in baseball with 490 runs. It’s led by a pair of All-Stars in shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and catcher Salvador Perez. Both are part of the MLB MVP race 2024, with Witt among the best bets for the award.

The 24-year-old is second in baseball with a .341 batting average, and his 71 RBI are tied for eighth in the majors. Witt also has 29 doubles, 10 triples, 18 home runs, and 85 runs scored, which is good for second in baseball.

Perez has been pretty darn good as well, leading the Royals with 19 home runs and ranking 11th in the majors with 70 RBI. The 34-year-old is batting .274 with 16 doubles and 43 runs scored, and he’s hit safely in five of his last six games.

The White Sox offense is equivalent to one of the lower MLB payrolls in 2024, with Chicago ranking last in baseball in runs by a wide margin. In the team’s 10 games since the All-Star break, Chicago has scored just 17 runs, including just three in a three-game series against the Royals earlier in the month.

First baseman Andrew Vaughn has been a rare positive for the White Sox at the plate, hitting .234 with 45 RBI to lead Chicago in both categories. He also has a team-best 20 doubles, 11 home runs, and 36 runs scored.

Royals Continue Dominance of White Sox

This Royals vs White Sox series preview proves what many may have already known: Kansas City should be the heavy favorite in all three games. Chicago is in a season-long tailspin while the Royals have a playoff berth to chase, so the difference in motivation will be evident.

Kansas City has dominated against the White Sox all season long, and that won’t change this week. When doing your MLB betting on this series, go with the visiting Royals in every contest.

Royals vs White Sox Series Preview

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