Chicago @ Kansas City preview
Kauffman Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 15, 2011 ) Chi. White Sox 2, Kansas City 7
THE STORY: Having knocked themselves from playoff contention on Thursday, the Chicago White Sox will attempt to snap a five-game losing streak when they play the second of a four-game series at the Kansas City Royals on Friday night. The Royals coasted to a 7-2 win in the series opener behind four hits from Melky Cabrera and a three-run homer by Billy Butler.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, Comcast Sports (Chicago), Fox Sports (Kansas City)
PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox RH Philip Humber (9-8, 3.43 ERA) vs. Royals RH Felipe Paulino (3-6, 4.10 ERA)
Although he has mustered just one win in his last eight outings, Humber has been pitching well. He has allowed just two earned runs over 13 innings in his two September starts. This will be Humber's first career start against Kansas City, though he has faced the Royals twice in relief. Royals hitters are a combined 2-for-10 against Humber with two walks, a strikeout and a pair of doubles.
Inconsistency has plagued Paulino all season long, and he continued his up-and-down ways by following a brutal Sept. 5 outing at Oakland with a magnificent performance in last Saturday's win at the Seattle Mariners. Against Seattle, Paulino struck out 11 and yielded just two runs over seven innings. He has been a bit better since joining the Royals' rotation, holding opponents to a .268 average after allowing hits at a much higher clip (.324) as a reliever with the Colorado Rockies.
ABOUT THE WHITE SOX (73-76): Chicago entered the season with what was expected to be one of the most potent offenses in baseball, but the lineup has been a major disappointment, ranking third from the bottom of the American League with 601 runs scored. The biggest letdown has been designated hitter Adam Dunn, who is batting just .162 with 160 strikeouts. Dunn was on track to destroy the record for lowest single-season batting average (.179), but he may now end up with too few at-bats to qualify.
ABOUT THE ROYALS (65-86): A young Kansas City club has shown some promise offensively, topping the American League in stolen bases (140) and ranking among the league leaders in batting average (.270), doubles (300) and triples (36) while scoring 668 runs. Pitching, on the other hand, has been a disaster — the Royals sit near the bottom of the major leagues in nearly every major category.
FINAL PITCH: The White Sox have won just five of their last 17 games in Kansas City dating back to last season.