Chicago @ Kansas City preview
Kauffman Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 17, 2011 ) Chi. White Sox 3, Kansas City 10
THE STORY: The American League's longest winning streak is on the line when Kansas City hosts the Chicago White Sox Sunday afternoon in the final game of a four-game series. The Royals, winners of seven straight games, have pounded Chicago's pitching staff through the first three contests, totaling 24 runs on 46 hits. The White Sox have lost seven games in a row.
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago)
PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox LH John Danks (6-12, 4.36 ERA) vs. Royals LH Bruce Chen (11-7, 4.04 ERA)
Like most of the Chicago starters, Danks has hit the wall in September. He has dropped three consecutive starts while allowing 21 runs (19 earned) in 15 2/3 innings after going 6-1 with a 2.03 ERA through June, July and August. Danks hopes to break out of his slump against a Kansas City team that has never beaten him — the lefthander is 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 10 lifetime starts, allowing just two runs in 13 innings against the Royals this season.
Chen had struggled through a pair of rough outings, yielding 11 runs in 11 1/3 innings before righting the ship with his best performance of the season in a Sept. 13 victory over Minnesota (8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 8 K, 1 BB). Prior to the back-to-back defeats, Chen won five straight starts, including an impressive Aug. 12 win in Chicago (6 IP, 1 H, 0 R). In 13 career games (eight starts) against the White Sox, Chen is 2-3 with a 3.28 ERA.
ABOUT THE WHITE SOX (73-78): Chicago's pitching staff has been hammered during the current skid, allowing 56 runs in the last seven games. Offensively, the White Sox been a major disappointment all year, ranked third from the bottom of the American League with 610 runs scored. The biggest letdown has been DH Adam Dunn, who is batting just .161 with 161 strikeouts in 384 at-bats.
ABOUT THE ROYALS (67-86): Kansas City has exploded for 31 runs in their last four games, just the latest sign of promise from a young lineup that ranks among the major league leaders in batting average (.271), doubles (303), triples (38) and stolen bases (144). Four different players have driven in at least 83 runs — DH Billy Butler (89), LF Alex Gordon (86), CF Melky Cabrera (83) and RF Jeff Francoeur (83).
FINAL PITCH: The Royals will be looking for their 15th victory in their last 20 home games against the White Sox.