CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:
WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox have won six of their last nine games as they continue a seven-game trip tonight at Kansas City.
RHP Lance Lynn, who is looking to win consecutive starts for the first time, is scheduled to start tonight’s game for Chicago.
The White Sox have split the first two games of this series at the Royals after opening the trip by winning two of three at Cincinnati, including scoring a season-high 17 runs in Sunday’s victory at Great American Ball Park.
Following tomorrow’s series finale at Kauffman Stadium, Chicago returns home for a nine-game, 10-day homestand vs. Houston (5/12-14), Cleveland (5/16-18) and the Royals (5/19-21).
The Sox went 3-4 on their last homestand vs. Tampa Bay (1-3) and Minnesota (2-1) from 4/27-5/4 and 0-6 on their last trip at the Rays (0-3) and Toronto (0-3) from 4/21-26.
TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
The White Sox have alternated wins and losses over their last seven games since 5/3 (4-3 record).
The Sox have won six of the last nine games following a 10-game losing streak … fi ve of the wins have come by three runs or less, including two by one run and two on walkoff hits.
Chicago pitchers own a 4.77 ERA (44 ER/83.0 IP) with 16 home runs, 33 walks and 96 strikeouts over the last nine games.
The Sox are 31-134 (.231) with RISP over the last 17 contests.
Lance Lynn is 6-1 with a 1.75 ERA (9 ER/46.1 IP), .195 opp. average, 0.84 WHIP and 50 strikeouts over his last seven starts (fi ve QS) vs. Kansas City since the start of the 2019 season.
Luis Robert Jr. is 12-26 (.462) with three doubles, three home runs, eight RBI, fi ve walks, three multihit eff orts and a 1.511 OPS during his eight-game hitting streak.
Andrew Vaughn owns 12 RBI over his last 11 games.
ROSTER MOVES
The White Sox today placed OF Billy Hamilton on the 10-day injured list (retro to 5/7) with a left hamstring strain, recalled RHP Nick Padilla from Class AAA Charlotte, selected the contract of OF Jake Marisnick from Charlotte (uniform No. 41), and designated RHP Alexander Colomé for assignment.
LAST NIGHT’S RECAP
White Sox pitchers combined to retire the final 11 Royals hitters and held on for a 4-2 win at Kauff man Stadium.
Lucas Giolito pitched out of multiple baserunner situations in the fifth and sixth innings, allowing just one run, and three relievers combined to retire the fi nal nine hitters of the game.
Luis Robert Jr. connected on a game-tying homer in the fourth (430 feet; 107.3 mph), and Andrew Vaughn hit a game-winning, two-run shot in the sixth, both off starter Jordan Lyles.
Giolito earned the win after allowing two runs on fi ve hits with a season-high nine strikeouts in 6.0 IP … Joe Kelly and Reynaldo Lopez earned holds, and Kendall Graveman recorded the save.
The start of the game was delayed by 2:00 due to rain.
WHITE SOX REMEMBER DAVE YOAKUM
The White Sox organization is mourning the loss of longtime scout Dave Yoakum (age 76), who passed away today at his home in Orlando, Fla. following a long illness.
Yoakum served as an assistant to the general manager with the White Sox from 1991-2020, helping Sox teams reach the postseason fi ve times, including a World Series title in 2005.
Yoakum, a co-founder of the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation, is survived by his wife Nina (NINE-a) and children Mark, Anna and Dax.
LONGBALL LOGISTICS
Chicago has homered in nine straight games since 4/30 (14 total home runs), and hit 17 over its last 12 contests since 4/27.
The White Sox nine-game home run streak is their longest since 7/30-8/10/21 (11 straight games).
The Sox have recorded six multi-homer eff orts and been held without a home run just once over the 12-game span.
FLIPPING THE SCRIPT?
Chicago has won five of its last eight games after losing a season-high 10 straight games from 4/19-29.
During the stretch, the Sox won consecutive games (4/30-5/2) for the first time, and earned their first overall series (5/2-4 vs. Minnesota) and road series (5/5-7) wins.
A breakdown of the White Sox over their last eight games since 4/30 and during their 10-game losing streak:
W-L AVG R R/G HR OBP SLG OPS ERA IP QS ER HR SO
5-3 .286 54 6.8 12 .361 .462 .823 5.11 74.0 2 42 15 85
0-10 .174 25 2.5 8 .250 .297 .547 7.24 51.0 1 41 10 50
WHITE SOX VS. KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Chicago is hitting .209/.250/.403 with three home runs, owns a 7.41 ERA (14 ER/17.0 IP) with one quality start and has been outscored by a 14-9 margin vs. Kansas City this season.
The White Sox and Royals play 13 games this season, including seven times in May and six times in September.
The White Sox are 19-21 vs. the Royals since the start of the 2021 season (outscored 156-155) after going 9-1 in 2020 … the Sox have lost four of the last fi ve games at Kauff man Stadium.
Chicago went 9-10 vs. Kansas City last season, going 5-4 at Guaranteed Rate Field and 4-6 at Kauff man Stadium.
CENTRAL DIVISION DYNAMICS
Chicago is 4-4 vs. the American League Central this season.
The White Sox went 37-39 vs. the AL Central in 2022 (18-19 at home; 19-20 on the road) after going 69-47 from 2020-21.
The White Sox recorded three straight winning seasons vs. the division from 2019-21, their longest streak since 1997-2009.
REST WHEN YOU CAN
The Sox are 6-3 during their current stretch of 29 games in 30 days from 5/2-31 … their only off days in May are 5/1 and 5/15.
The 29-game stretch includes 15 games at home, 14 on the road and 20 vs. the American League Central.
The White Sox play seven consecutive series from 5/5-28 vs. teams at or below .500 (Cincinnati, Kansas City twice, Houston, Cleveland twice and Detroit).
POSTING PUNCHOUTS
Chicago pitchers lead MLB with 368 strikeouts, 17 ahead of the Yankees (351) … White Sox starters rank second in the major leagues in strikeouts (218), trailing the Twins (226).
SOUTHPAW SUCCESS
The White Sox are batting .273/.339/.443 vs. left-handed pitching since the start of the 2019 season … during that span, the Sox lead MLB in average and on-base percentage, tied for second in OPS (.782) and sixth in slugging percentage.
Tim Anderson owns a .349/.379/.555 (142-407) slash line vs. LHP since 2019, and Hanser Alberto is hitting .346/.366/.493 (172-497) … Anderson and Alberto rank 1-2 in MLB in average vs. left-handers since the start of 2019.
Luis Robert Jr. is a career .349/.413/.608 hitter vs. lefties.
ANDREW, ANDREW … HE’S OUR MAN!
All four of Andrew Vaughn’s home runs this season have tied the game or given Chicago the lead, including a game-ending, three-run shot in the ninth inning on 4/30 vs. Tampa Bay.
Vaughn leads the White Sox and is tied for sixth in the A.L. with 31 games reaching base and 15 contests with a hit and RBI.
He is 13-28 (.464) with three homers and RBI with RISP.
AS TA GOES, SO GO THE WHITE SOX
The White Sox went 3-15 during Tim Anderson’s 10-day injured list stint from 4/11-5/1 (sprained left knee).
Since the start of the 2020, the Sox are 154-114 when Anderson is in the starting lineup and 68-85 when he does not start.
During that span, the Sox are 126-75 when Anderson records a hit, 73-32 when he records a multi-hit eff ort, 96-47 when he scores a run and 27-3 when he homers.
Anderson ranks second in MLB since the start of 2019 with 52 three-hit games (Sox are 36-16), trailing Freddie Freeman (60).
Anderson needs three homers to become the fourth player in White Sox history to record 100 homers and 100 stolen bases.
REINFORCEMENTS ON THE MEND
LHP Garrett Crochet (TJ surgery), RHP Liam Hendriks (cancer treatment) and INF Yoán Moncada (lower back soreness) currently are on rehab assignments with Class AAA Charlotte.
Crochet has made four appearances (4 ER/4.1 IP; 5 SO) with Class AA Birmingham and Charlotte.
Hendriks (1 ER/2.0 IP) has made two appearances with Class AAA Charlotte … he announced on 4/20 he is cancer free.
Moncada is 8-12 (.667) with two home runs, four RBI, four runs scored and two walks in four games with Charlotte.
STARTER – #33 LANCE LYNN RHP
LYNN AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his eighth start of the season, fifth on the road and first against the Kansas City Royals.
Will celebrate his 36th birthday on Friday.
Has tossed 5.0-plus IP in six of his seven starts and 6.0-plus in three, including in each of his last two.
Has allowed a nine home runs this season … has surrendered a homer in six of his seven starts, including in each of his last three.
Ranks among MLB active pitchers in HR/9.0 IP (6th, 0.93), SO/9.0 IP (7th, 9.10), opponents average (9th, .242), opponents SLG (9th, .382), wins (9th, 124), starts (9th, 292), IP (10th, 1,744.2), opponents OPS (11th, .694), ERA (12th, 3.60), WHIP (12th, 1.26), opponents
OBP (12th, .312) and strikeouts (12th, 1,765).
Signed a two-year contract extension with a club option with the White Sox on 7/17/21 … the Sox hold an $18-million option for 2024 with a $1-million buyout.
Is a two-time All-Star (2012 and 2021) … has finished fifth in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2019, sixth in 2020 and third in 2021 … was a member of the 2011 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals.
LAST START
Earned his first win of the season on 5/5 at Cincinnati, allowing four runs on eight hits with no walks and eight strikeouts over 6.2 IP … allowed a run in the third inning, two in the fourth and one in the fifth, including a solo home run to Jonathan India.
Left the game in the seventh with the White Sox leading, 5-4, two outs and a runner on first … threw 103 pitches (74 strikes).
Owned a 81.5 first-strike percentage and 14.6 swinging-strike percentage (19 swing and misses) vs. 27 batters … threw 58 four-seam fastballs (91.9 mph avg; 93.5 mph max), 21 cutters (87.6 avg; 90.2 max), 10 sinkers (90.9 avg; 93.7 max), eight curveballs (79.6 avg; 80.9 max) and six changeups (85.4 avg; 86.9 max).
GRAB SOME BENCH
Recorded his 24th career double-digit strikeout performance and fifth with the Sox on 4/29 vs. Tampa Bay.
Ranks 11th in the majors with 685 strikeouts since 2019 … teammate Lucas Giolito (753) ranks sixth.
Has struck out at least five batters in 84 of his 102 starts since 2019, the 10th-highest total in the majors.
ROAD TRIPPIN’
Is 5-2 with a 2.98 ERA (22 ER/66.1 IP) and .230 (58- 252) opponents average in his last 11 road starts.
Has gone 9-8 with a 3.69 ERA (63 ER/153.2 IP), .247 (149-603) opponents average and 159 strikeouts over 27 starts on the road since 2021 … has allowed two runs or less in 17 of those starts and one run or less in nine.
His 3.69 ERA on the road since 2021 is the 10th-lowest among American League leaders (min. 150.0 IP).
ORTHODOX HITTERS
Owns a career .230/.285/.353 (806-3,511) opponents slash line against right-handed hitters.
His .230 opponents average vs. right-handers is the 10th-lowest mark among active pitchers in the majors.
WORK HORSE
Ranks 10th in MLB with 1,744.2 IP since 2011 … is one of eight active pitchers in MLB with 1,700.0-plus career IP.
Has thrown 100-plus pitches 67 times since 2019, the most in the majors during that span.
Has thrown 29,810 pitches since 2011, seventh-most during that span, and the most among MLB pitchers with less than 1,900.0 IP during that span.
VS. KANSAS CITY ROYALS || A.L. CENTRAL
Is scheduled to make his 15th career start against the Royals and eighth at Kauffman Stadium.
Is 8-2 with a 2.50 ERA (19 ER/68.1 IP), .210 (53-252) opponents average and 70 strikeouts in his last 11 starts against the Royals.
Went 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA (6 ER/19.0 IP), .208 (15-72) opponents average and 21 strikeouts over three starts last season.
Has gone 12-7 with a 3.71 ERA (64 ER/155.1 IP), .248 (68-608) and 161 strikeouts in 27 starts against the American League Central since 2021.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Royals suffered a 4-2 loss to the White Sox at Kauffman Stadium last night in a game that took 2 hours, 2 minutes to complete, following a 2-hour rain delay…Jordan Lyles retired the first 11 White Sox batters before Luis Robert Jr. took him deep with 2 outs in the 4th…Andrew Vaughn hit a 2-run homer in the top of the 6th to give the Sox a 3-1 lead, which unfortunately was enough to out-perform the Royals offense, which had only 5 hits…Vinnie Pasquantino was responsible for 2 of those hits, including a solo home run off Lucas Giolito in the 1st inning and an RBI single in the 6th…the Royals loaded the bases later in that inning with 1 out, before Giolito induced a popout and groundout to escape the frame…that followed a missed opportunity in the 5th, when the Royals had two on and no outs, before Giolito recorded 3 consecutive strikeouts to escape the threat…Chicago’s bullpen went nine up, nine down as the Royals fell to 10-27 overall and 3-5 on this homestand.
Last night marked Kansas City’s third weather delay through 37 games this season, following April 15 vs. Atlanta (2 hours, 35 minutes) and April 28 at Minnesota (1 hour, 57 minutes)…the Royals have lost 6 consecutive games impacted by a weather delay, and their last such win came on July 1, 2022 at Detroit.
YOU COMPLETE ME: Jordan Lyles went the distance in last night’s loss, completing 9.0 innings on 112 pitches… he went 1-2-3 in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 8th and 9th and allowed just 6 hits, including a solo HR by Luis Robert Jr. in the 4th and a 2-run HR by Andrew Vaughn in the 6th…his 4 runs allowed in 9.0 innings would be good enough on most nights, but the Royals supported him with only 2 runs for the sixth time in 8 starts this season.
Last night marked Lyles’ 2nd complete game in his last 11 starts dating back to Sept. 21, 2022 with Baltimore, after he recorded just 1 complete game in his 1st 211 career starts…it was the 1st 9.0-inning complete game by a Royal since Brad Keller’s shutout three years ago on Sept. 13, 2020 vs. Pittsburgh…Lyles is the first Royal to suffer a loss in a complete game since Keller on July 1, 2018 at Seattle (8.0 IP), and the first to do it in 9.0 innings in 10 years, since James Shields on April 13, 2013 vs. Toronto.
He was the first Royal to complete 9.0 innings without issuing a walk since Jakob Junis on Aug. 28, 2018.
HBD, SALVY!: Royals Captain Salvador Perez is celebrating his 33rd birthday today, and shares this date of birth with former Royals George Kottaras (40) and Craig Brazell (43)…other May 10 birthdays include Saturday Night Live’s Kenan Thompson, who is 45, and ESPN sportscaster Chris “Boomer” Berman, who is 68.
Salvy has homered on his birthday once before, and it was a grand slam in 2018 in Baltimore, where he became the second Royal to hit a grand slam on his birthday, joining Mike Sweeney, who did it in 2004.
He’s played on his birthday seven times before, but tonight marks his first birthday at home since 2013.
MAY FLOWERS: Despite scoring just 2 runs on 5 hits last night, the Royals offense continues to rank among the Major League leaders in the month of May…since the calendar flipped to begin this season-long, 10-game homestand, the Royals lead all 30 teams in slugging percentage (.538), rank tied for 1st in runs per game (6.8), 2nd in on-base percentage (.369) and OPS (.907), tied for 2nd in home runs (14) and 3rd in batting average (.292) and extra-base hits (36)…this comes on the heels of a rough first month of the season, during which the Royals ranked 24th in runs per game, 29th in batting average (.220) and 30th in OPS (.624).
DINGER PARTY: The Royals have homered in a season-high 8 consecutive games to begin the month of May, after homering in 14 of 29 games in March/April (20 HR total)…their 14 HR through 8 games this month are tied with the Yankees and Rays for the American League lead and rank tied for 2nd in the Majors to the Braves, who have hit 18 HR in 9 games this month…of the Royals last 13 home runs, 6 have come with a man on base, after their previous 8 homers were solo shots, which was their longest run of solos within the same season since 2019.
Royals catchers have hit 9 home runs this season, the most of any position on the team and the highest total at the catcher position in the Majors, matching the Braves, whose catchers also have 9 home runs.
Salvador Perez is tied for the team lead with 7 HR, including 6 as a catcher…MJ Melendez has homered once as a catcher and Freddy Fermin has homered twice on this homestand, the 1st and 2nd of his career.
PASQUATCH SIGHTING: Vinnie Pasquantino was responsible for both of the Royals runs last night, a solo home run in the 1st inning and an RBI single in the 6th…his 19 RBI rank 2nd on the team to Salvador Perez (20), and he’s recorded 11 RBI in his last 9 games dating back to the last game of the most recent road trip.
He’s reached safely in 53 of his last 56 games dating back to Sept. 15, 2022, a stretch in which he leads Major League Baseball (min. 200 PA) in OPS (.948) and times on base (100), and ranks 2nd to Bo Bichette (.335) in batting average (.329) and 2nd to Brandon Nimmo (.429) in on-base percentage (.417).
Vinnie’s combination of plate discipline and power is rare in today’s game, and is evident by this note first mentioned by Jake Eisenberg…among players with at least as many walks as strikeouts, Pasquantino’s 19 extra-base hits are the most in the Majors, ahead of Yandy Díaz, José Ramírez & Gleyber Torres (14 each).
VS. WHITE SOX: The Royals and White Sox are meeting tonight for the 3rd of 13 games between these division rivals this season, and for the 3rd of 7 games over 14 days, including a 3-game set in Chicago on the Royals next road trip from May 19-21…the Royals have won nine of the last 12 season series vs. the White Sox, including a 10-9 record vs. them last season, which marked their most wins vs. any opponent in 2022.
The Royals are 21-19 vs. the Sox since 2021—including 12-10 at home—after going 1-9 vs. them in 2020.
This series also marks a homecoming of sorts for White Sox Manager Pedro Grifol, who spent 10 seasons with the Royals from 2013-22, including three years as the Bench Coach from 2020-22…his staff includes Major League Field Coordinator, Mike Tosar, who was a Special Assignment Hitting Coach with the Royals from 2021-22, and Third Base Coach, Eddie Rodríguez, who previously spent 11 seasons over two stints in the Royals organization, most recently as a Minor League Infield Coordinator from 2017-22.
Chicago’s 13 active position players include three former Royals in Hanser Alberto, who played for Kansas City in 2021, and Billy Hamilton, who played with the Royals in 2019…Andrew Benintendi played a season-and-a-half with Kansas City from 2021-22 and hit .320 (111-for-347) in 93 games with the Royals last season, before he was traded to the New York Yankees ahead of last year’s Trade Deadline.
ON DECK: Following this season-long, 10-game homestand, the Royals will leave Kansas City tomorrow night to begin a 10-day, 9-game road trip…they’ll play 3 games this weekend in Milwaukee and 3 games next week in San Diego, before enjoying an off day in Chicago on Thursday, May 18, which will wrap up a stretch of 26 games in 27 days…that will lead into a 3-game weekend series in Chicago vs. these White Sox from May 19-21.
TONIGHT’S STARTERS: RHP BRAD KELLER (2-3, 4.67)
BRAD KELLER will make his 8th start of the season—and 113th start of his career— tonight vs. the White Sox, which will mark his 17th career start (21st appearance) against them…he’s in his sixth Major League season after being acquired by Kansas City in a trade with Cincinnati, who selected him from Arizona in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft.
A NIGHT TO FORGET: Brad suffered his 3rd loss of the season last Friday vs. the Athletics after surrendering season highs in both runs (7) and hits (11)…he allowed three straight batters to reach to start the game, including the leadoff hitter, Esteury Ruiz, who scored on Keller’s own throwing error…he allowed six of seven batters to reach in the 3rd inning—including a set of back-to-back home runs—and escaped the frame with the help of a pickoff at first base and a 3-6-3 double play…with 2 outs in the 4th, 1 run scored on back-to-back doubles and another run came around on an RBI double with 1 out in the 5th, after which he exited in a 6-2 deficit favor of Jonathan Heasley, who yielded an RBI single…the Royals trailed by 7 runs in the 5th inning and cut the deficit to 1 run in the 7th, however the bullpen yielded 3 runs on 3 walks and 2 hits over the final 2.0 frames.
After allowing only 1 HR over his first 32.1 innings this year, he surrendered 2 HR within a span of 6 pitches to Brent Rooker and Ramón Laureano in the 3rd.
His 11 hits (6 extra-base hits) allowed came on the heels of a 6-start stretch in which he yielded only 24 hits, including 4 starts of 4 hits or fewer…it marked his most hits allowed since a career-high 13 on Aug. 2, 2022 at the White Sox.
Struck out Laureano swinging in the 1st inning to mark his 500th career strikeout.
WILD THING: Keller has issued 28 walks over 7 starts this season—including 20 over his last 4 outings since April 18—and he leads the Majors in walks allowed this season, ahead of the Cardinals Jack Flaherty (27)…these numbers are slightly skewed due to some bad luck, as Keller has thrown 13 pitches inside the strike zone this year that were called balls, which is tied for the 16th most such calls for any American League pitcher (according to Baseball Savant)…of those 13 such pitches, 8 have been thrown over his last 3 starts since April 24—a stretch in which he’s issued 15 walks—and 4 of those 11 plate appearances resulted in a walk.
He’s the first Royal with at least 20 walks within any 4-start span within a single season in 23 years, since Dan Reichert walked 21 from July 16-Aug. 1, 2000.
NO TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE: Over his first 6 starts of the season, Keller relied on his new curveball 23.6% of the time and the pitch yielded a 30.1% whiff rate, which according to Baseball Savant was the 9th-best mark in the American League off the pitch (min. 25 PA)…in his most recent start last Friday, he only utilized his curveball 8.4% of the time, a dramatic dip in his use of the pitch, and he did not record any swings and misses off it…he still ranks tied for 6th in the AL this season with 22 swings and misses off his curveball, trailing leader Domingo Germán (52).
SEASONED VETERAN: Keller is pitching in his sixth Major League season, and since his debut in 2018, he leads all Royals in wins (37), starts (112), innings pitched (668.1) and strikeouts (500)…his 668.1 innings also rank 7th in the American League since the start of 2018, trailing only Gerrit Cole (919.1), José Berríos (860.0), Lucas Giolito (810.1), Marco Gonzales (796.1), Lance Lynn (767.0) and Shane Bieber (754.2).
Among all pitchers who have made their Majors debut since 2018, Keller’s 112 starts rank 2nd, behind Bieber (119)…his 668.1 innings also rank 2nd among that group of pitchers—trailing Bieber—and his 37 wins are the 7th most, as Bieber is leading the way with 57 wins since his 2018 debut.
Brad recorded his 500th career strikeout in his start last Friday vs. the Athletics, becoming the 18th different pitcher in Royals history to eclipse that milestone…he’s just 8 strikeouts shy of matching Bud Black and Ian Kennedy (508) for 16th on the franchise’s all-time strikeout list.
DECISIONS, DECISIONS: Keller did not earn a decision in his 2 starts from April 24-29, snapping his streak of starts with a decision at 19 dating back to last May 21, a stretch in which he went 7-12 with a 5.42 ERA (60 ER in 99.2 IP) and 7 quality starts…he had the longest run of starts with a decision by a Royal since Tim Belcher earned a decision in 21 consecutive starts from Sept. 2, 1996-June 20, 1997…it was the longest streak in the Majors since Jacob deGrom had 20 straight starts with a decision for the Mets from May 19-Sept. 5, 2017, and the longest in the American League since Hisashi Iwakuma had 23 straight starts from May 20-Sept. 20, 2016 with Seattle.
Royals Hall of Famer Dennis Leonard holds the club record of 26 straight starts with a decision (Aug. 26, 1997-June 23, 1978), in which he went 14-12.
FROM THE GROUND UP: Keller has a career 52.6% groundball rate, which ranks 4th in the Majors since the start of his 2018 debut season (min. 600.0 IP), trailing only Dallas Keuchel (55.2%), Marcus Stroman (54.8%) and Max Fried (52.8%)…likewise, his lifetime HR/9 rate of 0.83 (62 HR in 668.1 IP) ranks 4th in the Majors since 2018 (min. 600.0 IP), behind Jacob deGrom (0.71), Zack Wheeler (0.73) and Fried (0.78).
His 55.3% groundball rate ranks 3rd in the American League this season (min. 30.0 IP), trailing only Framber Valdez (64.0%) and Zach Eflin (55.9%).
He’s induced 8 double plays in 7 starts this season and has an AL-leading 84 since the start of 2018, 4 more than Seattle’s Marco Gonzales (80).
FAMILIAR FACES: Brad has made 20 career appearances (16 starts) against the White Sox, which is the most he has faced any single opponent in his career…in those 20 outings, he’s gone 5-6 with a 3.97 ERA (44 ER in 99.2 IP)…he made 3 starts vs. the Sox last season, including a quality start on May 16 at Kauffman Stadium in which he spun 7.0 innings and allowed 3 runs on 8 hits (1 HR) and no walks, but did not earn a decision.
Keller is one of seven Royals with at least 300.0 career innings pitched against American League Central opponents, and his 3.35 ERA (116 ER
in 311.1 IP) vs. the division leads the pack, ahead of teammate Zack Greinke, who has a lifetime 3.78 ERA (250 ER in 595.2 IP) vs. the AL Central.
HOME WOES: Since the start of last season, he’s gone 3-11 and has pitched to a 5.06 ERA (47 ER in 83.2 IP) in 16 starts at Kauffman Stadium…he has not won a game at home since Aug. 7, 2022 vs. Boston, however that is largely due to his 2.37 run support average at home since the beginning of 2022 (22 RS)…he’s covered at least 6.0 innings in 9 of those 16 starts since last year and has allowed 3 earned runs or fewer in 11 of his 16 starts.
