KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
SHUT OUT ON SOUTH SIDE: The Royals suffered their Major League-most 8th shutout in last night’s 2-0 defeat in Chicago, snapping a 2-game win streak while falling to 2-5 on this 9-game road trip…Sox starter Michael Kopech allowed only 1 hit, a broken-bat bloop single by Michael Massey with 1 out in the 6th inning, though he was promptly erased on an inning-ending double play…Kendall Graveman went 1-2-3 in the 9th as Sox pitchers faced the minimum, marking just the second time in franchise history that the Royals had exactly 27 plate appearances in game in which they batted in all 9.0 innings, following July 6, 1990 in Detroit, where Jack Morris threw a 1-hit shutout in a 4-0 Royals loss…their only hit in that game was a 1st-inning single by Kurt Stillwell, who was erased on a double play by George Brett…that game from 33 years ago took 2 hours, 24 minutes to complete, 18 minutes more than last night’s 2-hour, 6-minute contest on the South Side.
WALK IT OUT: After Royals pitchers issued 23 walks over 3 games in San Diego earlier this week—including a season-high 10 walks on Monday night and 9 walks on Wednesday—Zack Greinke did not walk any of the 22 batters he faced over 5.2 innings last night…it was his 4th start this season in which he did not walk a batter over at least 5.0 innings, which is tied for the Major League lead…it was the Royals 11th such start this season, which leads the American League and is tied with the Dodgers and Phillies for the most starts in the Majors.
Greinke has issued just 7 walks to the 216 batters he’s faced over 52.1 innings this season for a 1.2 BB/9 and 3.2 BB%, both of which rank 3rd in the Majors behind George Kirby and Anthony DeSclafani… Zack has faced 50 batters since his last walk to Gavin Sheets in the 3rd inning on May 8 in Kansas City.
WHAT A RELIEF!: The bullpen continued its strong run last night with 2.1 scoreless innings by Jackson Kowar, who made his 1st appearance in the Majors this season…Kowar entered with a runner at third and 2 outs and issued back-to-back walks to load the bases, before retiring Jake Burger to escape the jam…that began a run of seven consecutive batters retired by Kowar, including 3 strikeouts…dating back to last June, 4 of Kowar’s last 7 appearances in the big leagues have been scoreless, a feat he failed to accomplish in his 1st 10 outings.
Over the last 14 days, Royals relievers have pitched to a 2.61 ERA (15 ER in 51.2 IP) and .204 opponents’ average (37-for-181), both of which rank 2nd in the American League, trailing only Baltimore’s bullpen… during that same stretch, the Royals bullpen leads all 30 teams in strikeouts (65), K/9 (11.3) and K% (30.5).
For the season, Royals relievers lead the Majors with 210 strikeouts and a 10.9 K/9, both of which mark big improvements over last season, when they ranked 25th with 552 strikeouts and 21st with an 8.5 K/9.
Carlos Hernández started Wednesday’s win in San Diego as the opener and pitched 2.0 scoreless innings to mark his 8th scoreless appearance in his last 10…during that stretch, he owns a 1.32 ERA (2 ER in 13.2 IP), .167 opponents’ average (8-for-48), 20 strikeouts (13.2 K/9) and no home runs allowed.
Taylor Clarke pitched a scoreless 8th inning on Wednesday to run his scoreless streak to 7.1 innings over 6 appearances, during which he’s held opponents to a .200 average (5-for-25) with 11 strikeouts.
Scott Barlow has retired 20 of his last 21 batters, and the only exception during that stretch was a single by Oakland’s JJ Bleday on May 7…he’s recorded 10.2 scoreless innings over his last 10 outings since April 22, a stretch in which he has 5 saves, a .111 opponents’ average (4-for-36) and 16 strikeouts…his save on Wednesday was the 49th in his career, tying him with Wade Davis and Steve Farr for 9th in Royals history.
ROSTER MOVE: The Royals announced this morning that left-handed pitcher Amir Garrett has been reinstated from the Family Medical Emergency List…in a corresponding move, right hander Jackson Kowar was optioned to Triple-A Omaha after making his season debut last night with 2.1 scoreless, hitless innings.
ARMED FORCES DAY: The Royals join all Major League teams today to demonstrate baseball’s appreciation of military service men, women and their families in commemoration of Armed Forces Day…last night, today and tomorrow, players and coaches will wear service-inspired caps specifically designed by New Era featuring club logos and matching camouflage socks…commemorative base jewels and lineup cards featuring the Armed Forces Day logo will also be used…100% of the licensed royalties from the sale of Armed Forces Day apparel will be donated to Major League Baseball Charities to support military programs…Major League Baseball has already committed more than $1 million in support of military-related charities in 2023.
POWER OUTAGE: The Royals have hit just 1 home run in their last 4 games since Monday night in San Diego, a drought that comes on the heels of a 13-game HR streak that marked the 2nd-longest run in franchise history…despite this week’s power outage, the Royals have hit 24 homers in 17 games this month—tied for 6th most in the Majors—already 4 home runs more than the 20 homers they hit in 29 games in March and April.
Royals catchers have hit 12 home runs this season, the most of any position on the team and the highest total at the catcher position in the Majors, 2 more than the Athletics and Braves (10 each)…Salvador Perez leads the Royals with 9 home runs, including 8 as a catcher…MJ Melendez has homered once as a catcher and Freddy Fermin has 3 home runs in 9 games (6 starts) as a catcher since his May 2 recall.
MAY FLOWERS: The Royals are 7-10 in the month of May, already matching their win total from March/April, when they went 7-22…including last night’s loss, they are 1-5 in series-opening games this month, but they’re 6-5 in all other games…with a win today, the Royals would force a rubber game for the fourth time in their last seven 3-game sets, after their first six series of the season were all decided going into the final game.
AFTERNOON DELIGHT: Today’s and tomorrow’s games will both be played at 1:10 p.m. CT to wrap this 9-game road trip…the Royals enter today having already played 20 day games, which match Cleveland for the 4th most in the American League behind Minnesota (24), Chicago and Detroit (23), as the Central Division dominates the day game schedule to this point…the Royals are scheduled for 64 day games this season, which would match 2021 for their 2nd most in a single season, trailing only last year, when they played 69 day games.
VS. WHITE SOX: The Royals are visiting the White Sox this weekend for the first time this season, after hosting them in Kansas City last week, where they won 3 of 4 games and outscored the Sox 27-13…including last night’s loss, the Royals are 23-20 vs. the White Sox since the start of 2021 after going 1-9 vs. them in 2020.
After playing 7 games over a 14-day span, these two teams won’t see each other again until September.
ON DECK: Thursday’s off day here in Chicago ended a stretch in which the Royals played 26 games in 27 days, and was their first break in the schedule since May 1…it also marked the Royals first of four off days over a current 15-day span, including one next Thursday at home and consecutive off days at home on May 31 and June 1, which will mark the first time the Royals will have scheduled back-to-back off days since April 6-7, 2016…today marks the 2nd of 6 straight games vs. American League Central opponents, including a 3-game series next week
TODAY’S STARTERS: RHP JORDAN LYLES (0-7, 7.14 ERA)
JORDAN LYLES is making his 10th start of the season and 331st appearance (224th start) of his career today vs. the White Sox…he was originally selected by Houston in the 1st round (38th overall) of the 2008 Draft out of Hartsville High School (S.C.), and signed a two-year contract with the Royals on Dec. 28, 2022.
LAST START: Jordan was tagged for a season-high 7 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks in a season-low 2.1 innings in last Sunday’s 9-6 defeat in Milwaukee, marking his career-worst 7th consecutive loss, as the Royals fell to 0-9 in his starts this season…after being spotted a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st on a Salvador Perez home run, Lyles surrendered the lead on a leadoff home run to Christian Yelich in the bottom half…the Royals plated 2 more runs in the 2nd and another run in the top of the 3rd to give Lyles a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the 3rd, when the Brewers plated 7 runs… he allowed each of the first four batters to reach on 3 walks and a single, and after retiring Willy Adames, he yielded 2 more hits, including an RBI double by Owen Miller that knocked him out of the game with runners on second and third with just 1 out… Jose Cuas allowed a 3-run HR to Brice Turang, charging the final 2 runs to Lyles’ line.
Lyles has allowed 14 HR in 51.2 innings (2.4 HR/9), matching Julio Urías for the most in the Majors, and he’s allowed multiple homers in 6 of his 9 starts.
The Royals are 0-9 in games started by Lyles this season, and he has set a new career high with a 7-game losing streak (across 9 starts) since his most recent win in his final start of 2022, a 2-1 victory at Yankee Stadium with the Orioles.
LAST TIME VS. THE WHITE SOX: Jordan gave the Royals all he had 2 starts ago vs. these White Sox on May 9 in Kansas City, where he allowed 4 runs on 6 hits in a 4-2 complete game loss to today’s opponent, Lucas Giolito…after jumping out to an early 1-0 lead, courtesy of a Vinnie Pasquantino solo home run in the 1st, Lyles and Giolito traded zeros through the 3rd inning, but Luis Robert Jr. tagged Lyles for a 2-out, game-tying solo shot in the 4th…after a scoreless 5th frame, the Sox plated a pair on a 2-run shot by Andrew Vaughn in the 6th, but the Royals answered with a run in the bottom half on Pasquantino’s RBI single to cut the deficit to 3-2… the Sox plated their final run in the 7th on a 2-out RBI single by Seby Zavala.
It was his 3rd career complete game—all 9.0 innings—following Sept. 21, 2022 vs. Detroit (with Baltimore) and Sept. 30, 2012 at Milwaukee (with Houston).
It was the 1st 9.0-inning complete game by a Royal since Brad Keller’s shutout on Sept. 13, 2020 vs. Pittsburgh…Lyles was 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 since James Shields on April 13, 2013 vs. Toronto.
Lyles also became the first Royals pitcher to complete 9.0 innings and not allow a walk since Jakob Junis did it five years ago, on Aug. 28, 2018 vs. Detroit.
In 8 career outings (6 starts) vs. the White Sox, Lyles is 1-4 with a 4.42 ERA (19 ER in 38.2 IP) but has completed at least 7.0 innings in each of his last 3 starts.
ON STRIKE: Jordan didn’t walk a single batter in his complete game loss on May 9 vs. these White Sox, and his career BB% is now 7.5%…he’s improved in that category with age, as his BB% of 7.0% since the start of 2021 ranks 3rd in the American League (min. 400.0 IP), trailing only José Berríos (5.8%) and Gerrit Cole (6.3%).
WORKHORSE: The Royals are the eighth club Lyles has pitched for in the Majors during his 13-year big league career that has included stops with Houston (2011-13), Colorado (2014-17), San Diego (2017-18), Milwaukee (2018-19), Pittsburgh (2019), Texas (2020-21), Baltimore (2022) and Kansas City (2023)… since the beginning of 2021, his 410.2 innings rank 3rd among American League pitchers behind only Gerrit Cole (444.2 IP) and José Berríos (416.2 IP).
He was one of only four American League pitchers to record at least 175.0 innings from 2021-2022, along with Cole, Cole Irvin and Robbie Ray.
Across his 13 seasons and 330 Major League appearances, he has only been placed on the Injured List on five occasions: June 10-29, 2019 (left hamstring tightness), March 28-April 4, 2019 (right side discomfort), June 24-July 29, 2018 (right elbow inflammation), June 1-end of season, 2015 (sprained left big toe) and June 5-Aug. 6, 2014 (fractured left hand).
CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:
WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox have won three of their last four games and four of six as they continue a nine-game, 10-day homestand this afternoon with the penultimate game vs. Kansas City.
RHP Lucas Giolito, who allowed two earned runs in 6.0 IP on 5/9 at the Royals, is scheduled to start for Chicago.
The White Sox are 4-3 on the homestand after last night’s win over the Royals … they won two of three over Cleveland after losing two of three to Houston last weekend.
Following tomorrow’s finale vs. the Royals, the Sox will take a seven-game trip to the Guardians (5/22-24) and Detroit (5/25-28).
The Sox went 3-4 on their last trip at Cincinnati (2-1) and Kansas City (1-3) from 5/5-11 and 3-4 on their last homestand vs. Tampa Bay (1-3) and Minnesota (2-1) from 4/27-5/4.
TODAY’S STORYLINES
The White Sox need one win to clinch their first winning homestand and back-to-back home series wins of the season.
White Sox starters own a 2.70 ERA (15 ER/50.0 IP), .192 (34- 177) opp. average and 43 strikeouts over the last eight games … they have allowed three earned runs or less seven times.
The Sox have won three straight games and five of the last six over Kansas City at Guaranteed Rate Field dating back to 2022.
Lucas Giolito is 2-2 with a 2.89 ERA (14 ER/43.2 IP), .197 (31-157) opp. average, 0.92 WHIP and 44 strikeouts (9.07 per 9.0 IP) in his last seven starts at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Jake Burger is hitting .339/.385/.811 (20-59) with three doubles, nine home runs, 18 RBI and a 1.2668 OPS at home in 2023 … 17 of his 19 career homers have come at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Luis Robert Jr. has hit safely in 14 of 17 games in May, going 22-61 (.361) with six doubles, seven home runs, 15 RBI, five walks, seven multi-hit eff orts and a 1.238 OPS.
LAST NIGHT’S RECAP
Michael Kopech surrendered just one hit, and the White Sox scored two runs in the second inning en route to a 2-0 win.
Kopech retired the first 16 Kansas City batters before Michael Massey broke up the no-hit and perfect game bid with a single in the sixth … following an inning-ending GIDP, the next nine Royals were retired as Sox pitchers faced the minimum 27 batters.
Gavin Sheets’ RBI single and Romy Gonzalez’s sac fly in the second plated the only two runs of the game.
Kopech worked a career-high 8.0 IP and recorded double-digit strikeouts for the third time in his career … the outing marked his second longest perfect-game bid (5.2 IP on 5/22/22 at Yankees).
The White Sox were limited to fi ve singles, including just one hit after the second inning, and walked twice.
PERFECTLY MINIMAL EFFORT
The Sox last night faced the minimum 27 batters, the 11th time in club history they accomplished the feat in a win … the last time was Philip Humber’s perfect game on 4/21/12 at Seattle.
Michael Kopech became the first White Sox to face the minimum 24 batters through eight innings since Carlos Rodón took a perfect game into the ninth inning on 4/14/21 vs. Cleveland.
Last night also marked the fourth time this season a Sox pitcher took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning … the first three: Kopech on 5/2 vs. Minnesota, Lance Lynn on 4/29 vs. Tampa Bay and Lucas Giolito on 4/18-2 vs. Philadelphia.
MAGIC MICHAEL
Michael Kopech last night became the third pitcher in franchise history to work 8.0-plus IP and allow one or zero hits with 10-plus strikeouts and zero walks (Baseball Reference/Stathead).
The other two Sox to accomplish the feat are Floyd Bannister (9/13/87 at Seattle) and Gary Peters (7/15/63 vs. Baltimore).
The last MLB pitcher to record those numbers in a start was Toronto’s Alek Manoah on 9/13/21 vs. Tampa Bay.
REST WHEN YOU CAN
The Sox currently are in a stretch of 16 straight games without a day off and are 10-8 during the current stretch of 29 games in 30 days from 5/2-31 (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 six of seven series from 5/5-28 vs. teams below .500 (at \Cincinnati, at/vs. Kansas City, vs./at Cleveland and at Detroit).
RISP˨Y BUSINESS
The White Sox rank seventh in the American League and 13th in MLB with a .260 (94-361) RISP average.
The Sox are hitting .234/.318/.427 with 69 RBI and a .745 OPS with RISP over the last 26 games.
WHITE SOX VS. KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Kansas City leads the season series, 3-2, after winning three of four from 5/8-11 at Kauffman Stadium … following this series, the clubs don’t play again until September.
Chicago is hitting .206/.263/.306 with three home runs, owns a 5.74 ERA (27 ER/42.1 IP) with three quality starts and has been outscored by a 27-15 margin vs. the Royals this season.
The White Sox are 20-23 vs. the Royals since the start of the 2021 season (outscored 169-161), including a 10-9 home mark.
Chicago went 9-10 vs. Kansas City last season, going 5-4 at Guaranteed Rate Field and 4-6 at Kauffman Stadium.
CENTRAL DIVISION DYNAMICS
Chicago is 7-7 vs. the American League Central, including a 5-2 mark at Guaranteed Rate Field … it currently is in a stretch of 13 straight games vs. the division (3-1 record).
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.
LONGBALL LOGISTICS
The Sox (Burger, Robert Jr.) are one of six MLB teams with multiple players to hit 10-plus home runs this season, joining Atlanta (four), the Angels (three) and Tampa Bay (three), the Dodgers (two) and the Yankees (two).
The White Sox have homered in 14 of its last 18 games since 4/30 (24 total homers), and hit 27 in its last 21 games since 4/27.
The Sox have recorded nine multi-homer efforts and been held without a home run just five times over the last 21 contests.
Chicago is 14-17 when homering, 7-7 when hitting multiple homers and 3-12 when going homerless this season.
LONGBALL LOGISTICS, PART II
Luis Robert Jr. (4th, 12) and Jake Burger (T6th, 10) rank among the American League home run leaders this season.
Robert Jr. is tied for third in MLB with nine 400-plus foot homers in 2023, trailing Pete Alonso (11) and Ronald Acuna Jr. (10) … he is averaging 407 ft. and 107.2 mph on his 12 homers, including max values of 430 ft. on 5/9 at K.C., and 113.6 mph on 5/14 vs. Houston.
Robert Jr. has recorded 400-plus foot distances on 34 of his 48 career home runs … he leads the Sox since the start of 2020 with homer averages of 412 feet and 107.6 mph exit velocity (min. 10 home runs).
Burger leads MLB with 8.60 homers per at-bat this season (minimum 90 plate appearances) … he is averaging 405 feet on his 19 career home runs, and 13 have traveled an estimated 400-plus feet.
HOORAY FOR MAY
Luis Robert Jr. is hitting .361/.435/.803 (22-61) with six doubles, seven homers (averaging 421 ft. and 109.2 mph EV), 15 RBI, 17 runs scored, five walks and a 1.238 OPS in May (17 G).
He ranks among AL May leaders in runs scored (1st), total bases (1st, 49), home runs (T1st), extra-base hits (1st, 13), slugging percentage (2nd), hits (T2nd), OPS (4th), average (4th), RBI (T4th), doubles (T4th) and on-base percentage (5th).
The last White Sox to win American League Player of the Month honors was 1B José Abreu in August 2021.
SOUTHPAW SUCCESS
Chicago is 30-83 (.361) in the last 11 games vs. LHP.
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, rank second in on-base percentage, tied for fourth in OPS (.782) and sixth in slugging pct.
Tim Anderson (.350) and Hanser Alberto (.345) rank 1-2 in MLB in average vs. left-handers since the start of 2019.
Luis Robert Jr. is 11-28 (.393) with three homers and seven RBI vs. LHP in 2023 and hitting .355/.417/.617/1.033 lifetime.
ANDREW, ANDREW … HE’S OUR MAN!
All five 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 with 18 contests with a hit and RBI, and 36 games reaching base safely (hit, walk or HBP).
Vaughn ranks seventh (.417) and Andrew Benintendi ranks 10th (.391) among American League RISP average leaders.
STARTER – #27 LUCAS GIOLITO RHP
GIOLITO AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his 10th start of the season, fifth at home and second vs. the Kansas City Royals.
Has gone 2-3 with a 2.82 ERA (14 ER/44.2 IP), .196 (32-163) opponents average and 47 strikeouts over his last seven starts … has tossed 6.0-plus IP in each of the seven starts and has allowed two runs or less in five.
Ranks among American League leaders since 4/12 in strikeouts (T4th, 47), opponents average (7th, .196), WHIP (9th, 0.94) and ERA (10th, 2.82).
Opponents are hitting .240 (12-50) against him with RISP and .286 (6-21) with RISP/two outs.
Is 82 strikeouts away from becoming the 12th pitcher in White Sox history with 1,000 (71 strikeouts away from 1,000 in his career).
Finished sixth in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2019, seventh in 2020 and tied for 11th in 2021.
Threw the 19th no-hitter in White Sox history on 8/25/20 vs. Pittsburgh, walking one with 13 strikeouts.
Was a finalist for a Rawlings(R) Gold Glove and Comeback Player of the Year Awards and was a 2019 AL All-Star.
Won AL Pitcher of the Month honors in May 2019 and AL Player of Week for 8/24-30/20 and 5/27-6/2/19.
LAST START
Suffered his third loss of the season on 5/14 vs. Houston, allowing four runs on seven hits with no walks and six strikeouts over 6.0 IP … allowed three runs in the first inning via a two-run double by Yordan Alvarez and a sacrifice fly by Kyle Tucker … issued hits to the first three batters of the game … surrendered a solo home run to Yainer Diaz in the fourth.
Departed the game in the seventh with the White Sox trailing, 4-3… threw 88 pitches (62 strikes).
Owned a 75.0 first-strike percentage and 7.7 swinging-strike percentage (eight swing and misses) vs. 24 batters … threw 43 four-seam fastballs (92.4 mph avg; 93.8 mph max), 25 sliders (83.0 avg; 85.0 max), 18 changeups (83.0 avg; 85.0 max) and two curveballs (77.0 avg; 78.6 max).
SUMMER AT 35TH AND SHIELDS
Has gone 2-2 with a 2.89 ERA (14 ER/43.2 IP) and .197 (31-157) opponents average over his last seven starts at home since 9/4/22 … has allowed three runs or less in six of those starts.
Threw the 19th no-hitter in White Sox history on 8/25/20 at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates … struck out a career-high tying 13, the most by a Sox in a no-hitter.
NOT A MORNING PERSON
Is 3-6 with a 5.18 ERA (46 ER/80.0 IP), .270 (86-319) opponents average and 84 strikeouts in his last 15 day starts dating back to 6/11/22.
Has gone 25-22 with a 3.89 ERA (148 ER/342.2 IP), .228 (294-1,291) opponents average and 364 strikeouts in 61 career starts during the day.
POSTING PUNCHOUTS
Has recorded 14 career starts with 10-plus strikeouts, tied with teammate Dylan Cease for fourth-most in White Sox history … needs one double-digit strikeout game to tie Juan Pizarro for third place.
Recorded consecutive 10-plus strikeout games twice in his career from 8/20-25/20 (two) and 8/16-27/19 (three).
His last double-digit strikeout game came on 5/4/22 at the Cubs (10 SO).
THE QUALITY KID
Leads the White Sox and is tied for 10th in the American League with five quality starts this season.
Has tossed 76 quality starts in his career, fifth-most in the American League since 2017.
BITTEN BY THE LONG BALL
Has allowed 58 home runs since the start of the 2021 season, the 10th-most in baseball … is averaging 1.32 HR/9.0 IP during that span.
Has surrendered seven home runs over his nine starts this season, allowing two on 4/7 at Pittsburgh and 4/23 at Tampa Bay and one on 5/4 vs. Minnesota, 5/9 at Kansas City and 5/14 vs. Houston … has allowed one three-run homer, one two-run and five solo shots.
VS. KANSAS CITY ROYALS || A.L. CENTRAL
Is scheduled to make his 22nd career start against Kansas City and 10th at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Has gone 2-3 with a 5.54 ERA (23 ER/37.1 IP) and .274 (40-146) opponents average in his last seven starts … earned the win in his last start on 5/9 in Kansas City, allowing two runs on five hits with two walks and nine strikeouts over 6.0 IP.
Is 2-2 with a 2.70 ERA (14 ER/46.2 IP), .198 (34-172) opponents average and 52 strikeouts over his last eight starts against the American League Central.
