Kansas City Royals right-hander Michael Wacha is hoping the momentum he built ahead of the All-Star break carries over to the second half of the season.
Wacha went 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA in his final nine starts before the hiatus, and he will look to pick up right where he left off when Kansas City opens a three-game series with the visiting Chicago White Sox on Friday night.
Despite his strong finish to the first half, Wacha had a bit of a sour taste in his mouth during the break. He got knocked around in his latest outing, yielding four runs (three earned) on seven hits in five innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 10.
Wacha still came away with the win, but he wasn’t pleased with how he was attacking hitters.
“It was a struggle out there for me,” Wacha said. “I would say just too many balls in the middle of the plate. You know, some bad pitches in certain counts. I probably should’ve sequenced them a little better or gone with a different pitch at times.”
In seven career starts against Chicago, Wacha is 3-1 with a 3.89 ERA.
The White Sox will counter with right-hander Chris Flexen (2-8, 4.82), who most recently took a loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates after giving up two runs and five hits in six-plus innings last Saturday.
Flexen is 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA in four career appearances (three starts) against the Royals.
A new-look offense could be backing up Flexen, as Chicago signed Nick Senzel and designated fellow third baseman Danny Mendick for assignment on Wednesday.
Multiple media reports indicated that catcher Martin Maldonado was also designated for assignment, while shortstop Brooks Baldwin is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Charlotte ahead of Friday’s game, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
MLB Pipeline has Baldwin as the No. 23 prospect in the organization. The 23-year-old has appeared in 82 minor league games this season — with Charlotte and Double-A Birmingham — and has hit .324 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs.
Baldwin and Senzel — who plays infield and outfield — will attempt to inject some energy into a White Sox team that dropped seven of its final eight games of the first half. Chicago fell 9-4 to the Pirates on Sunday to drop to 27-71 on the season, the worst record in the majors.
“You can’t hide what everybody can see,” White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. said through an interpreter. “It’s been what it has been. We have to keep working hard to try to get a better second half.”
Kansas City had rattled off four straight wins before losing back-to-back games against the Boston Red Sox ahead of the All-Star break.
One year removed from a 56-106 campaign, the Royals have won 52 of their first 97 games in 2024 to work their way into the thick of the American League wild-card race.
“I (couldn’t) care less what last year’s record was at this point,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “This is a new team. This is a bunch of guys that’s fighting their butts off to compete in a playoff race, and that’s what’s exciting.”
The Royals are 6-1 against the White Sox this year.
–Field Level Media
