The Kansas City Royals have struggled to provide much run support for veteran Michael Wacha this season.
However, they’ve had just enough offense to continue their recent dominance of the Chicago White Sox this season.
Winners of four straight and 13 of 15, the Royals will look to be more productive behind Wacha while trying for a 10th consecutive home victory over the White Sox on Wednesday night in the third game of a four-game series.
Following a 3-0 victory in Monday’s series opener, Kansas City rallied for two runs in the ninth Tuesday, aided by a big Chicago error, to win 4-3. Though the Royals’ bats have cooled off after clubbing 10 homers in winning back-to-back games at Baltimore over the weekend, the club is still surging and have won eight in a row overall and 16 of the past 17 against the White Sox.
“The whole idea is to pass the baton,” Kansas City outfielder Kyle Isbel, who homered Tuesday, told the Royals Radio Network.
“Anything we can do get guys in scoring position.”
However, the Royals have totaled just seven runs in the innings Wacha (1-4, 3.52 ERA) has pitched over seven starts this season. Kansas City is 3-4 in those starts.
On Friday at Baltimore, the right-hander was cruising through six innings until he yielded a two-run homer to Ryan O’Hearn and one other run in the seventh, before leaving with an out in the frame. The Royals lost 3-0.
“He was outstanding,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of the 33-year-old Wacha.
“He’s a consummate pro. … Every time he takes the ball, we think we have a chance to win.”
Wacha has done plenty of winning against the White Sox, going 5-1 in nine career starts. Since 2023, he’s posted a 1.06 ERA in five of those starts versus Chicago.
The White Sox’s Andrew Vaughn is 5-for-21 against Wacha, but with two homers and two doubles. Vaughn had two hits with an RBI on Tuesday, and is 6-for-16 in the past four games and has reached based in 13 straight.
The sting of a tough loss from Tuesday is another sore spot for a Chicago team with an AL-low 10 wins.
“Don’t dwell on it too long, and get back playing (Wednesday),” said White Sox infielder Chase Meidroth, who missed a pop up in the ninth Tuesday that bounced off his forehead and allowed the Royals rally to build in a sloppy Chicago inning.
Jonathan Cannon (2-3, 4.26 ERA) will look to win a third consecutive start when he takes the mound for the White Sox on Wednesday. After yielding three runs while pitching into the eighth against the Athletics on April 26, Cannon allowed nine hits, but no walks and only two runs in six innings of a 7-3 victory over the Houston Astros from Friday.
Though Chicago lost all three of the right-hander’s starts versus Kansas City last season, he posted a 3.00 ERA over 18 innings of work in those games.
Kansas City star Bobby Witt Jr., who delivered a long walk-off RBI single Tuesday for his only hit of the night, is 3-for-7 with a double versus Cannon.
Isbel is 6-for-18 with two homers in the past seven games.
–Field Level Media
