Nine starts into the season, Kansas City right-hander Jordan Lyles is still looking for his first win in a Royals uniform.
He will be hope for a better outcome on Saturday against the host Chicago White Sox, a start that comes 11 days after he faced Chicago in his best showing of the season.
Lyles (0-7, 7.14 ERA) allowed four runs and six hits to the visiting White Sox but threw a complete game on May 9. He struck out six and did not walk a batter. However, the White Sox prevailed 4-2, thanks in part to home runs from Luis Robert and Andrew Vaughn.
Lyles has allowed multiple home runs in five of his past six starts. The exception came in his most recent start, when he yielded just one long ball at Milwaukee.
Keeping the Brewers in the yard, however, didn’t keep them off the scoreboard. Lyles yielded seven runs on four hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings. He struck out two in a 9-6 loss.
Two of the walks were issued to the eighth and ninth batters in the lineup, setting up Milwaukee’s seven-run outburst in the third inning and erasing the Royals’ 4-1 lead.
“Unnecessary walks,” Lyles said. “Eight, nine coming up in the bottom of the third. Needed to be more aggressive, and I was trying to do that. But I just wasn’t over the plate enough. That led to those two walks. And it spiraled after that.”
Things were much tighter on Friday as the White Sox and Royals opened a three-game weekend series.
Chicago starter Michael Kopech struck out 10 and allowed just one hit in eight shutout innings. Kendall Graveman retired the side in order in the ninth to preserve a 2-0 White Sox win.
Three-time All-Star closer Liam Hendriks, who beat cancer in the offseason and has made a number of minor league rehab appearances, is day-to-day for the White Sox after throwing live batting practice before the game.
“He’s building up,” Chicago pitching coach Ethan Katz said. “It’s kind of like his spring training. We’re just kind of getting eyes on him and getting him ramped up and kind of seeing where everything goes.”
Kansas City’s pitching was solid on Friday, too, with Zack Greinke and Jackson Kowar holding Chicago to five hits, all singles.
The White Sox can assure themselves of a winning record on their nine-game homestand with a victory Saturday. Chicago has won four of seven so far, including three of the past four.
Lucas Giolito (2-3, 3.86 ERA), who earned the victory with six innings of two-run ball while opposing Lyles on May 9, will get the call for Chicago on Saturday.
The 28-year-old veteran has enjoyed a successful run against the Royals over his career, going 10-5 with a 3.64 ERA in 21 starts covering 123 2/3 innings. Giolito is coming off a home loss to the Houston Astros on Sunday, when he allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings with no walks and six strikeouts.
Lyles is 1-4 with a 4.42 ERA against the White Sox in eight career appearances, including six starts.
–Field Level Media
