The Royals open a three-game series against the White Sox in the Windy City on Monday night, finishing a stretch of 10 straight games against AL Central foes with a trip to Chicago. Stephen Kolek is the probable starter for Kansas City in Game One, while Erick Fedde is set to start for the White Sox.
The matchup gives the Royals a chance to lean on a pitcher who has been steady every time he has taken the mound since joining the club. Kolek has made quality starts in every outing as a Royal, and the club will need that run to hold up as the trip begins against a Chicago team that will send Fedde to the hill in the opener.
Game Two brings Seth Lugo against Noah Schultz. Lugo enters with a 1.31 ERA in seven games started against the White Sox, a line that has made him the Royals' most reliable matchup weapon in this series. He faced Chicago once this season and worked 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, one earned, four hits, walking four and striking out four.
That matters because the rest of the set does not hand Kansas City the same kind of edge. Schultz has never faced the Royals, which leaves Chicago with less direct history to lean on as the clubs move deeper into the series. The Royals, meanwhile, are trying to squeeze the most out of a day-by-day rotation puzzle while wrapping up a demanding run through the division.
Game Three pairs Kris Bubic with Sean Burke. Bubic has a 2.04 ERA in 12 games pitched against the White Sox and was sharp in his one meeting with them this season, throwing seven innings while allowing two hits, walking one batter and striking out 11. Burke gets the assignment for Chicago in the finale as the series shifts from one starter to the next.
Bubic sits just behind Lugo in the royals vs white sox pecking order, and the numbers explain why Kansas City is comfortable turning to him at the end of the trip. The contrast is clear: Lugo has a longer track record against Chicago, while Bubic has been dominant in his own way, and both have handled the White Sox well enough this season to give the Royals real hope in the final two games.
The opener also has an edge of unfamiliarity. Kolek and Schultz have never faced the other team, which adds a little more uncertainty to a series already arriving at the end of a ten-game division grind. If the Royals are going to leave Chicago with momentum, they will need the same thing they have relied on all stretch: clean starts, early control, and enough pitching to keep the White Sox from turning the series around.
