KANSAS CITY -- The White Sox spent the first three games at Kauffman Stadium a play or two away from earning hard-fought road wins against a playoff contender. Thursday’s finale did not follow that same pattern.
The White Sox lost 10-0 to the Royals, finalizing the fourth time the South Siders had been swept this season.
Here are the biggest takeaways after a four-game set in Kansas City, which dropped Chicago to 10-28, matching the 2018 and 2024 clubs as the worst mark in franchise history through 38 games:
Royal pain
The White Sox fell to 1-18 against the division-rival Royals in their past 19 contests. Chicago has lost a club-record 11 straight games at Kauffman Stadium and has not taken a series against Kansas City since May 19-21, 2023 -- dropping seven in a row. The South Siders have scored one run or fewer in nine of their past 11 games at The K.
“They throw a lot of strikes. They mix it up. Obviously, the pitching is really good,” manager Will Venable said of Kansas City. “The defense is really good, and they do enough offensively. And Bobby Witt [Jr.] out there, doing his thing on both sides of the ball. They are just a good ballclub.”
Kansas City’s dominant pitching staff has played a major role in these AL Central battles of late, with 13 of the 19 contests being decided by three runs or less. But Chicago has been on the wrong end, whether because of late-inning mistakes or blown leads. The White Sox are also 2-14 against AL Central opponents this season.
Offensive woes
One of the key factors behind that is the lack of run support. Despite a starting rotation which entered Thursday ranked sixth in the American League with a 3.76 ERA, the White Sox have been unable to translate that into the win column.
It was on display once again Thursday, with Chicago going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The only hit was an infield single by Joshua Palacios, and the White Sox were unable to score despite four leadoff batters reaching in the first seven frames. That includes having first and third with nobody out in the fifth, when Andrew Vaughn was thrown out at home on a ball hit to third base.
“No, in that situation, if it’s not a double play ball, you don’t have to go,” Venable said of Vaughn’s decision to run home. “That’s something we will talk about and walk through. It’s kind of one of those in-between plays where they’re back, so you think that they’re not going to come in and get you, but you just don’t have to go.”
The South Siders scored just four total runs in four games in Kansas City and rank toward the bottom in baseball in batting average (.216, 29th), home runs (26, T28th), RBIs (124, 26th), runs scored (128, 26th) and hits (265, 28th). It may become even more difficult to turn that around if Luis Robert Jr., who is expected to be dealt before this year’s Trade Deadline, is no longer in the lineup.
“We just got to keep going,” Venable said. “String as many quality at-bats together as we can. Leadoff guys in innings have done a good job, and just got to continue to get consecutive good things to happen so we can score some runs.”
Competitive baseball
Despite the tough start to the season, the White Sox have played much better than their record reflects. The difference is the 2-15 mark in games decided by two runs or fewer -- including three more losses this series -- in addition to dropping 14 games in which they led at one point. Chicago’s run differential entering Thursday was -29, which was 60 runs better than the club a year ago at this point.
The team’s expected win/loss record is 14-24, four games better than how they’ve actually performed.
“I think we did really good things, but at the same time, it’s the big leagues,” said Davis Martin, who allowed four runs over 4 1/3 innings. “There is always a point in the game where you lose it or you win it. I think we just need to execute in those spots a little better across the board.
“I think we’re very close. The energy is there. The want, the desire to win, to be great. But nothing’s handed to you in this league, so [it’s just about] being able to go out and take it instead of [not].”