Tonight, the Royals will attempt to pull off their first 4-game sweep of the season and only their 2nd sweep of a series greater than 2 games, as they square off against Bill Black and the White Sox.
Black is 0-1 with a 4.70 ERA against the Royals this year, and 5-8 with a 3.78 ERA overall.
On the mound for the home team is Casey Mize, another struggling KC starting pitcher. Mize is just 3-7 on the year with a 5.73 ERA. He did pitch well in his prior start against the White Sox, allowing 1 ER on 3 hits in 7 innings, fanning 6 batters.
KC manager Jose Mota has announced David Davies will be the starting catcher and Juan Ruiz will start at 2B, while the rest of the lineup looks pretty normal.
1 – SS – Gus Lopez – .458, 2 HR, 5 RBI last 6 games
2 – CA – David Davies – 10 HR in 59 games
3 – CF – Billy Rounds – 10 HR – 11 SB
4 – 1B – Ryan Braun – Team-leading 6 Triples
5 – DH – Kody Clemens – Hit 17th HR yesterday
6 – 3B – Nander De Sedas – .845 OPS through 17 MLB games
7 – RF – Alex Kirilloff – 1.171 OPS through 11 MLB games
8 – LF – Bernie Blanchard – .353 OBP – 23 SB
9 – 2B – Juan Ruiz – 34 hits, 23 K’s