White Sox at Royals
The Kansas City Royals began their current homestand in rough fashion, but they are finishing it with a flourish. The surging Royals seek their fifth consecutive win to cap off the 10-game stay at Kauffman Stadium when they take on the Chicago White Sox in the finale of a three-game series Sunday afternoon.
Two homers by Mike Moustakas and long balls by three others propelled the Royals to a 7-2 victory Saturday night, giving them 30 runs over the past three contests and a 5-4 record on the homestand. Whit Merrifield did not homer but had an RBI single in two at-bats and is batting .351 since the All-Star break for Kansas City, which is 24-2 since June 1 when scoring at least four runs. The White Sox have dropped a season-high eight straight games, matching the team's longest slide since a nine-gamer in 2013. Melky Cabrera has been one of the few bright spots for Chicago and he went 4-for-4 on Saturday, his second four-hit effort during the slide.
TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, CSN Chicago, FSN Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox LH Derek Holland (5-9, 5.09 ERA) vs. Royals LH Travis Wood (1-3, 6.81)
Holland finished May with a 2.37 ERA through 10 starts, but he has given up at least five runs in six of eight starts since June began. The veteran southpaw, who was reached for six runs (five earned) in 5 2/3 innings of a no-decision against Seattle his last time out, has an ERA of 18.44 over his last four road outings. He visited Kansas City on May 4 during his hot start and let up one earned run in 6 2/3 frames, improving to 3-1 lifetime versus the Royals.
Wood's first start after 25 relief appearances resulted in a solid four innings against Minnesota on July 2, but he followed that up with a rocky showing in a loss to Detroit on Tuesday. The one-time All-Star surrendered six runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 frames against the Tigers, which left him 35-51 in his career as a starter. The 30-year-old has a 6.65 ERA in eight career games (three starts) versus Chicago and White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu is 4-for-5 with three doubles against Wood.
WALK-OFFS
1. Moustakas is 9-for-20 during a five-game hitting streak and has homered in consecutive contests after going nine straight without a long ball.
2. White Sox top prospect 2B Yoan Moncada was 0-for-3 on Saturday and is 1-for-9 with a pair of walks since being recalled earlier in the week.
3. The Royals recalled RHP Jake Junis from Triple-A Omaha and optioned OF Billy Burns to Omaha.