White Sox at Royals
Chicago's Lucas Giolito is an intelligent man and he'll continue applying his newfound approach when the White Sox visit the Kansas City Royals on Saturday afternoon in the middle contest of their three-game set. Giolito decided to stop thinking so much this season and the results have already led to a six-game winning streak and American League Pitcher of the Month honors for May while relying mostly on his fastball and changeup.
"There's times where, I wouldn't say it's being too smart, I'd say it's being too methodical, analytical, thinking too much about things that you don't have to think about," Giolito told reporters. "I think that's when there can be downfalls, and that's what I experienced last year. For me, it's always easier when I can shut the brain off and just work, let my body work." Brad Keller on Saturday takes the ball for Kansas City (20-43), which snapped a six-game losing streak with a 6-4 victory Friday in the series opener for only its third win in the last 15 games. Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi (.282) busted out of a 3-for-22 slump over his last five games by going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored Friday. Chicago (29-33), which has lost four of its last five games, is 6-4 versus Kansas City this season and 16-14 against the American League Central - 5-11 on the road.
TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, NBCS Chicago, FS Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox RH Lucas Giolito (8-1, 2.54 ERA) vs. Royals RH Brad Keller (3-7, 4.50)
Giolito allowed five hits while striking out nine in a 2-0 victory over Cleveland on Sunday and is 7-0 with a 1.92 ERA in his last nine starts. The 24-year-old Californian, who has walked 20 in 67 1/3 innings this season after yielding an AL-most 90 over 173 1/3 frames in 2018, boasts an 0.95 WHIP and .186 batting average against. Kansas City's Alex Gordon is 4-for-21 with a home run and five strikeouts against Giolito, who matched a career high with 10 strikeouts in eight innings of a 4-3 victory over the Royals on May 28 and is 5-0 with a 2.43 ERA in nine starts against them.
Keller has lost two straight starts after permitting three runs and nine hits while striking out six in seven innings of a 5-1 loss at Texas on Sunday. The 23-year-old Georgian has already lined up against Giolito twice and Chicago three times this season, including the April 17 game in which he hit Tim Anderson in response to his bat flip and was ejected after igniting a bench-clearing brawl. That was Anderson's only hit in 14 at-bats against Keller, who is 3-2 with a 3.43 ERA in 10 games (seven starts) against the White Sox since making his major league debut against them March 29, 2018.
WALK-OFFS
1. Chicago 1B Jose Abreu leads the AL with 52 RBIs but hasn't driven in a run in four of his last five games.
2. Kansas City 3B Cheslor Cuthbert is 10-for-28 with three home runs and seven RBIs in seven games since being recalled from Triple-A Omaha after delivering a two-run single Friday.
3. The White Sox are 24-2 when leading after five innings this season after blowing such an advantage (2-1) on Friday.