White Sox at Royals
Whit Merrifield has terrorized many pitching staffs this season but has been especially fond of the hurlers for the Chicago White Sox. The All-Star seeks his third consecutive three-hit performance on Thursday afternoon as the Kansas City Royals attempt to complete a four-game sweep of the visiting White Sox.
Merrifield, who has yet to be held without a hit in back-to-back games this season, is batting .357 versus Chicago this year after going 3-for-3 with an RBI in Kansas City's 7-5 victory on Wednesday. The 30-year-old infielder-outfielder, who went 3-for-5 in Tuesday's triumph, is riding a 15-game hitting streak - his second double-digit run of the year - that began on June 29 and has raised his average from .299 to .316. Jorge Soler failed to score a run for the first time in six games on Wednesday but drove in three while rookie Nicky Lopez recorded his second two-hit, two-RBI performance in three games for the Royals, who are 5-1 on their seven-game homestand. A.J. Reed belted a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the ninth inning and Ryan Goins launched a two-run shot in his debut for the White Sox, who fell to 0-6 on their 10-game road trip and have lost eight of nine overall.
TV: 1:15 p.m. ET, MLB Network, NBCS Chicago, FS Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox LH Ross Detwiler (1-0, 5.02 ERA) vs. Royals RH Brad Keller (5-9, 4.25)
Detwiler will be making his third start and fourth appearance for the White Sox after beginning the season with York of the independent Atlantic League. The 33-year-old native of St. Louis allowed only two earned runs in each of his two turns before being tagged for five runs - four earned - over 3 1/3 innings of relief at Oakland on Saturday. Detwiler has made two career starts against Kansas City, going 0-1 while yielding six runs and 15 hits in nine frames.
Keller followed a string of five straight road starts with a gem at home on Saturday, when he limited Detroit to one run and four hits while registering seven strikeouts in eight innings of a victory. The 23-year-old from Georgia has given up one run in each of his last two turns and fewer than three in five of his last seven outings, including a loss to Chicago on June 8 in which he permitted two over eight frames. That setback dropped Keller to 3-3 with a 3.24 ERA in 11 career games (eight starts) against the White Sox and 1-2 in four starts this year.
WALK-OFFS
1. Royals LF Alex Gordon and 3B Hunter Dozier enter Thursday with five-game hitting streaks, with the former recording seven two-hit performances in his last 12 contests and the latter collecting six RBIs in his last four games.
2. Chicago placed LF Eloy Jimenez (forearm) on the 10-day injured list, purchased the contract of Goins - who spent last season with the Royals - from Triple-A Charlotte and sent RHP Juan Minaya outright to the Knights.
3. Kansas City placed SS Adalberto Mondesi (shoulder) on the 10-day IL, traded OF Terrance Gore to the New York Yankees for cash considerations, optioned RHP Jake Newberry to Triple-A Omaha, recalled INF Humberto Arteaga from the Storm Chasers and added LHP Mike Montgomery to the active roster.