Kansas City Royals (16-20, third in the AL Central) vs. Chicago White Sox (22-13, first in the AL Central)
Chicago; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Jakob Junis (1-2, 5.14 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 30 strikeouts) White Sox: Michael Kopech (2-0, 1.61 ERA, .85 WHIP, 35 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: Kansas City enters the game as losers of their last 11 games.
The White Sox are 13-6 against AL Central opponents. The Chicago offense has compiled a .261 batting average as a team this season, good for second in the American League. Yermin Mercedes leads the team with an average of .373.
The Royals are 7-14 against division opponents. Kansas City has hit 32 home runs this season, the lowest total in the American League. Salvador Perez leads the club with seven, averaging one every 20.4 at-bats.
The White Sox won the last meeting 9-3. Lucas Giolito secured his second victory and Mercedes went 2-for-5 with a double, a triple and three RBIs for Chicago. Mike Minor registered his second loss for Kansas City.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jose Abreu leads the White Sox with 13 extra base hits and is batting .240.
Perez leads the Royals with 16 extra base hits and is batting .280.
LAST 10 GAMES: White Sox: 8-2, .254 batting average, 2.20 ERA, outscored opponents by 37 runs
Royals: 0-10, .225 batting average, 6.16 ERA, outscored by 32 runs
INJURIES: White Sox: Jace Fry: (microdiscectomy), Jimmy Cordero: (tommy john surgery), Luis Robert: (hip), Eloy Jimenez: (left pectoral), Adam Engel: (right hamstring).
Royals: Kyle Zimmer: (left trap), Daniel Tillo: (undisclosed), Jesse Hahn: (right shoulder), Adalberto Mondesi: (right oblique strain), Cam Gallagher: (concussion).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
