The Royals took an opener-night sucker punch on Tuesday — Derek Hill ambushed them with a pinch-hit homer in the 8th and the White Sox walked out 6-5 winners. Now Kansas City has to flip the script in a city where its 19-23 record is starting to look less like a slow start and more like the actual team.
Chicago, meanwhile, is somehow the hotter club here. Three wins in their last 5, four if you count last night, and a lineup that ranks 4th in MLB with 54 homers per Royals Review. That is not a typo. The White Sox are out-slugging most of the league while hitting .231 as a team — they live and die with the long ball, and against a Royals staff already missing Cole Ragans and Carlos Estevez, that math gets ugly fast.
- Day-To-DayAnthony Simonelli SP — no
- Day-To-DayJavier Vaz 2B — Vaz (fingers) has produced a .238/.304/.262 slash line with zero home runs and three stolen bases in 10 games since being activated from Double-A Northwest Arkansas' 7-day injured list April 22.
- Day-To-DayTyson Guerrero RP — no
- 10-Day-ILJonathan India 2B — The Royals announced Tuesday that India underwent season-ending surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder.
- 15-Day-ILCole Ragans SP — Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Tuesday that Ragans (elbow) played catch two of the past three days and remains day-to-day, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILCarlos Estevez RP — Estevez (foot) was diagnosed with a right rotator cuff strain Thursday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILBailey Falter RP — Falter (elbow) allowed no hits or walks with two strikeouts across 1.1 scoreless innings with Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday.
- 60-Day-ILJames McArthur RP — The Royals transferred McArthur (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Sunday.
- Day-To-DayMason Adams RP — The White Sox announced that Adams underwent successful Tommy John surgery Wednesday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILKyle Teel C — Teel (hamstring) will report to Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday to begin a rehab assignment, LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune reports.
- 10-Day-ILAustin Hays LF — Manager Will Venable said Saturday that Hays (calf) has resumed taking live batting practice and could begin running the bases next week, Jared Wyllys of AllCHGO.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILEverson Pereira RF — The White Sox placed Pereira on the 10-day injured list Wednesday due to a right pectoral strain.
- 60-Day-ILMike Vasil RP — The White Sox transferred Vasil (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Tuesday.
- 60-Day-ILTanner Murray LF — The White Sox transferred Murray (shoulder) to the 60-day injured list Monday.
- 60-Day-ILBrooks Baldwin LF — The White Sox transferred Baldwin (elbow) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.
- 60-Day-ILKy Bush SP — The White Sox placed Bush (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Feb. 10.
Seth Lugo is the reason the Royals can absorb that. The 3.21 ERA undersells him — he is 1-1 with a 2.68 ERA across his last 7 outings, has allowed more than 2 runs only once in that stretch, and just went 6 innings of 2-run ball in Seattle. He is the most reliable arm on a rotation that desperately needs one.
Noah Schultz is the swing factor. The rookie lefty was sitting on a 2.53 ERA with a .139 opponent average — lowest in MLB among pitchers with 20+ innings — before the Angels torched him for 7 runs on May 6. Pick your Schultz. The dominant version flips this game on its head. The Angels-night version makes the over feel cheap.
The market is split — Pinnacle has it as a coin flip with Kansas City a slight ML favorite, while DK has the public on the home side. The total disagreement is the more interesting tell: Pinnacle at 8, DK at 9. That gap usually means books aren't sure which Schultz shows up either. Lugo plus a thin Royals bullpen plus a homer-happy Sox lineup is a recipe for a weird one.