The White Sox handled their business on Sunday afternoon with their four-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals, 8-2. This win moves their overall record to 26-15, the third-best record in the MLB. This was the first four-game sweep of the Royals in 23 years; yet one more record broken by the White Sox this season.
Dallas Keuchel (5IP 2H 0ER 0BB 2K 1W 49PC) pitched another excellent game, earning himself his sixth victory of the season. Although, once again, Keuchel had to pull himself out of the game before the 6th inning. Rick Renteria later reported that he left due to back tightness; something Keuchel has been dealing with all season. He is considered day-to-day right now, but if this injury turns out to be more significant, it could be severely devastating for White Sox. Keuchel has been the foundation of the White Sox pitching staff, and they don’t have the depth to sustain the team long term.
After Kuechel left the game, the offense really got going. They ensured the bullpen had plenty of run support by scoring six runs in the last four innings. The bottom of the order led the offensive charge going 6-13, with 2R and 1RBI. Danny Mendick and Yolmer Sanchez stepped into starting roles for Nick Madrigal and Yoan Moncada and handled their jobs admirably. Edwin Encarnacion (2-5 1R 4RBI 1HR) continues to add more firepower to this offense, and Jose Abreu was able to push his hit streak to 20 games. RP Alex McCrae made his debut on Sunday (1IP 1H 0ER 0BB 2K 15PC), and he looked like the nice fresh arm the White Sox bullpen needs.
The White Sox have a pretty easy week ahead of them, starting with a welcome day off on Monday. They come back on Tuesday to take on the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates for a quick two-game set, and Dylan Cease will look to improve on his last start.