Tonight at 8:10 p.m. ET, the Chicago White Sox (68-82) and Kansas City Royals (82-67) take the field at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City for the middle contest of a three-game set. The game can be live streamed for free here. Chicago fans can hear all of the action on WSCR 670 while Kansas City fans can do the same on KCSP 610.
Chicago plays the second matchup of a nine-game road trip while Kansas City plays the sixth tilt of a 10-game homestand it is currently 2-3 on. The Royals topped the White Sox 4-3 Monday night in walk-off fashion.
Kansas City comes into play in possession of the second American League wild-card spot with a two-game lead over the Seattle Mariners while it trails the Detroit Tigers by 1-1/2 games in the AL Central. Chicago is out of playoff contention entering Tuesday.
Liam Hendriks (1-2, 5.06 ERA) mans the mound in a spot start for the Royals while the White Sox counter with rookie Chris Bassitt, who is 0-1 with a 4.73 ERA this season.
Hendriks is looking to bounce back from his last outing against the Boston Red Sox where he recorded just seven outs.
"Instead of just throwing the ball, I think I was trying to aim it a little bit and make it move, and to do everything it really doesn't need to be doing," Hendriks said per MLB.com. "I just need to go out there and throw it. I was always behind today. It just wasn't acceptable."
Hendriks will face a White Sox lineup that has been paced by rookie first baseman Jose Abreu, who leads the team and ranks third in the AL in batting average (.323) homers (35) and RBI (102-tied).
Abreu also leads the MLB with a .602 slugging percentage and .986 OPS while he is second in the AL with 311 total bases and fifth with a .384 on-base percentage.
While Chicago is 14 games under .500, this start will go a long way in seeing if Bassitt will start next week.
"You are waiting to see what Bassitt does and go from there," White Sox skipper Robin Ventura told MLB.com.
Bassitt faces a Kansas City lineup that is flanked by shortstop Alcides Escobar and outfielder Alex Gordon. Escobar leads the team with a .273 batting average while Gordon has a team-best 19 homers and 68 RBI.
The Royals have a penchant for stealing bases as well as Escobar is fifth in the AL with 30 swipes and centerfielder Jarrod Dyson ranks third with 34.
The Royals look to pad their wild-card lead and keep pace in the AL Central race while the White Sox hope to play spoiler when these division rivals continue their series live form Kauffman Stadium tonight in Kansas City.
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