Pregame notes: Giving no quarter at the halfway point

In actuality, giving no quarter to a defeated enemy is a pretty shameful war crime that has no place in civilized society. At least, you'd hope.

In jokey baseball context, it's just being used here to refer to the White Sox trying to complete a sweep against a Kansas City Royals club that has the worst record in the American League and could be said to be going through it, in more ways than one.

Despite Nick Loftin being the Royal who absorbed a shot betwixt his thighs in the ninth inning on Saturday, Jac Caglianone was the one scratched from the lineup with left groin soreness. Loftin is also out of the lineup, but said to be available off the bench despite his "contusion."

But the Sox could use a 5-1 homestand to cancel out last week's 1-5 road trip, before a four-game series in Cleveland next weekend that is effectively their most important series than their three-gamer with the Guardians in mid-September of 2022 (it didn't go well).

Will Venable and the Sox probably won't have Grant Taylor nor Sean Newcomb available in the bullpen after their efforts on Saturday. So while pitching coach Zach Bove didn't actively shoot down the idea of using Seranthony Domínguez in lower leverage spots to get him going, it's more likely that their work to make his long arm action more consistent will need to bear fruit.

"He's a very mobile guy, so it's just those guys are just tough to shrink them in zone, get his misses more in the zone," Bove said. "It's part of what makes him good, right?
[The length in his delivery] gets on the hitters quickly, but being able to consistently, pitch to pitch, be able to rein that in, can be a challenge for guys like that. Again, stuff that he's battled through before, but it's just finding that good, whatever that internal cue, those drills, those feels that you can translate to the game."

Chris Murphy's last four outings have been promising. Bryan Hudson's fourth save of the season also seems like a distinct possibility.

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Anthony Kay has a 3.33 ERA over his last 10 starts, in which time the White Sox have gone 7-3 with him on the mound. Is his upturn really just about moving toward the first base side on the pitching rubber?

"I think it’s one of the things, for sure," Bove said. "When you make a change, we made multiple changes with him. It’s like how much is it the rubber move, the usages, how he’s attacking right-handers specifically? I think [the move has] helped enough to where it tunnels his pitches a little bit, get him in zone more with certain pitches. It’s definitely been a positive. How much? I can’t really say."

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Bove said that Shane Smith is supposed to have a rehab start with High-A Winston-Salem next week. It'll probably be shorter, as it is a rehab start. He didn't have the same specifics, but it sounds as though Tanner McDougal is on a similar timeline.

First pitch: White Sox vs. Royals

TV: CHSN

Radio: ESPN 1000 AM, 107.9 FM La Ley (Spanish)

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