The last time the White Sox opened a series at Kauffman Stadium, they were 4-8 and fresh off a sweep by the Orioles, and opening a series in a place where they'd lost their last 15 games.
Anthony Kay spearheaded a 2-0 shutout back on April 9 to break that nightmarish losing streak, and while the Royals won the next two games by that same score, the Sox were able to salvage a split by using nine pitchers over nine innings, with Jordan Leasure, Lucas Sims and Seranthony Domínguez finishing off the game after Dustin Harris scored the go-ahead run via #WILDPITCHOFFENSE in the top of the seventh. Leasure is the only of those names still in the organization, and he hasn't pitched since May.
Kay is starting again tonight, with the hope that April's split rendered The K a standard road trip venue, rather than a house of horrors with ample parking.
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Speaking of Kauffman, the Royals are kicking off their final homestand of the season, which prompted Mike Petriello to revisit the impact of bringing in the fences. The difference was milder than his team's preseason estimation:
With 6 home games left, the KC fence change has really not had a huge impact.+10 new HR for KC hitters+16 new HR for opponents before the year, we'd estimated ~40 new HR.www.mlb.com/news/effect-...
— Mike Petriello (@mikepetriello.bsky.social) 2026-09-21T18:00:18.117Z
It's also not affecting the Royals' home success any. They're 39-36 in Kansas City, while they finished their road schedule 28-53.
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As for the games with implications, the Blue Jays and Orioles are postponed, and the Guardians should be a few innings into their series opener against the Red Sox in Boston by the time the first pitch is thrown here. The White Sox-Royals game will probably be in the books by the time the Astros begin play, as they're in Seattle the next three days.
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First Pitch: White Sox at Royals
TV: CHSN
Lineups:
| White Sox | Royals | |
|---|---|---|
| Miguel Vargas, 3B | 1 | Carter Jensen, C |
| Tommy Pham, DH | 2 | Bobby Witt Jr., SS |
| Randal Grichuk, LF | 3 | Jac Caglianone, RF |
| Munetaka Murakami, 1B | 4 | Maikel Garcia, 3B |
| Chase Meidroth, 2B | 5 | Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B |
| Kyle Teel, C | 6 | Salvador Perez, C |
| Brenton Doyle, CF | 7 | Michael Massey, 2B |
| Colson Montgomery, SS | 8 | Nick Loftin, LF |
| Braden Montgomery, RF | 9 | Kyle Isbel, CF |
| Anthony Kay | SP | Daniel Lynch IV |
