Game of the Week: July 27: CHW @ KC

[Commissioner Erick]

Chicago White Sox (46-54) @ Kansas City (55-43)


CWS: Adalberto Mejia (7-5, 4.80)
KC: Michael Bates (5-3, 3.81)


White Sox 5 Key Stats


143: Chicago’s home run total, second in the AL. The White Sox pack a serious offensive punch.

1.181: Andrew Benintendi’s OPS total, just thousandths of decimal points off the pace of the highest single season OPS of all-time.

83: Rafael Devers’ RBI total, most in the AL. Devers is batting .310 and has plenty of opportunities hitting behind Andrew Benintendi.

.289: Tim Anderson’s OBP batting in the number two spot. Anderson has done a terrible job setting the table for Benintendi and Devers.

3: Saves by Jimmie Sherfy despite a 2.36 ERA. Sherfy has not been given the chance to be Chicago’s closer.


Royals 5 Key Stats


53.9: Kansas City’s ground ball percentage. With Xavier Edwards, Joshua Lowe, J.P. Crawford, and Joe Rizzo on the infield, the strategy has paid off.

532: Kansas City’s runs scored this season, third in the AL. They’ve accomplished this despite being ninth in Home Runs. Kansas City’s fourth or better among all other offensive categories though.

17.1: Kansas City’s strikeout rate, second-best in the AL. Kansas City’s ability to make contact has been a huge asset that has helped their offense be a threat despite their lack of power.

2.97: Kansas City’s bullpen ERA, tops in the league. Kansas City’s done this despite only one reliever striking out at least a batter an inning.

.805: Quentin Holmes’ OPS. Nearly half of Holmes’ plate appearances have come against lefties and he’s batting .358 against them.


Questions for the GMs:


For Steve Strzepek, Tim Anderson has been worth -0.7 WAR thus far this year. Why does he still get at bats for you?

You’re 8 games under .500. Do you have any plans to sell your stars?

Kansas City is really good offensively at making contact. Will you play more of a defensive lineup to counter?

For Daniel Kent, what moves are you looking to make at the deadline to solidify your squad for the second half?

Why did you go out and acquire Nonnie Williams from Miami?

How do you plan to deal with the devastating duo of Benintendi and Devers today?


TRIVIA: Who is the only player in baseball to have had an OPS higher than Andrew Benintendi’s in 2025?

[kcgm]

1) What moves are you looking to make at the deadline to solidify your squad for the second half?

Ideally I'd like to acquire another reliable SP, maybe two if possible. But if no deal that makes sense for me and is a legitimate upgrade over what I already have is on the table I won't force the issue. With Chad Kuhl and Andrew Suarez imploding this is likely the weakest rotation I have had in the past few seasons. That's despite my depth and Michael Bates having exceeded all expectations and really stabilized my starting pitching since joining the rotation. Outside of that, I could use another good left-handed relief pitcher to pair with Jose Torres, but it's not a huge need. I'm generally pretty happy with my bullpen and lineup's performances and don't see any huge holes in either that call for external reinforcements.

2) Why did you go out and acquire Nonie Williams from Miami?

A couple reasons, for one the trade also netted me $1.5 MILLION in cash that helped ease my budget crunch a bit. Second, when I made the deal 2B JP Crawford and 3B Joshua Lowe were injured and 2B Joey Young and 3B Anthony Boix were really struggling trying to replace them in the everyday lineup. Williams is a fantastic fielder who has great batting ratings against LHP and has consistently hit very well against them. Considering my need in the infield at the time and my preference for using bench players in platoons, I felt Williams was a great fit as a starting option over Boix with Lowe out and as a utility infielder/platoon bat. I had identified Williams a long time ago as a strong fit for a specific role that I always use.

3) How do you plan to deal with the devastating duo of Benintendi and Devers today?

Cross my fingers. That's all you really can do with a pair like those two. Hopefully between the game being at home in my huge HR suppressing park, my generally strong fielding, and a SP on the mound in Bates that's done a great job limiting HRs this season, we can hold them in check and in the later innings the AI is smart enough to throw a lefty (so Jose Torres) or my best RPs against them.

[Commissioner Erick]

White Sox 11 - Royals 6


WP: A. Medrano (2-0)
LP: A. Suarez( (2-4)


The Chicago White Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals, 11-6, at Kauffman Stadium today. Leading the charge for Chicago was third baseman Rafael Devers. He was 3-4 with a double, 2 singles, and was hit by a pitch, while scoring 2 and driving in 3. With the victory, the White Sox record now stands at 47-54.

Chicago used a timely hit from Tim Anderson to get the win. The shortstop stroked a 2-run double in the top of the ninth inning to put the White Sox ahead, 5-4. It was his only hit in 5 at-bats, but it made an impact.

"You know, at the end of the day, it's about who scores the most runs," said Chicago manager Steve Strzepek.


Questions for the GMs:


For Steve Strzepek, Hakizamana Njururi had another strong day, going 3-5. He's now hitting over .400. Are you surprised at how productive he's been so quickly?

Ronald Acuna went 0-5 for you. Do you feel he might need to be dropped out of the leadoff spot?

What did you think of Mejia's performance today?

For Daniel Kent, your manager bot burned through a lot of relievers in the seventh and eighth leaving Andrew Suarez to work the ninth. Did you agree with that style of bullpen management?

You have a pretty deep team, and Suarez has really struggled this year. Any thought of replacing him on the roster?

You only used one pinch hitter. Would you have liked to have seen your bench used more in the game?


TRIVIA: Who is the only player with more lifetime RBI's than Andrew Benintendi?

[kcgm]

1) Your manager bot burned through a lot of relievers in the seventh and eighth leaving Andrew Suarez to work the ninth. Did you agree with that style of bullpen management?

Absolutely not. It is indefensible that in a standard 9 inning game the manager bot burned through so many RPs that the only option was to call on a long reliever/demoted SP to try and close out a 1 run game. Especially when the opponent has bats like Benintendi and Devers looming.

2) You have a pretty deep team, and Suarez has really struggled this year. Any thought of replacing him on the roster?

Not really. I shopped Suarez before the deadline but got no interest. He has been a lot better since joining the pen (though is still not someone I want pitching in anything approaching a high leverage situation) so he's been useful as an inning eating long relief option, and the only way to take him off the roster would be to waive/DFA him and likely ultimately release him. I will almost definitely decline his team option for next season though.

3) You only used one pinch hitter. Would you have liked to have seen your bench used more in the game?

To be honest I haven't really looked close enough at the box score and specific game situations to say. Generally I am okay with not pinch hitting much as I feel that I have a deep lineup with a lot of hitters that can be productive against both left and right handed pitching and don't need to be replaced in important at bats. Maybe pinch hit my platoon bats with their complementary partner if the opponent brings in a pitcher that throws with the opposite hand from their SP and has the handedness advantage against that day's starter. But outside of that it doesn't really bother me much.

[Commissioner Erick]

TRIVIA 1: Tim correctly guessed Mike Trout

TRIVIA 2: Ben correctly guessed Nolan Arenado