Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/16/2022

Time: 8:10 p.m. ET

Venue: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Where to watch: NBC Sports Chicago, Bally Sports Kansas City

DraftKings: Check back later

BetMGM: Check back later

Caesars: Check back later

White Sox: 16-17

Royals: 12-20

So, the Chicago White Sox are not the world beaters we thought they were. All you need to do in order to figure that out is look at Sunday's 5-1 loss to the New York Yankees. When Michael Kopech enters with an ERA below 1.00 and one swing of the bat moves it over 1.00, it's about the fact this group is not hitting the ball well right now.

Look, there's Tim Anderson being one of the top hitters in the league. But Jose Abreu hasn't hit as well as one would like. Luis Robert's power probably isn't even at his best. So when your pitching staff has to be perfect at all times, you're setting yourself up for failure.

“I didn’t really have much of my stuff today, if anything,” Kopech said after falling to 0-1 with a 1.54 ERA on the season. “Those other innings, I was able to remain focused and throw to the target and execute as well as I could. I didn’t execute very well either, but I threw strikes and that goes a long way.

Also, how good to you have to be to go through seven starts and lose your first decision of the year based on one pitch? Pretty crazy.

The White Sox relied on the middle of their lineup last year to win the division and comfortably coast into the postseason. Unfortunately they didn't get anything going in the playoffs, but that's bound to happen at some point. They needed to have a better performance as the season goes on.

The Kansas City Royals haven't had much to cheer for this year. A seven-run seventh inning is absolutely one way to make sure those fans have a lot to cheer for. They put up seven runs in the late frame and the Royals got out of Coors Field with an 8-7 win over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.

Daniel Lynch tossed 5.1 scoreless innings, and the Royals had a 6-0 lead. So of course, when you lose that kind of lead and almost lose the game, things were going to go wild.

“If they can get a comfortable swing off, there’s a better chance, particularly here, of damage happening,” Lynch said. “I didn’t really feel like I had great stuff today, but I just tried my best to mix and keep them off-balance. The slider is usually a lot more consistent location-wise, but when I put it in a good spot, it was a good pitch.”

The Royals haven't been the greatest offensive team, but this game really helped them in the regard that you see what can be done. When guys other than Andrew Benintendi are hitting for contact, and when others unlike Salvador Perez are driving in runs, the potential is there.

How long it takes to get to that point remains to be seen.

The White Sox haven't named a starter yet, but I'm feeling they are going to at least get things off to a strong start in this series. White Sox win 6-4

Check back later for trends.

White Sox:
Tim Anderson (R) SS
Andrew Vaughn (R) 1B
Luis Robert (R) CF
Jose Abreu (R) DH
AJ Pollock (R) LF
Leury Garcia (S) 2B
Adam Engel (R) RF
Reese McGuire (L) C
Josh Harrison (R) 3B
SP - TBD

Royals:
Whit Merrifield (R) RF
Michael A. Taylor (R) CF
Salvador Perez (R) DH
Carlos Santana (S) 1B
Hunter Dozier (R) LF
Bobby Witt Jr. (R) SS
MJ Melendez (L) C
Emmanuel Rivera (R) 3B
Nicky Lopez (L) 2B
SP - Brad Keller

Batting average: Tim Anderson -- .336

Hits: Tim Anderson -- 40

Home runs: Four tied -- 4

RBI: Three tied -- 12

Wins: Reynaldo Lopez -- 4

Saves: Liam Hendriks -- 9

ERA: Michael Kopech -- 1.54

Batting average: Andrew Benintendi -- .316

Hits: Andrew Benintendi -- 36

Home runs: Salvador Perez -- 6

RBI:  Salvador Perez -- 16

Wins: Three tied -- 2

Saves: Scott Barlow -- 3

ERA: Brad Keller -- 2.70