With tonight’s 6-2 loss, the Royals were swept by the White Sox for the first time in three years.
The Royals dominated the White Sox for the past couple of seasons, but that hasn’t been the case through the first seven games of 2026. The teams split their first series of the year, in Kansas City, before this sweep.
With the loss, the Royals fall to six games under .500 at 19-25 while the White Sox become only the second American League Central team with a winning record.
The Royals jumped to a quick
1-0 lead as Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. both singled to start the game with the former moving to third on the latter’s hit. Lane Thomas then drove in Garcia with a sacrifice fly. Salvador Perez, who ended the night 2-for-4, had an ugly strikeout for the second out. Nick Loftin then took one off the foot before Vinnie Pasquantino fanned to end the threat.
Kris Bubic takes the loss, falling to 3-2 on the year. He struggled through a 30-pitch first inning in which he only allowed one hit, but it happened to be a two-run home run by ex-Royal Randal Grichuk. Grichuk, already on his second team of 2026, was just getting started.
Bubic’s final line: four innings, five hits, five earned runs, three walks, and four strikeouts.
Chicago’s starting pitcher, Anthony Kay, gets the win, improving his record to 3-1 with two of those wins coming against the Royals. Both on Thursdays! Bully for me. Kay went six innings, allowed six hits and two earned runs while striking out four and walking two.
The White Sox put the game out of reach in the bottom of the third when Grichuk struck again, this time with a two-run single. It was his 17th career 4-RBI game. After retiring Jarred Kelenic, Bubic walked Chase Meidroth and allowed a single to Miguel Vargas before walking Munetaka Murakami, who recorded three tonight. Grichuk then poked one up the middle, scoring Meidroth and Vargas.
4-1, White Sox.
The Royals next threatened in the fifth inning when, with one out, Witt walked and Thomas singled. Then, naturally, Salvy grounded into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double-play. The heart of the order should not be considered rally killers, but here we are.
Meidroth drove in Luisangel Acuna in the fourth to enlarge Chicago’s lead to 5-1. The Royals scored another run in the top of the 7th. Kyle Isbel led off with a triple, forcing Kay from the game. Garcia brought him home on a groundout, but that would pretty much be it for Kansas City’s offense. Salvy singled in the eighth but was stranded at second. The Royals then went quietly in the ninth.
Final score: 6-2 White Sox.
Fumbled series. Last year, the Royals finished with a winning record in large part because they manhandled the White Sox, beating them in 10 of their 13 meetings. Sure, the White Sox improved over the offseason—hard not to when a team’s that bad—but the Royals supposedly also improved.
Ugly series, ugly outcomes, ugly four-game losing streak.
Now the Royals head back to Missouri but on the other side of the state to take on the surprising St. Louis Cardinals. After defeating the Nomadics earlier today, the Cardinals are 25-18, which would give them the third-best record in the American League, but since they play in the National League, they’re only third in their division.
The Royals look to former Cardinal Michael Wacha to stanch the bleeding.
