The South Siders have won three of their last four series and will finally be playing a division opponent as they kick off a three-game set against the Royals. Not having competed against an AL Central team since they split a four-game series in Kansas City last month, the Good Guys have a chance to make some headway in the division, only a game and a half back from the Guardians.
Opening up the series on the mound for the Sox is righthander Erick Fedde, making his sixth start of the season. Fedde has
overall been solid in 2026, holding a 3.79 ERA and 1.132 WHIP in 38 innings, but he has struggled with serving up home runs in his last two starts, both against the Angels: three long balls led to four runs in his 4 2/3 frames last Tuesday, and he also surrendered two bombs the start prior. If there’s a bright side to allowing too many home runs, it’s that Fedde seemingly gives up more solo shots. Knock on some wood, folks.
Fedde will still need to maintain control and do his best to keep the ball from leaving the park, as sluggers such as Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel García, and Vinnie Pasquantino pack a tough punch right at the top of the lineup. While Pasquantino has gotten off to a slow start this season, he has a .500 batting average and 1.064 OPS in 10 lifetime at-bats against Fedde, including a round-tripper. Witt has actually had a hard time against the righty, holding just a .334 OPS in 12 chances.
Kansas City Royals starting lineup:
Though he began the year on the IL with an oblique strain, righthander Stephen Kolek made his 2026 debut last week and will be making his second start tonight on the South Side. His 4.50 ERA highlights the three runs allowed in his six innings, though he allowed just four hits, didn’t walk anybody, and struck out three. But a middle-inside sinker that didn’t break was his biggest downfall, which led to Rhys Hoskins taking him deep for three tallies. Luckily for Kolek, his teammates bailed him out with a pair of homers to take the lead back and still get him the win.
Kolek relies most heavily on his 94 mph four-seamer, as well as his 93.6 mph sinker, but he has started to leverage his changeup more this season, which has worked well for him thus far. In 2025, Kolek tossed the change just 11.6% of the time, but opponents were whiffing at a higher rate than the rest of his go-to pitches with just a .049 batting average, and a somehow lower weighted on-base percentage at .042.
What is unfortunate for Kolek, however, is that the two, three, and four hitters for the South Siders — Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, and Colson Montgomery — have combined for 34 home runs, which is currently greater than the combined totals for six whole teams. Another special tidbit is that Murakami has homered in the first game of the last eight series, and will be going for nine tonight.
Chicago White Sox starting lineup:
Be sure to tune in to CHSN to see if Mune can extend his streak — the most consecutive homers in series openers in MLB history — and jump back to the top of the home run leaderboard alongside Kyle Schwarber and Aaron Judge. You can also listen in at ESPN Chicago AM 1000. Let’s hopefully start this series off on a high note.
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