KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Thank goodness there’s all these roster moves to discuss, since the White Sox aren’t scoring runs even when the weather allows them on the field, which it is currently not doing.
Sunday’s game will begin in a weather delay.
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For this possibly doomed game, Grant Taylor will open for the fourth time this season, setting up the recently recalled Jonathan Cannon to be the bulk option against the Royals.
Cannon has a 8.31 ERA in two Triple-A starts this year, mostly marred by him allowing two homers in 8 2/3 innings of work, with otherwise more credible peripherals. Those numbers are just slightly worse than the man whose spot he took, Duncan Davitt (7.88 ERA), who wound up pitching an inning of relief before getting optioned Saturday night.
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But the Sox aren’t done causing upheaval in the Knights rotation, as Noah Schultz’s arrival on Tuesday is an official matter at this point; in the sense that the team is trying to promote his debut. Also, while Tyler Schweitzer, Davitt and likely Cannon are all passing through and filling an immediate need, Schultz is being installed in the major league rotation for the foreseeable future.
“The thought is that we bring him up here when he’s ready, and go and let him do his thing,” said Will Venable. “Innings total, we’ll monitor that as we go. As far as the exact number, not something that we’ve outlined to this point. We’ll monitor it knowing that there is going to be thoughtfulness on what he gets to, but we’ll talk about that as we get going.”
Sean Burke and Anthony Kay have both been officially pushed back a day to accommodate Schultz’s arrival.
“He’s the man, he’s awesome,” Davitt said of Schultz. “He’s young but he’s wise and mature beyond his years, and he’s so fun to watch pitch. Just a nightmare for a hitter. He’s kind of hard to play catch with sometimes just because it’s funky and it’s hard. He’s going to be a guy when he gets his chance.”
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Shane Smith is getting his first start at Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday (it’s already a mess), and Sam Antonacci is batting leadoff and playing left field. There’s a lot of time between the end of a Sunday day game and Tuesday night for Antonacci to board a flight to Chicago rather than Nashville.
So while there’s been some pushback on reports that Antonacci is going to join Schultz in coming to Chicago on Tuesday, the on-record denial from Venable is a notably narrow one.
“Nothing imminent on Antonacci,” Venable said. “No decision has been made on Antonacci and he’s in Charlotte’s lineup today.”
Everson Pereira is batting second for the Knights to open his rehab assignment. At least you can be sure of that.
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The White Sox have not scored in 20 innings, not gotten a hit with a runner in scoring position this series, nor homered in their last seven games.
First pitch: White Sox at Royals
TV: CHSN
Radio: ESPN 1000 AM
Lineups:
RoyalsWhite SoxMaikel Garcia, 3B1Miguel Vargas, 3BBobby Witt Jr., SS2Chase Meidroth, 2BVinnie Pasquantino, 1B3Munetaka Murakami, 1BSalvador Perez, DH4Lenyn Sosa, DHCarter Jensen, C5Edgar Quero, CMichael Massey, 2B6Colson Montgomery, SSJac Caglianone, RF7Tanner Murray, LFIsaac Collins, LF8Luisangel Acuña, CFKyle Isbel, CF9Derek Hill, RFNoah CameronSPJonathan Cannon
