Pregame notes: Kansas City Special

Counting against the White Sox in their efforts to claim that they have markedly improved since last year is their divisional record.

On one hand, they surpassed last year's win total by sealing up a series victory over the Twins on Sunday. On the other, they're still just 11-28, further worsened by going 2-8 against the Royals and not winning a single game in Kansas City for the second-straight season.

"Probably just as we play better, we'll play better against our division," said Will Venable. "At the same time, I think when you play your division, it creates unique challenges, where guys know each other a little better and you have to make adjustments more quickly. 
So yeah, I think, as we grow, we're doing better, but at the same time, we're learning how to be better against guys that we play often."

If they play any better against the Royals at home--and they did win their last series against them here--it will be against the exact same starting pitcher slate that held them to five runs in three games at Kauffman Stadium barely over a week ago: Noah Cameron, Michael Lorenzen, Ryan Bergert.

"We've seen the positive side like with Taj Bradley, where we performed well against him and were able to do a lot of the same things and same approach the next time," Venable said. "In Cameron's case, we did not perform well against him, and so we have to make a new set of adjustments here and get him out over the plate. I thought we chased a lot, or right-handed hitters chased a lot in, so pushing him out over the plate and just making our adjustments. It's nice when you have guys that you're facing so close, you're able to make those adjustments." 

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And it will be right-handers who need to adjust against Cameron, because Colson Montgomery, Mike Tauchman, Kyle Teel and Andrew Benintendi are all getting nights off against the Royals southpaw.

When Venable played for the Padres, he said manager Bud Black had a straightforward policy: if you hit a home run, you're in the lineup for the next day's game. Venable talked about enjoying the policy, before making it clear that he wouldn't be using it himself. But Montgomery isn't subject to the platoon usage that was applied to Venable in his playing days.

"He's in a spot where I don't think we have to think too much about that," Venable said of Montgomery. "Facing a tough lefty, I think, is gonna be a good thing for him. And I think we definitely view him as an everyday guy."

Instead, Montgomery and Teel are sitting because Venable has foreshadowed and now reiterated that multiple Sox regulars will be getting scheduled off days during their current stretch of 17 games in 17 days. Montgomery has had back issues at points in his minor league career, so some load management for him doesn't seem ill-advised. A left-on-left matchup just offered itself as the right time to strike.

It's also good to get an early indicator of what stars need to align for Korey Lee to get a start.

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Venable was asked about Luis Robert Jr.'s strong second half--.312/.367/.447, active seven-game hitting streak--and pointed out something that it kind of feels like we should have noticed.

"The leg kick at the plate is what, visually, you see," Venable said. "It's just put him in a really good spot to have more consistent at-bats, see the ball better, make better swing decisions. And when he does let the bat go, he's hitting the ball hard."

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Shane Smith's injured list stint for an ankle sprain, which both very much enabled the White Sox to juggle the six starters they had at the time and allowed him to return after a minimum stay with no issues, also restricted his workload enough that he can let it eat from here on out.

"We’re always going to consider his long-term health and what it means for him kind of broadly this season," Venable said. "At the same time, he’s in a really good spot to go out there and give us whatever we might need. That stint on the IL kind of put his innings in a spot where he can go out there and be a normal starting pitcher and we’re not putting any limitations on him."

First pitch: White Sox vs. Royals

TV: CHSN

Radio: ESPN 1000 AM, WRTO 1200 AM

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