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Royals-White Sox Preview

Jul 18, 2015 - 5:46 AM The Chicago White Sox are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their World Series title, and while their current team will have some heavy lifting just to reach playoff contention, they've been collecting wins lately like that 2005 club.

Jose Quintana will try to deliver another victory Saturday while ending a lengthy winless streak against Kansas City. Jeremy Guthrie, meanwhile, will try to keep the Royals' surge going with another strong outing versus Chicago.

The members of the White Sox's 99-win World Series team will take part in a "Parade of Champions" before Saturday's game as part of its reunion weekend. Chicago's current players will seek to follow with the team's 11th victory in 15 games and ninth in 12 home contests.

The White Sox (42-46) split a doubleheader with Kansas City on Friday, taking a 2-0 win in the finale following a 4-2 loss. John Danks limited the AL-leading Royals (53-35) to four hits in the nightcap while handing them just their third loss in 12 games and sixth in the past 22 between the teams.

"Certainly, we know the situation we're in. It's a good opportunity for us, playing one of the teams ahead of us," said Danks, whose team trails Houston by six games for the second AL wild-card spot.

Quintana (4-9, 3.69 ERA) will try to provide another respectable outing while earning his third win in 12 starts.

The left-hander has a 2.82 ERA in his last nine games but has gotten a combined 14 runs of support. He gave up three runs in 7 1-3 innings in a 3-1 defeat to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.

"He always pitches good," manager Robin Ventura said. "He always seems to give you a chance. ... He's tough. He doesn't always cave in to the fact that we haven't scored much for him or the no-decisions, he just goes out and pitches."

Quintana is 0-6 with a 4.50 ERA in 14 lifetime starts against the Royals. He yielded two runs in seven innings in his latest matchup April 24 but the White Sox backed him with two runs in their eventual 3-2 victory.

Guthrie (7-5, 5.36) is 4-1 with a 2.82 ERA in his last six starts against the White Sox and 5-1 with a 1.51 ERA in his past seven at U.S. Cellular Field. His most recent game in the series was a 3-1 victory in Chicago on Sept. 26.

The right-hander has lowered his ERA more than a run with a 3.99 mark in his last eight starts and a 3.26 in his last three.

Guthrie earned his second win in three starts July 8 against Tampa Bay but got plenty of run support in a 9-7 victory. He gave up four runs in six innings, matching his total allowed in his previous 13 1-3.

"I was all right," he said. "I felt good at times, but I felt I made a lot of mistakes that hurt me."

Adam Eaton is 5 for 13 lifetime against Guthrie, with all of those at-bats coming last season, and has hit safely in eight of his last 10 contests.