• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

White Sox-Royals Preview

May 16, 2010 - 5:16 AM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Chicago (14-21) at Kansas City (13-23), 2:10 p.m. EDT

Chicago White Sox starter Gavin Floyd hasn't been at his best in recent outings against the Kansas City Royals.

The same could be said for Royals right-hander Brian Bannister when facing the White Sox.

The good news for both pitchers is they have a chance to earn a rare win against a division rival in Sunday's finale of a three-game series.

Floyd (1-3, 6.92 ERA) gave up six runs and a career-high 13 hits over 6 1-3 innings of a 7-2 home loss to the Royals on May 4. Four of those runs came in his final inning of work.

"I got into a grove a little bit, and all of a sudden, in that inning, they started getting some runs," Floyd told the White Sox's official website following that game. "They just happened to put them in places they needed."

The next day, Bannister was tagged for seven runs and seven hits over just three innings in a 9-2 defeat.

"I really wasted everyone's time out there," he said after that loss. "I just had no feel for the ball. It was the worst feel I've ever had ... in the big leagues. You could just see from my pitches. They were up and they were on a silver platter."

Both pitchers' struggles continued into their next start. Floyd gave up five runs over 6 1-3 innings May 9 against Toronto but avoided a decision in a 9-7 loss. Bannister (1-3, 5.18) wasn't as fortunate in an 8-2 defeat to visiting Cleveland on Tuesday night as he dropped his second straight start after allowing four runs, six hits and three walks over six innings.

He's been far from good against Chicago (15-21) over much of the past four seasons. After winning two of his first three career starts against the White Sox, Bannister is 1-5 with a 10.06 ERA in the last 10 matchups.

Floyd has an even worse record in his last six starts versus Kansas City, going 0-5 with a 6.25 ERA.

The Royals (13-24) will try to add to those struggles while trying to earn their second win in three games with new manager Ned Yost.

They seemed to be headed toward another victory under Yost, who took over for the fired Trey Hillman before the series opener, and third in a row overall on Saturday night after getting out to a 4-1 lead in the first three innings.

The White Sox, however, scored four runs in the seventh for a 5-4 win, their seventh in 17 games. Chicago had batted .205 with runners in scoring position heading into the night but was 4 for 7 in the victory.

"I think the difference today from the past was the clutch hitting," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We had a couple of big base hits when we needed it."

Guillen's team hasn't won consecutive games since a three-game home sweep of Seattle from April 23-25. The White Sox have one other winning streak this season, back-to-back victories against Minnesota and Toronto on April 11-12.