First pitch: Friday, 2:10 p.m. ET
Line: Chicago -115, Kansas City +105, Total: 7.5

The defending American League champions, the Kansas City Royals, begin their second half against the Chicago White Sox on Friday afternoon.

The Royals have had no issues proving that they belonged in the World Series last year and are currently leading the AL Central by 4.5-games heading into the second half. They rattled off seven wins in their last eight games before the break, averaging 6.5 runs per contest, and then proceeded to send eight of their players to the All-Star Game. The last series came against the Blue Jays and they were able to cap off the set with a big 11-10 win on Sunday, blowing an early seven-run lead, but eventually getting the victory behind 15 hits and a 5-for-9 mark with RISP. OF Lorenzo Cain (.316) was one of the teams many participants in the All-Star Game and for good reason as he already has a career-high in homers (8) while stealing 17 bases with the fourth-best average amongst AL batters. The White Sox have moved in an entirely different direction and they are at the bottom of the division despite plenty of big offseason moves. They were not happy to hit the break though, as they were just catching a groove with a 9-3 record in the last four series before the Mid-Summer Classic. The victories were against very credible clubs also, as they took series wins against St. Louis, Baltimore, Toronto and finally the Cubs. It was the pitching staff that was so impressive during that stretch, allowing a miniscule 1.4 runs per game in the wins. This pitching matchup will feature RHP Edinson Volquez (8-4, 3.31 ERA) for Kansas City as he goes up against RHP Jeff Samardzija (6-4, 4.02 ERA) of the host Chicago group. Hitting the road shouldn’t be too much of a problem for the Royals as they are 22-18 in away games as the White Sox have compiled a 23-17 record at home. These divisional rivals have had tons of experience against each other and in the past three years the Royals own 27-17 record overall while taking 16-of-23 game on the road. This year, Kansas City is 4-2 as Chicago was able to win the last series when at home, two games to one. Trends show that the Royals are a solid 37-19 (.661) against right-handed starters on the year as the White Sox are 24-18 (.571) after a game with a combined score of four or less runs over the last two seasons. OF Alex Gordon (Groin) will continue to miss time despite the break from the game as 1B Jose Abreu (Hand) is probable to return to the diamond on Chicago’s side of the ball.

Volquez spent parts of nine seasons with three different teams to start his career, and besides a huge 2008 campaign (17-6, 3.21 ERA), he has been nothing more than an innings eater for his clubs. Something has clicked over the past two seasons, as he has had an ERA under 3.40 and is 21-11 since the start of 2014. He leaves a ton of men on-base (72.1%) and has benefitted over the past two years from batters having below a .270 BABIP. His strikeouts have steadily dropped to the 6.8 K/9 mark that he is sporting in 2015, but he still has some issues with control (3.3 BB/9) while keeping the ball in the yard (0.68 HR/9). Volquez has been decent in his time against the White Sox, going 1-2 with a 3.44 ERA (1.09 WHIP), but did earn the loss against them in their last meeting, going 5.2 solid innings with just five hits allowed and a 6:2 K/BB ratio, but allowed five runs (1 ER) in the defeat. The best performer against the veteran righty is 1B Adam LaRoche who has gone 7-for-22 with two doubles, one HR and five RBI. On the other side of things, C Geovany Soto, SS Alexei Ramirez, 2B Emilio Bonifacio, 3B Connor Gillaspie, OF Adam Eaton and OF Avisail Garcia are a combined 6-for-49 (.122) in the matchup. The Royals own the best bullpen in baseball and they have gone 17-5 with a 2.11 ERA (1.07 WHIP) as they are 28-for-39 (72%) in save chances. Greg Holland (2.70 ERA, 19 saves) has seen his strikeouts (10.5 K/9) drop in each of the last three years and this season he has really seen his control (5.1 BB/9) suffer.

Samardzija certainly had a rough start to the year with his new club, but was hot heading into the All-Star break with five of his last six starts going at least seven innings with three or fewer runs allowed. His 7.3 K/9 is his worst mark since 2010 when he was a reliever, but his walks are running at a career-low (1.7 BB/9). The fact that batters are hitting .313 BABIP against him suggests that his performances are reading to improve, and that is evidenced by his 3.41 FIP (Fielder Independent Pitching). He’s had the opportunity to meet with the Royals just twice in his career, going 0-2 with a 5.84 ERA (1.38 WHIP) and did poorly (6 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 1 K) when he saw them earlier in the year. The only player with double-digit at-bats against Samardzija is OF Alex Rios who has gone 3-for-12 (.250) with a couple of strikeouts. Some have done well against the righty in limited at-bats though, and 3B Mike Moustakas is 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBI against Samardzija. The relievers for Chicago have gone 16-13 with a 3.71 ERA (1.40 WHIP) and are 22-for-30 (73%) in save opportunities. David Robertson (2.45 ERA, 19 saves) has 53 strikeouts in just 36.2 innings while allowing a meager 26 hits during his time on the mound.