The Kansas City Royals are in a tough spot right now. Their losing streak has stretched to four games after a 6-2 defeat that saw them swept by the Chicago White Sox for the first time in three years. It's a frustrating turn of events for a team that had dominated this divisional matchup in recent seasons.
Through the first seven games of the 2026 campaign, the Royals have struggled to find their footing against Chicago. After splitting their initial series in Kansas City, this sweep at the hands of the White Sox drops the Royals to 19-25, six games below .500. Meanwhile, Chicago becomes just the second team in the AL Central to sport a winning record.
The game started with promise for Kansas City. Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. led off with back-to-back singles, with Garcia advancing to third on Witt's hit. Lane Thomas brought Garcia home with a sacrifice fly, giving the Royals a quick 1-0 lead. But the momentum stalled there. Salvador Perez, who finished 2-for-4 on the night, struck out in ugly fashion for the second out. Nick Loftin then took a pitch off the foot, and Vinnie Pasquantino fanned to end the inning, leaving the Royals wondering what could have been.
Kris Bubic took the loss, falling to 3-2 on the year. He labored through a 30-pitch first inning, allowing just one hit—but it was a costly one. Former Royal Randal Grichuk, already on his second team of the season, launched a two-run home run to give Chicago the lead. Bubic's final line was rough: four innings, five hits, five earned runs, three walks, and four strikeouts.
Chicago's Anthony Kay earned the win, improving to 3-1, with both victories coming against the Royals—both on Thursdays, no less. Kay went six innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs while striking out four and walking two.
The White Sox put the game out of reach in the bottom of the third when Grichuk struck again, this time with a two-run single that gave him his 17th career 4-RBI game. After retiring Jarred Kelenic, Bubic walked Chase Meidroth, allowed a single to Miguel Vargas, and walked Munetaka Murakami. Grichuk then poked a ball up the middle, scoring Meidroth and Vargas to make it 5-1.
The Royals managed to scratch across another run later, but it wasn't nearly enough. For a team that came into this season with high hopes, this sweep is a tough pill to swallow. The bats need to wake up, and the pitching needs to find its groove, or this losing streak could get even longer.