INDEPENDENT MLB ANALYTICSINDEPENDENT ANALYTICS
ETLATYOBERLON
FinalFinal lineupsAL Central

Chicago White Sox 9, Kansas City Royals 1

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

2:10 PM ET · Kauffman StadiumGame-day snapshot Sep 26, 2:00 AM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 9, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score57
Chicago White Sox
84–78 · 2nd AL Central · T-Score 57
9
9–1
FINAL · 9 innings
Kansas City Royals
69–93 · 5th AL Central · T-Score 31
1
T-Score31
FINAL · 9 innings
Pitching recap
PitcherTeamRoleIPHERBBKP
David SandlinCWS
StarterWin
6.0510785
Randy DobnakKC
StarterLoss
1.1641142
Scoring by inning
123456789RHE
CWSChicago White Sox3302100009120
KCKansas City Royals000100000172
Top hitters
Kyle Teel2-for-2 · 1 HR · 1 RBI · 1 BB
Salvador Perez1-for-3 · 1 HR · 1 RBI · 1 BB
Miguel Vargas2-for-5 · 2 RBI · 2 R · 1 BB
Tristan Peters1-for-5 · 2 RBI
Andrew Benintendi0-for-2 · 2 RBI · 2 BB

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherRoyalsThe starters are close overall, but Dobnak owns the better strikeout and control profile.
BullpenSoxChicago has allowed fewer runs from the bullpen on the season ERA.
Recent formSoxChicago has won 5 of its last 10 and owns the stronger recent run differential.
Team strengthSoxChicago leads 57–31 in T-Score, driven by recent team form.
WeatherModerate impactA 10 mph wind could modestly increase carry on fly balls.

Pregame contextStarting pitchers

CWS
David Sandlin RHP
David Sandlin
Chicago White Sox
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
6.29
194th
WHIP
1.28
75th
K/9
8.65
75th
BB/9
3.41
90th
P-Score45i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.57
175th
OPS/R
–
IP
34.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
7.20
QUALITY
START %
20%
(1 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
KC
Randy Dobnak RHP
Randy Dobnak
Kansas City Royals
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.08
52nd
WHIP
1.33
156th
K/9
5.92
212th
BB/9
3.08
114th
P-Score53i
FIP
–
HR/9
0.86
36th
OPS/R
–
IP
73.0
Last 5 starts
ERA
4.23
QUALITY
START %
40%
(2 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
How the starters differ
·Sandlin strikes out 2.7 more batters per nine innings.
·Dobnak enters with a 3.08 ERA compared with Sandlin's 6.29.
·Dobnak allows the lower home-run rate: 0.86 vs 1.57 per nine.
·Dobnak has produced a quality start in 50% of outings versus 25%.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Sandlin arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam31%96.5
Curveball23%83.1
Cutter20%91.2
Sweeper10%86.2
Sinker9%95.2
Changeup7%91.0
Dobnak arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Sinker39%91.5
Sweeper25%82.4
Changeup22%84.7
Four-seam10%92.2
Slider5%83.7

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Sox vs RHP (Randy Dobnak)
17th
in MLB
0.716OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Royals vs RHP (David Sandlin)
13th
in MLB
0.727OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineup strength vs today's starter

Weighted by batting-order spot. Season rates are regressed toward league average before they enter the model.

Updated Sep 24, 11:10 AM ET
CWSCWS
.741
+26 ptsOPS edge
KCKC
.715

Slight edge: CWS

Full lineup comparison

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Chicago White SoxOfficial lineupvs RHP Randy Dobnak
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Dobnak (BvP)
1Sam AntonacciLLF63.7668.807No MLB historyNo history
2Kyle TeelLC53.6975.744No MLB historyNo history
3Miguel VargasR3B88.83733.8010-for-1Very small sample
4Munetaka MurakamiL1B82.82535.866No MLB historyNo history
5Andrew BenintendiLDH61.71515.7413-for-5Very small sample
6Tristan PetersLCF62.77412.802No MLB historyNo history
7Chase MeidrothR2B65.76516.665No MLB historyNo history
8Colson MontgomeryLSS63.68531.644No MLB historyNo history
9Braden MontgomerySRF51.6626.755No MLB historyNo history
1Sam Antonacci LF · L.277 / .766 · 8 HRvs hand .807 · No MLB history · No history63H-Score2Kyle Teel C · L.210 / .697 · 5 HRvs hand .744 · No MLB history · No history53H-Score3Miguel Vargas 3B · R.250 / .837 · 33 HRvs hand .801 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample88H-Score4Munetaka Murakami 1B · L.207 / .825 · 35 HRvs hand .866 · No MLB history · No history82H-Score5Andrew Benintendi DH · L.240 / .715 · 15 HRvs hand .741 · 3-for-5 · Very small sample61H-Score6Tristan Peters CF · L.265 / .774 · 12 HRvs hand .802 · No MLB history · No history62H-Score7Chase Meidroth 2B · R.276 / .765 · 16 HRvs hand .665 · No MLB history · No history65H-Score8Colson Montgomery SS · L.197 / .685 · 31 HRvs hand .644 · No MLB history · No history63H-Score9Braden Montgomery RF · S.226 / .662 · 6 HRvs hand .755 · No MLB history · No history51H-Score
Kansas City RoyalsOfficial lineupvs RHP David Sandlin
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Sandlin (BvP)
1Carter JensenLC76.79027.8371-for-3Very small sample
2Bobby Witt Jr.RSS78.80018.7830-for-2Very small sample
3Vinnie PasquantinoL1B69.76117.826No MLB historyNo history
4Salvador PerezRDH56.65721.6280-for-2Very small sample
5Michael MasseyL2B60.73513.7210-for-2Very small sample
6Nick LoftinR3B53.7108.6850-for-2Very small sample
7John RaveLRF57.7446.785No MLB historyNo history
8Kyle IsbelLCF36.5916.652No MLB historyNo history
9Isaac CollinsSLF51.6416.6600-for-2Very small sample
1Carter Jensen C · L.239 / .790 · 27 HRvs hand .837 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample76H-Score2Bobby Witt Jr. SS · R.281 / .800 · 18 HRvs hand .783 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample78H-Score3Vinnie Pasquantino 1B · L.249 / .761 · 17 HRvs hand .826 · No MLB history · No history69H-Score4Salvador Perez DH · R.229 / .657 · 21 HRvs hand .628 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample56H-Score5Michael Massey 2B · L.274 / .735 · 13 HRvs hand .721 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample60H-Score6Nick Loftin 3B · R.240 / .710 · 8 HRvs hand .685 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample53H-Score7John Rave RF · L.232 / .744 · 6 HRvs hand .785 · No MLB history · No history57H-Score8Kyle Isbel CF · L.224 / .591 · 6 HRvs hand .652 · No MLB history · No history36H-Score9Isaac Collins LF · S.213 / .641 · 6 HRvs hand .660 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample51H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseCWSCWS·KCKC
AVG.236 25th.248 8th
OPS.726 10th.718 17th
Home runs211 5th170 21st
Runs776 5th690 22nd
OBP.320 9th.316 18th
SLG.406 8th.402 14th
PitchingCWSCWS·KCKC
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.12vs4.77
CWSKC
WHIP1.31vs1.41
CWSKC
K/98.3vs7.4
CWSKC
HR Allowed180vs210
CWSKC
BullpenCWSCWS·KCKC
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA3.54vs4.85
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.27vs1.46
no league rank
Saves41vs38
CWSKC
ResultsCWSCWS·KCKC
+3379th
Run differential
+19528th
84–78 Record69–93
5–5 Last 102–8
Last 10 games
Chicago White Sox (5–5)
L
W
W
W
L
W
L
L
W
L
Kansas City Royals (2–8)
W
L
L
L
L
L
W
L
L
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
3—10
13 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Sox?+
David Sandlin (6.29 ERA, 2–2) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Royals?+
Randy Dobnak (3.08 ERA, 3–4) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
2:10 PM ET at Kauffman Stadium.
Where is the game being played?+
Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Sox and Royals performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Royals 10–3 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
David Sandlin is at 45; Randy Dobnak is at 53. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.