The Royals ready for more celebrations in the second half (photo/MLB)

The Royals ready for more celebrations in the second half (photo/MLB)

With just three games left against the Minnesota Twins, the Royals find themselves in a good position to close out their Central Division foe.  The Royals have maintained nothing less than a 3.5 game lead over the Twins since June 16th and with Detroit nine games as play resumes today, this club is poised to take the Central Division.

Despite being so far ahead of the Tigers, there are still 12 more head-to-head matchups with Detroit and that could certainly change the landscape of the division.

The Royals jump right back into the fray with two games against the Chicago White Sox.  Both teams will make up a postponed game from April 25 in the afternoon.

Video chat with Mike Grimm of Minnesota News Network and Chris Lepley of Michigan Radio Network breaking down the AL Central

The Sox come into this game having won seven of their last ten and they took two out of the three from the Royals the last time they played in Chicago.  Jeff Samardzija will start in the afternoon for the White Sox. He enters following a shutout, in which he allowed just four hits. The right-hander has posted a quality start in five of his last six outings, dropping his ERA from 4.93 to 4.02 in that span.  The White Sox send John Danks to the mound in Game 2 with a 5.30 ERA as he looks to begin the second half on a better note. In his last six appearances, Danks has allowed a combined 28 runs while finishing 1-4.

The Royals needs a strong outing from Edinson Volquez out of the gate.  He hasn’t pitched more than six innings in five of his last six starts.  Chris Young will start game two.

The Royals have a nice problem on their hands.  Barring anymore injuries, the Royals will have Kris Medlan and Jason Vargas available to start, giving them seven starters.  If I’m Dayton Moore, I’m holding onto six and using one perhaps as trade bait to help my left field situation until I could get Alex Gordon back and healthy.

However, rumors continue to circulate that the Royals are interested in more starting pitching, having their eye on Reds ace Johnny Cueto, and perhaps even Chicago’s first starter today, Samardzija.