For those who can't watch the Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals, here's the live scoring updates brought to you by MLB Gameday. Follow the play-by-play with pitch-by-pitch updates of the game as A.L. Central rivals hook up Wednesday afternoon in Chicago.
Okay, so calling it a rival is an overstatement, but these guys have hope in 2013. Look at the 2012 Oakland Athletics. They had solid pitching and a decent offense. The White Sox barely missed the playoffs in 2012, but they couldn't slow down the surging Detroit Tigers. For the Royals, they are hoping the youth in the team can blossom as they've traded some talent away to bring veterans to their ball club.
The Royals have James Shields and Ervin Santana leading their pitching staff this season. Santana isn't the best arm out there, but along with the Angels, both guys bring playoff winning experience to the Royals.
Both teams have an uphill battle in 2013 as the Tigers are the favorite to win the division this year once again. They have a ton of arms in their organization and their offense just received a jolt as Victor Martinez returned to the everyday lineup. He'll serve as protection for Prince Fielder, something he really didn't have in 2013. The acquisition of Torii Hunter will give them a consistent bat at the top of the lineup.
Enough about the Tigers.
The White Sox are fresh off a 1-0 victory in their Opening Day game on Monday. Tyler Flowers provided the offense and the White Sox's pitching handled the rest.
The Royals will look to get even as they will need their offense to come up big today if they are to win this one.
It's Jake Peavy vs. Ervin Santana.