3 Takeaways After White Sox Miss Out On Sweep Versus Royals

Anthony Kay was not sharp today, as the Kansas City Royals were able to steal one from the White Sox.

Chicago White Sox pitcher Anthony Kay | Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

The Chicago White Sox dropped the series finale against the Kansas City Royals 5-4, after a poor pitching performance by starter Anthony Kay.

Here are three takeaways following Sunday's loss.

Anthony Kay Struggles in Loss

After having his best start of the year against Cleveland, Kay had one of his worst starts against Kansas City.

In just 3.2 innings, Kay gave up seven hits, five runs (four earned), walked one batter, and struck out two. Kay did nothing to help the bullpen rest before a road trip to Baltimore and Cleveland, with five relievers being used after his exit.

Every time the Royals scored in the first two innings, the White Sox would counter with runs of their own. However, Kay just kept giving up hits, raising his ERA on the season to 4.50.

At some point, Noah Schultz is going to be back, along with a potential call-up of Hagen Smith, Shane Smith, Tanner McDougal, Drew Thorpe, or Mason Adams. With the Trade Deadline approaching, the White Sox have also been rumored to be interested in external pitching options by multiple sources.

The White Sox have to prepare for the possibility that Kay was not who they thought he was going into free agency, and start considering using him out of the bullpen.

In the first inning, Kay has a 5.40 ERA. In the second inning, it rises to 8.64 and goes down after that. If he is used out of the bullpen, maybe we see a better version of Kay.

Miguel Vargas' Hot Stretch Not Enough

The offense wasn't bad today in the loss. But it wasn't necessarily good either. The White Sox accumulated seven hits and five walks.

A good portion of the offensive production on Sunday was due to Miguel Vargas. He went 2-for-2 with two walks and a two-run home run in the first inning. Vargas is slashing .417/.500/.875 with three home runs in his last seven games.

Kyle Teel was also productive with a two-run single in the second. The White Sox failed to put anything together after that hit and would lose 5-4.

Bullpen Sharp

After Kay gave up five runs, it looked like the game could soon get out of hand with how the White Sox bullpen had been doing.

However, the bullpen gave up zero runs in the remaining 5.1 innings. Trevor Richards was sharp in 1.1 innings and lowered his ERA to 3.81 after a rough start to the season. He has a 1.69 ERA in his last seven appearances.

Seranthony Dominguez was thrown in the sixth inning, the first time all season he's appeared before the seventh. He would have a clean inning as well.

Bryan Hudson would struggle but got out of his jam, and Jordan Hicks and Chris Murphy finished the game.

Overall, the White Sox bullpen was very sharp, and they'll need to stay that way if they want to continue their playoff push.