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👑 Wednesday, April 23 • White Sox Series Game 3 👑

Early damage, steady pressure, and a clean finish

Kansas City Royals at Chicago White Sox | Guaranteed Rate Field
Weather: Cloudy (51°) | Wind blowing right to left (7 mph) | Attendance: 20,012 | First pitch: 1:10 PM CT

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

Getaway day with wet weather in the air and a chance to secure this series outright. The first order of business wasn’t lineup cards—it was Cole Ragans. He got through four innings last night (51 pitches) before elbow soreness forced our hand. The trainer’s early assessment was promising: no panic, just caution. We’ll keep him sidelined until his next turn, then decide on a game-day basis whether he can start. If not, we have contingency starters ready and won’t rush him.

Chicago White Sox Series Snapshot

This series has been a clear reminder of what works on the road: early pressure, solid defense, and preventing innings from dragging on. We lost the opener after leading late, then rebounded with a strong offensive night. Today was about maintaining that rhythm—winning the early innings and avoiding another late scramble against Chicago.

Series Matchup Board — Chicago White Sox Series Game 3

Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:

RHP Z. Eflin (2-0, 0.41 ERA) vs RHP J. Iriarte (0-2, 9.75 ERA)
LHP C. Ragans (2-1, 1.86 ERA) vs RHP N. Nastrini (0-2, 3.18 ERA)
• RHP H. Brown (3-0, 2.84 ERA) vs RHP L. Severino (1-2, 3.72 ERA)

Brown’s assignment was to keep the ball out of the nitro zones—no free bases, finishing at-bats, and allowing the defense to breathe behind him. Severino can be tough if he’s living at the bottom of the zone, so the offensive plan was to attack mistakes early and keep the line moving when he starts chasing strikeouts.
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Game Day Log — Royals vs. White Sox (Game 3)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st
We came out sharp. Vinnie Pasquantino singled, Bobby Witt Jr. worked a walk, and then Salvador Perez lined a single that turned into immediate pressure at the plate—the runner from third came home safe. It wasn’t pretty, it was aggressive, and it put us up 1–0 before Chicago had a chance to settle.

2nd
We doubled down. Mark Payton wore one, then Drew Waters roped a two-run triple to center. Sam Haggerty followed with a groundout that plated Waters. Three runs in two innings, and it felt like we’d already put Severino on a short fuse. 3–0.

3rd
This inning was a haymaker. Witt walked, stole second (no throw), and Salvy launched a two-run homer to push it to 5–0. One batter later, Davis Schneider turned around and hit a solo shot of his own. Suddenly, it was 6–0, and their bullpen was already moving.

4th
We kept pecking—singles and hard contact—but no runs. Brown stayed efficient on the other side, and the game started feeling like we were in control of tempo and pitch counts.

5th
A statement swing: Michael Massey crushed a solo homer (465 ft) and made it 7–0. Brown continued to navigate traffic without giving Chicago oxygen—double plays behind him helped keep their momentum at zero.

6th
Rain delay threatened to cool the bats—and we answered it anyway. After the stoppage, Maikel Garcia singled home Waters, and then Pasquantino hit a two-run homer to make it 10–0. That was the “no doubt” moment.

7th
Quiet inning. That was fine—Brown was rolling, and at this point, the job was to get outs and keep bodies fresh.

8th
We added the final layer. Garcia doubled, and Pasquantino hit his second two-run homer of the afternoon to stretch it to 12–0. Then the game got weird in the bottom half—Chicago finally broke through with a five-run inning against the pen, fueled by traffic and big doubles. It didn't change the outcome, but it did change the emotional temperature. 12–5 headed to the ninth.

9th
We didn’t score, and Chicago scratched one more on a couple of hits and a wild pitch sequence. Final out recorded, bags packed, win banked. 12–6.
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Final

Royals 12, White Sox 6
Royals (14 H, 0 E) | White Sox (9 H, 0 E)

Wet weather did not delay the Kansas City-Chicago game as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Chicago White Sox, 12-6, at Guaranteed Rate Field. The standout player was Vinnie Pasquantino: 4-for-5, two home runs, 4 RBIs, and 3 runs scored. Drew Waters delivered a big run-scoring triple for the Royals in the top of the second inning.

"I'm just looking for a good pitch that I can hit well," said Waters. "And not try to do too much." The win puts Kansas City at 14-5.



Brown earned the win to move to 4–0, working 7.0 scoreless with 7 strikeouts (and some traffic he calmly managed).

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher          Dec      IP  H  R ER   BB  K HR   PI   ERA
H. Brown       W (4-0)   7.0  4  0  0   4   7  0   99  2.08
S. Emanuels              1.0  3  5  5   1   1  0   21  9.00
J. Beeks                 1.0  2  1  1   1   0  0   19  5.40

Dugout note: the score got loud late, but the first seven innings were exactly how we drew it up—pressure early, building a lead, and the starter going deep enough to help us manage tomorrow's bullpen needs.
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Front Office Note / Takeaways

Two takeaways I’m circling in red. First, when our lineup strings together disciplined aggression—walks, hit-by-pitches, stolen bases, and extra-base damage—we can turn a series in a hurry. The triple from Waters, the early Salvy blast, and Vinnie's two late shots showcased the kind of layered offense that wins road games.

Second: the late runs matter even in a win. Not because the outcome was threatened, but because those innings reveal the edges—command, execution, and keeping innings from spiraling when the opponent has nothing to lose. We'll take the win and the series result, but the eighth inning goes straight into tomorrow's bullpen meeting as a “clean it up" clip.
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Around the League

The biggest headline was Matt Olson in Atlanta. He hit three home runs (part of a 4-hit day) and drove in four runs as the Braves beat the Astros 9–6 at Minute Maid Park. Olson’s now batting .338 with 7 HR and 20 RBI through 19 games—an early-season hot streak that influences a series all on its own.

"When you're in the zone, the game really slows down," Olson said when asked about his performance later. "I couldn't even tell you what pitches were thrown. Today feels great, but it is a long season and tomorrow is another day." For the day, he scored 4 times, drove in 4 runs, and smacked 4 hits in 5 at-bats.


Even on a big-league game day, the front office doesn’t stop—new names hit the board, and we log them before they become anyone else’s problem. Jason McLeod checked in from Venezuela with a new name circled: Ramon Jarquin, a 16-year-old right-hander from Calabozo.

Figure 1. Scouting Discovery — SP Ramon Jarquin (KC International Complex).



McLeod stumbled upon him by accident, but the report was clear— Jarquin’s initial assessment shows a pitcher with a mix of potential and flaws: a project arm with a solid foundation, some starter traits, a true slider, fringy changeup, fastball with life, but also tendencies to give up fly balls and occasional control issues. He’s not a finished product, but the ingredients are intriguing enough that we assigned him to the international complex and added him to our follow-up list.
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👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑

Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 19



(OOTP25 Royals Journey — GM/Manager's Dual Log)