Kansas City Royals at Chicago White Sox: Final Score & Recap
Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 |
| CWS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | - | 6 | 9 | 0 |
The Story
The Chicago White Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-1 at Camelback Ranch on February 29, 2024, building a commanding advantage through the middle innings and never relinquishing it. The DiamondIQ model entered the game with Chicago holding a 54% win probability, and that figure climbed steadily before reaching 100% by the final out. Kansas City's three errors contributed to a clean Chicago performance defensively, as the White Sox finished without an error while collecting nine hits against eight for the Royals.
The decisive shift in the game came in the bottom of the fourth, when Gavin Sheets connected on a home run off Alec Marsh, a play that generated the single largest win-probability swing of the contest at plus 11.8 percentage points. Chicago extended its lead in the fifth, with Andrew Benintendi delivering a single off Nick Anderson worth plus 7.2 percentage points, followed by a Braden Shewmake double that added another 6.1 points to the White Sox's probability. Kansas City's best opportunity came in the top of the sixth, when Garrett Hampson drew a walk off Fraser Ellard, adding 5.8 points to the Royals' slim chances, but Austin Nola's pop out in the same frame immediately surrendered 8.8 points back to Chicago. Two more Chicago runs in the eighth effectively ended any remaining drama.
Among individual performers, Sheets finished as the top batter by WPA at plus 19.5 percentage points with a RE24 of plus 2.4, while Benintendi contributed plus 11.0 percentage points. On the mound, Tanner Banks led Chicago's pitching staff with plus 11.0 percentage points of win probability added, followed by Jordan Lyles at plus 6.7 and Jordan Leasure at plus 6.4. Kansas City's lone run came in the ninth inning, a footnote against a White Sox pitching group that controlled the game throughout.