Wednesday night’s 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals may have been the White Sox most important win in a few years for several reasons. Firstly, the White Sox sit at 21-21 on the season, marking the first time they’ve been at the .500 mark in the month of May since 2022. They remain just 1.5 games back in the AL Central and currently hold the second AL wild card spot. If the season ended today, they’d head to the Bronx for a wild card series against the Yankees. In addition to their surprisingly strong start to 2026 in general, the White Sox seem to be breaking a recent trend that’s disturbed them over the past few seasons.
In the previous two seasons, the White Sox went 4-22 against the Royals and were outscored 127-60.
— Chuck Garfien (@ChuckGarfien) May 13, 2026
So far this season, they’re 3-2 against KC, with both teams scoring 14 runs.
Chuck Garfein’s post was prior to Wednesday’s victory, so the White Sox one-run win was their fourth of the year against the Royals, matching their total from 2024 and 2025 combined. Earlier this season, the White Sox broke a streak of 14 consecutive losses in Kansas City, splitting that four-game road series. The AL central, in particular, has been a nightmare for the White Sox for the past three seasons. Despite the team’s 100-loss season in 2023, they went a respectable 24-28 against the AL Central, but the wheels fell off the past two seasons. The White Sox finished an abysmal 10-42 against the central during their record 121-loss season in 2024, and despite 19-game improvement in 2025, the team still finished with a brutal 18-34 record against the Central.
The White Sox early divisional results indicate things are different this time
So far in 2026, the White Sox have only played six games against the Central, all against the Royals, and hold a 4-2 record. They’ll face Detroit and Minnesota before the end of the month but won’t play the division-leading Guardians until the end of June. It puts the White Sox in an interesting position as the season progresses. The divisional slate is important for every team, but the White Sox have held their own against outside opponents and find themselves in the mix in an unremarkable division. This will add extra weight to the division matchups later in the season, and they could be the difference between the White Sox making the playoffs or going home empty-handed.
The White Sox will have a chance to sweep the Royals for the first time since May 2023 on Thursday and take a commanding 5-2 lead of the season series. Whether this team has what it takes to make a deep postseason run, or even make the postseason, remains to be seen. But one thing has been abundantly clear: this is not the same old White Sox. The White Sox are stealing games they have no business winning on a regular basis. The team chemistry is better than it’s been in years and the White Sox have built a team that truly enjoys being around each other and playing together. Whether they’re a playoff team this year or not, there’s no doubt they’re on the upswing.
If the White Sox are going to sustain success, they’re going to need to improve their recent play against the AL Central, and the strong play against the Royals has been a great start. Let’s hope it continues as the season moves along.
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