After years of frustration at Kauffman Stadium, the White Sox finally break through behind a shutout effort to end their 14-game losing streak in Kansas City.
The goal for the Chicago White Sox (5-8) in 2026 was to take a meaningful step forward and shake up the status quo from what we've seen in recent years.
One way they could do that was by doing something they haven't done in either of the last two seasons — win a ballgame in Kansas City.
Before Thursday night's 2-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals, the White Sox had dropped 14 consecutive games at Kauffman Stadium. The ballpark has turned into quite the house of horrors for the White Sox over the last few years, and it had gotten to the point where even a competitive showing there felt like a step in the right direction.
The last White Sox win on the road against the Royals had come on September 6, 2023. And it wasn’t just the fact that the White Sox had a long losing streak in Kansas City, but the pure domination every time they made that trip.
In 2024 and 2025, the White Sox were 0-14 in Kansas City. They were outscored 71-17 in those games, which amounts to a minus-54 run differential. And in 10 of those 14 games, the White Sox scored one run or less.
That's not a recipe to win many games. It doesn't matter where you play.
It definitely wasn't a dominant offensive display by the White Sox on Thursday, though they did muster two runs on five hits — one coming on a Colson Montgomery double in the top of the fourth, and the other on a Luisangel Acuña sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh. But just one would have been enough.
Anthony Kay tossed 5.2 innings of shutout baseball with six strikeouts, and was then picked up by Chicago's A-team bullpen. Grant Taylor, Jordan Leasure, and Seranthony Domínguez combined for 3.1 scoreless innings, with Domínguez securing the save to snap the streak.
With the monkey now off their back, the White Sox have three more games against Kansas City over the weekend. Davis Martin takes the hill on Friday night after securing wins in his first two starts of the year.
I'm not sure I'll ever be optimistic about the White Sox winning in Kansas City, but with so much frustration already baked into the first few weeks of the 2026 regular season, it was nice to see one thing go Chicago's way and see this year's team breaking old habits.