Kansas City @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 11, 2010 ) Kansas City 8, Chi. White Sox 2

An offensive slump was exactly what the Chicago White Sox were trying to avoid by bringing in Manny Ramirez.

It hasn't worked out so far as they get set to face the Kansas City Royals in the rubber match of their three-game series on Sunday,

The White Sox (78-64) took a nasty 8-2 beating from the Royals on Saturday night and haven’t managed five runs in any of their last five games, four of which were losses. They are hitting .173 as a team over that stretch. Chicago’s Manny Ramirez is just 1-for-15 over the last five games and the bottom of the order only has six hits over that span.

Paul Konerko had a double and his 34th homer of the year on Saturday, but Chicago had just eight hits while Kansas City (58-83) banged out 18.

Chicago will be up against right-hander Sean O’Sullivan (2-5, 5.83 ERA) on Sunday. O’Sullivan, who came over from the Los Angeles Angels in a July trade, heads into this one having gone through two tough starts.

He gave up five runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings in a 5-4 loss at Minnesota on Monday. O’Sullivan had trouble with his control, walking five, while giving up a pair of home runs. He allowed six earned runs on three homers during a 10-9 win over the Texas Rangers in his start before that on Aug. 31.

O’Sullivan is 1-5 with a 6.90 ERA in nine appearances with the Royals.

O’Sullivan will be up against Lucas Harrell (1-0, 0.84 ERA), who fills in for Freddy Garcia, out with a sore lower back. This will be Harrell’s second MLB start after he gave up one run on four hits over six innings to earn the win over Oakland on July 30. He has been solid in four relief appearances since.

Harrell features a good sinker that tops out in the low 90s to go along with a fastball and a slider. He’s most effective when he keeps the ball down and lets his defense take care of the ensuing ground balls.

Kansas City owns the league’s fourth-best team batting average at .279 but only averages 4.09 runs per game. Three Royals had three hits in Saturday’s win and every starter except Yuniesky Betancourt had at least one hit.

The White Sox, who sit six games back of the Minnesota Twins, are 29-33 against AL Central Division foes. Kansas City heads into Sunday’s game having won only six of its last 27 road games.