Two days after dropping their crosstown match-up to the White Sox in painful fashion, the Cubs will look to get back on track as they take a short interleague road trip to Kansas City to face the Royals. This will be the first time in more than a decade that the Cubs have played a series at Kauffman Stadium.
Pitching for the Cubs will be Ryan Dempster. With the exception of his first start of the month against St. Louis, Dempster has had a successful June, and is now 5-6 with a 5.46 ERA and 1.48 WHIP on the year. Dempster has started one game against Kansas City before, in which he gave up four runs on six hits over six innings, walking five and striking out one.
The Royals will counter with Bruce Chen, who will be making his first start since going on the DL on May 6th. Prior to his trip to the DL, Chen was 4-1 with a 3.59 ERA and 1.34 WHIP. In his career against the Cubs, Chen is 1-1, across four starts and 11 relief appearances, with a 4.85 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. Aramis Ramirez is 6-for-10 against Chen with three doubles.
The weather in Kansas City is expected to be partly cloudy, with a game time temperature in the low 80's. First pitch is at 7:10 P.M., CDT, and the game will be televised on WGN and FSKC.