First-place White Sox welcome Royals to lead MLB.TV slate

The current American League Central leaders will take on the defending division (and World Series) champions for the first time this season when the White Sox welcome the Royals to Chicago for the opener of a three-game set tonight.

The Sox have encountered their roughest patch of the season, losing four straight and six of seven before beating the Astros behind a Chris Sale masterpiece on Thursday. Still, they hold a 2 1/2-game lead over the Indians, with the Royals sitting 4 1/2 games back. Kansas City begins a six-game trip today with a meager 7-13 road record, compared with 13-7 at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals, who won 12 of 19 from the Sox a year ago, will have to deal with Chicago left-hander Jose Quintana and his 1.54 ERA.

That’s only one of the intriguing series openers available on MLB.TV today. Elsewhere, the surprising Phillies send Aaron Nola to the mound against the Braves, Boston’s Jackie Bradley Jr. tries to extend his hitting streak to 25 games against Corey Kluber and the Indians, and Jake Arrieta takes his incredible run of success to the West Coast to face the Giants.

MLB.TV Premium returns with the same features as last year, but at $109.99, it is a full 20 bucks cheaper than the 2015 cost. This package has the best value and provides access to more than 400 devices and a free subscription to the MLB.com At Bat Premium app (a $19.99 value). It offers the best picture quality ever — a new 60 frames per second — for supported devices. Monthly signups for MLB.TV Premium are now underway as well for $24.99.

The new MLB.TV Single Team package is also now available as an $84.99 yearly subscription. You can watch a single team’s live out-of-market games in full HD.

Here is a look at what to watch for today in the Majors (all times ET):

Young guns: ATL@PHI, 7:05 p.m. This was supposed to be a rebuilding season for both the Braves and Phillies, but the latter is bucking expectations so far. Despite getting outscored by 28 runs overall, Philadelphia sits at 24-17 after winning eight of its past 11, including two of three at Atlanta last week. A major reason why the club is one game behind the Nationals for first in the National League East is its young pitching. Nola, who will turn 23 next month, has made five straight quality starts, posting a …

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