White Sox beat Rangers 11-7
Texas won the series opener 11-2 before Chicago answered with an 11-7 finish, leaving the Rangers a game back of the final AL Wild Card spot with an elimination number of 30.
11-2, then 7-11 in Chicago
White Sox11-2White Sox7-11The Rangers opened the series with an 11-2 win on August 24, powered by Justin Foscue (2-for-4, double, home run, 2 RBI) and Danny Jansen (2-for-4, double, home run, 3 RBI), with Peyton Gray covering an inning in relief (2 hits, 1 earned run, 3 strikeouts). Jake Burger also went deep, going 1-for-4 with a home run and an RBI.
Chicago answered the next night, beating Texas 11-7 on August 25 to split the two games. That leaves the Rangers 3-2 in their last five and 66-67 on the year, one game back of the final AL Wild Card spot with an elimination number of 30.
Recent News
Joc Pederson was ejected from the Rangers dugout, according to Foul Territory. It came two days after Texas designated Jarred Kelenic for assignment for a second time, per MLB Trade Rumors.
On the injury front, manager Skip Schumaker said Wednesday that Robert Garcia threw two bullpen sessions last week at the club's Arizona facility, and the Rangers announced that Kyle Higashioka has begun throwing out to 60 feet, both per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News.
Upcoming
MacKenzie Gore (7-9, 4.26 ERA) starts for the Rangers, coming off a scoreless outing against the Angels in which he struck out seven over six innings without a decision. He faces Sean Burke (7-6, 3.27 ERA), who allowed four runs over six innings in his last start against the Mets and also went without a decision, as the Rangers are in Chicago tonight.
Chicago is favored, and the total points to a low-scoring game — a read that lines up with both starters working with sub-4.30 ERAs in their most recent turns. For the number to hold, Gore needs to look more like the pitcher who struck out seven against the Angels than the one who gave up 11 runs to this same White Sox club a night earlier.