The White Sox are coming off a series win over the Mets, and now they get another shot to keep the momentum rolling at Rate Field against a Rangers club that’s still very much in the AL West mix.
Texas arrives at 65-66, a record that won’t jump off the page but does leave the Rangers tied with the Astros for first place in the division. They’ve also won three of their last four, so this is not a team drifting through August. First pitch is set for 6:40 CT, with the game on CHSN and on the radio via ESPN Chicago WMVP 1000 AM and 107.9 La Ley.
Will Venable is keeping the White Sox lineup mostly intact after the Mets series, with one tweak in the nine spot. Drew Romo gets the start behind the plate in place of Jake Rogers.
- Sam Antonacci, LF
- Munetaka Murakami, 1B
- Miguel Vargas, 3B
- Andrew Benintendi, DH
- Braden Montgomery, RF
- Colson Montgomery, SS
- Chase Meidroth, 2B
- Tristan Peters, CF
- Drew Romo, C
Romo has started to show a little more life over the last seven games, going deep twice and driving in five. He also came through with a hit and scored in the Sox’ meeting with the Mets on August 22.
For a White Sox team that has had catcher production issues all season and already watched Jake Rogers deliver a walk-off homer in the Mets series, that’s a welcome development. Kyle Teel could also be on the way back soon, with his recovery taking a big step forward this week.
Tristan Peters is another name worth watching. The outfielder has shaken off a rough stretch and now has homers in back-to-back games, including the walk-off blast that clinched the series against New York on Sunday. Chicago has invested plenty in Peters by moving on from several outfielders during the year, and the White Sox clearly believe he can matter when the games get bigger.
On the mound, Jose Urquidy gets a major chance to make his case. It’s his first start since the 2023 ALCS, and after injuries derailed his run as a starter, he hasn’t always looked like the same arm in limited big league work over the last couple of seasons. But last week was a different story.
Against the Cubs, Urquidy threw 6.0 innings of two-hit ball, struck out eight, and got 51 of his 68 pitches over for strikes. One outing doesn’t erase the recent history, but it did show the kind of sharpness the White Sox have been waiting for. With the rotation still needing help, Chicago has reason to see whether that performance can carry over.
The Sox also have a chance to attack a Texas starter who has had trouble finding clean outings this month. Kumar Rocker enters with a 4.46 ERA and has already allowed 14 earned runs in August. He usually works around five innings, and he has given up his share of loud contact, including balls over the fence.
Rocker leans heavily on a slider that makes up 38.0 percent of his pitches. It comes in around 83 mph and is designed to finish at the bottom of the zone.
His other main offering is a sinker in the mid-90s, and that pitch has been hit fairly well this season. Texas has a challenge in front of it, but so does Chicago - and the White Sox will be hoping Urquidy and the middle of the lineup can keep the good run going.
In Other News...
Cameron Cauley Is Making A Tough Rangers Roster Decision Harder
Cameron Cauleys name is pushing closer to the Rangers September conversation at just the right time. The Triple-A Round Rock infielder was named Pacific Coast League player of the week for Aug. 17-23 after turning in a strong stretch on both sides of the ball, a reminder of why Texas has kept him on the radar as the season winds down. His appeal is pretty straightforward for a club looking ahead to roster expansion on Sept. 1: he can move around the diamond and gives the Rangers another right-handed option.
Cauley has already spent time with Texas this season, appearing in 28 games and showing the kind of flexibility teams lean on when the calendar flips to September. That mix of versatility and recent production is what makes the decision a little tougher, because the Rangers are weighing not just whether he belongs back in the mix, but where he fits best once the roster opens up. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers May Have Just Created A Bigger Logan O'Hoppe Win
When the Rangers brought Logan OHoppe back up from Round Rock, they got a quick reminder of why he mattered in the first place. The catcher-turned-DH stepped into the lineup and immediately contributed, picking up a hit and scoring a run in his first game back after spending time in Triple-A, where he had settled in nicely over 18 games.
The bigger win may have come before he ever returned to Texas. By sending OHoppe to Round Rock after acquiring him, the Rangers were able to slow the clock on his MLB service time, a move that gives the club an extra season of control and keeps him under team control through 2029 instead of 2028. For a team trying to build both now and later, that kind of maneuver can matter just as much as what happens in the box score. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Finally Woke Up At The Plate When They Needed It Most
The Rangers got the kind of offensive night they had been waiting for, backing Kumar Rocker with a steady surge at the plate in an 11-2 win over the White Sox. Rocker worked 5 2/3 innings and allowed two runs, giving Texas enough length to settle in as the lineup piled up 14 hits and finally looked more like the group it had been trying to become.
Corey Seager led the charge with three hits and three RBIs, a needed centerpiece for an offense that had struggled to find rhythm. The victory moved Texas back to .500 and into first place in the American League West, though the early portion of the game had a little more chaos than the final score might suggest. [Read more 🡒]