The struggling and historically bad Chicago White Sox get set to clash against the Texas Rangers in the finale of a four-game set Thursday afternoon inside Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. They toss out the first pitch at 2:35 pm.
Bookmaker has installed the White Sox as +220 on the ML. A huge underdog, and rightfully so.
The White Sox are beyond bad, and they are in the midst of one of the most horrific seasons in franchise history. They already have over 70 losses, and they have zero hope of turning anything around this season. At this point, they are just trying to see which players they can build around.
They have had so many issues over the last several seasons that if they can find one or two young players to keep around as they rebuild, the losing may be worth it. The fanbase is at a loss for words, and attendance is down as they are on pace to lose 100 games.
On offense, they are led by first baseman Andrew Vaughn, who has cracked 11 home runs this season and is batting .236 for a team that has not been able to get runners in scoring positions consistently.
They will toss out Jonathan Cannon, who has recorded a mark of just 1-4 to go along with an ERA of 4.48.
The Rangers are third in the AL West, and they need to get to .500 before they can even think about a spot in the AL Wildcard. They have had some issues with pitching this season, and their offense has not been as good as in years past.
They are led by veteran shortstop Corey Seager, who has belted 18 home runs and collected 48 RBIs. He is hitting .261 on the season for the Rangers, who are batting .237. The Rangers have cracked 105 home runs this season.
They will send out veteran hurler 39-year-old Max Scherzer, who is sporting a mark of 1-3 with an ERA of 3.99. He has fanned 24 batters in 29.1 innings of work. They need to score early and often against a bad White Sox team, who will not be able to keep up with them.
The Rangers are 3-2 in their last five games and 0-5 in their last five games against the spread too. They are 21-30 in their road games against the number too. The totals have gone over in two out of their last five games and 15 out of their last 50 at home. The White Sox are 2-3 in their previous five games against the spread. They are also 22-30 in their road games against the number. The totals have gone over in none of their last five games and 19 out of their last 51 games at home.