TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas took Sunday’s rubber game against Toronto, 11-7, to finish with a 3-4 record on 7-G, 7-day homestand vs. LAA (1-3) and TOR (2-1)…Rangers have won 2 straight and 3 of last 5 G, but have still dropped 5 of 8 and 7 of last 11 G…team is 9-7 in June, and has still won 11 of 19, 15 of 24, 18 of 28, and 26 of last 40 G (beg. 5/6)…team still has MLB-best 30-16 (.652) record since 4/28, outscoring its opponents 278-184 (+94) over that span…TEX is 36-21 in last 57 G and 40-23 last 63 G beg. 4/9.
- At 44-27 (.620), TEX owns the T3rd-best record in MLB (TB 51-24, .680; ATL 46-26, .639; BAL/TEX 44-27, .620)…club’s 44 wins rank T3rd in MLB (51-TB, 46-ATL, 44-BAL/TEX).
- The 44-27 start is T2nd-best 71-G start to a season in WSH/TEX franchise history (see chart below).
- TEX is 17 G above .500, 3 shy of season high point of 20- over after win 6/6 vs. STL (40-20)…it was team’s most games above .500 since end of 2016 (95-67) and the earliest date/ fewest games (6/6 and 60 G) ever to reach that mark.
SERIES STUFF: TEX took 2 of 3 vs. TOR last weekend after dropping back-to-back series (1-3 vs. LAA, 6/12-15 and 1-2 at TB, 6/9-11)…was just the 2nd time in ’23 for TEX to drop 2 series in a row (also 1-2 vs. BAL, 4/3-5 and 1-2 at CHC, 4/7- 9)…club is still 16-6-1 overall in series this year, going 8-3-1 at home and 8-3-0 on the road…team is 12-3-1 in last 15 series and 15-4-1 in last 19, including a stretch of 6 consecutive series victories from 5/19-6/7 (longest span for team since club-record 10 straight series victories from 5/20-6/20/16)… TEX also won a franchise record 6 straight road series from 5/5-31, and is 6-1-0 in last 7 and 8-2-0 in last 10 away series.
- The Rangers are 12-11 in series openers this season, including a 6-5 mark on the road…TEX is 5-2 in last 7 away series openers.
ON THE ROAD: TEX is 20-14 (.588) on the road, 4th-best away record in MLB (ATL 22-11, .667; ARI 20-11, .645; BAL 22-14, .611)…is 1-3 in last 4 G away from Arlington, but has still won 3 of 6, 7 of 11, 9 of 14, 11 of 17, and 14 of last 21 road G…last month, TEX tied the franchise record for road wins in a calendar month with 13 in May (also Aug. 2013, 13-3).
- TEX leads MLB with 5.79 R/G on the road, and 197 runs scored in away games are tied for most in A.L. (also LAA).
VS. CHICAGO-AL: Rangers and White Sox are scheduled to meet twice in 2023 (tonight-Wed. at CWS, 8/1-3 at TEX)… TEX is 5-8 since start of 2021…has gone 1-5-0 in last 6 season series vs. CWS, with lone win coming in 2022 (4-3)… TEX’s .385 win pct. (50-80) all-time at Guaranteed Rate is its 3rd-lowest at any active A.L. ballpark (.367, 126-217 at Fenway Park; .367, 18-31 at Yankee Stadium)…series win here on 6/10-12/22 (2-1) was TEX’s 1st since 2014, as club is 1-6-0 in last 7 series on the South Side…Rangers trail in the alltime series (255-281-3) and games in Chicago (102-161-3).
BACK IN THE SADDLE: After averaging just 3.7 runs per game (55 total runs) over their previous 7 contests, the Rangers offense erupted for 11 runs on 15 hits in yesterday’s homestand finale vs. Toronto…Texas erased a 6-run deficit (trailed 0-6 after the top of the 2nd) to complete its largest come-from-behind win of the season…it marked the 1st time TEX has won a game in which it trailed by 6+ R at any point since an 8-7 win on 8/19/19 vs. LAA (trailed 7-1 after 3 inn.).
- It was Texas’ MLB-best 17th game with 10+ runs scored this season, the 1st time a club has scored double-digit runs 17+ times in its first 71 G of a campaign since the 2000 Colorado Rockies (18 times).
- Yesterday was Texas’s MLB-leading 37th G with 10+ hits in 2023, 4 more than any other club (33-Tampa Bay)…TEX is also tied for the ML lead in games w/ 15+ H (also WAS).
- TEX leads MLB with 434 runs scored in 2023, setting the WSH/TEX franchise record for most runs thru the first 71 G of a campaign (prev. 431 R in 1998)…the last ML club with 434+ R in its 1st 71 G was the 2007 Detroit Tigers (439 R).
IT’S LOOKING GOOD: The Rangers have outscored their opponents 434-286 (+148) this season, good for the highest run differential in MLB (2nd is +143 by Tampa Bay)…it is also the highest run diff. by any MLB club over its first 71 G since the 2016 Chicago Cubs (+162)…per Stathead, 13 of the 15 teams in the Modern Era (beg. 1901) to post a run differential as high as the 2023 Rangers’ +148 mark in their first 71 G of a season went on to reach the World Series that year, with 9 of those 13 going on to win the title.
FANTASTIC FOUR: Corey Seager (4-for-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI) and Ezequiel Duran (career-high 4-for-5, 2B) combined to go 8-for-10 with 3 doubles in yesterday’s win…it was the 1st contest in which multiple Rangers tallied at least 4 hits since 5/16/19 at KC (4-Willie Calhoun/Joey Gallo/Danny Santana).
WE SEAGS IT: Corey Seager is batting .424/.479/.788/1.267 (28-66) with 5 HR, 9 2B, 17 RBI, and 7 BB/11 SO over 16 G in June…he ranks among A.L. leaders for the month in hits (1st, most in MLB), BA (1st), 2B (1st), TB (2nd, 52), XBH (2nd, 14), RBI (2nd), OBP (2nd), SLG (2nd), OPS (2nd), and HR (3rd).
- Seager has slashed .363/.420/.656/1.076 (58-160) with 10 HR, 17 2B, 40 RBI, and 105 total bases over 40 G this season…according to Stathead, he is just the 5th player in Rangers history (beg. 1972) to record 105+ TB over their first 40 G of a season: Iván Rodríguez in 2000 (125), Josh Hamilton in 2012 (117), Seager in 2023 (105), Michael Young in 2004 (105), and Álex Rodríguez in 2001 (105).
LEODY LOVE: Leody Taveras went 3-for-5 with a go-ahead RBI single and 2-run HR yesterday, as his team-leading 6 HR in June are 2nd-most in the A.L. to only LAA’s Shohei Ohtani (9)…in his last 41 G dating back to the beg. of May, Taveras is slashing .338/.389/.561/.950 (50-148) with 8 HR, 7 2B, 3B, 27 RBI, 25 R, and 13 BB/24 SO…he leads A.L. qualifiers in batting average over that span, ranks 3rd in OPS, and his 1.9 fWAR (FanGraphs) trails only Ohtani (2.4, as a batter only), CWS’s Luis Robert (2.1), and NYY’s Aaron Judge (1.9).
‘PEN PALS: Texas relievers have allowed just one R-ER over 12.2 IP in the team’s last 3 G, holding opposing batters 6-for43 (.140) with no XBH over that span…the Rangers bullpen owns a 3.55 ERA (31 ER/78.2 IP) in its last 22 G (beg. 5/24), 6th-lowest among A.L. relief cores in that period.
SHORTS: Happy Birthday to Jacob deGrom, who turns 35 today…Texas went 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position yesterday, most H w/ RISP since 6/4 vs. SEA (7)…Rangers are 7-2 vs. A.L. Central opponents in 2023…Jonah Heim’s 49 RBI this season are a career high (prev. 48 RBI in 2022)… Adolis García has walks in 3 straight and 8 of his last 10 G (9 total BB) after just 5 BB in his prev. 27 G…opponents are batting .171/.222/.268/.491 (7-41) vs. Grant Anderson in ’23
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – #44 Andrew Heaney, LHP (4-4, 4.05)
TONIGHT: The 32-year-old left-hander is scheduled to make his 14th appearance/start of the season in tonight’s road trip opener on the South Side…is 0-1, 5.40 ERA (7 ER/11.2 IP) in his last 3 starts to raise his season ERA from 3.76 to 4.05…is still 4-3, 3.23 (23 ER/64.0 IP) over his last 12 starts (beg. 4/10) to drop from 23.63…has posted quality starts in 4 of 7 and 6 of his last 10 outings, as his 6 QS this season rank T3rd among TEX pitchers (9-Eovaldi, 7-Gray, 6-Heaney/ Pérez)…9.45 strikeouts per 9.0 innings figure would rank 14th in A.L. if he qualified…will pitch on regular 4 days’ rest after he did not factor into the decision of Texas’ 6-3 win on Wed. vs. LAA (see ‘Last Start’)…Heaney is in his first season with Texas after signing a two-year free agent contract with the club on 12/9/22… is seeking to build on a 2022 campaign in which he produced career bests in ERA (3.10), WHIP (1.087), and strikeout rate (13.6 SO/9) with the Los Angeles Dodgers despite being limited by a pair of Injured List stints…the 9-year MLB veteran has appeared in 144 games/133 starts with Miami (2014), Los Angeles-AL
(2015-21), New York-AL (2021), Los Angeles-NL (2022), and Texas (2023)…an Oklahoma City native, Heaney pitched collegiately at Oklahoma State University before being selected by the Miami Marlins in the first round (9th overall) of the 2012 MLB Draft…Texas has gone 8-5 in Heaney’s 13 starts this season.
AS OF LATE: After surrendering season-high 7 R-ER in his Rangers debut on 4/4 vs. BAL (L, 2.2 IP, 7 R-ER), Heaney has gone 4-3 with a 3.23 ERA (23 ER/64.0 IP), 68 SO/29 BB, and a .214 opp. BA (50-234) in his last 12 starts (beg. 4/10)… that stretch has cut his season ERA from a season-high 23.63 to 4.05…he ranks among A.L. qualifiers over that period in SO/9 (10th, 9.56), opp. BA (11th), and ERA (14th)…he is winless (0-1) with a 5.40 ERA (7 ER/11.2 IP) over 3 starts in June, but is still 2-1, 2.64 ERA (9 ER/30.2 IP) in last 6 starts (beg. 5/14).
TOUGH ON LEFT: Left-handed batters have slashed .132/.298/.158/.456 (5-38) with just one extra-base hit (2B) against Heaney in 2023…his .132 opp. BA allowed vs. lefties is the 7th-lowest mark in the A.L. (min. 45 LHB faced)… Heaney has held LHB to a .192/.304/.283/.587 (19-99) slash line and just one HR (Jake Cronenworth on 9/11/22 at SD w/ LAD) over the last 2 seasons (beg. 2022).
LAST START: Took no decision in Texas’ 6-3 win on Wed. vs. LAA (ND, 3.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R-ER, 4 BB, 5 SO, 95 pitches/55 strikes)…issued season high-tying 4 walks (3x, last 6/3 vs. SEA) and threw 72 pitches over his first 3 innings, including a 30-pitch 3rd frame…lone run allowed came on a 2-out bloop 2B by Anthony Rendon in the 3rd that the left the bat at an exit velo. of 75.4 mph (Statcast)… exited with 2 outs and the bases loaded in the 4th, but avoided further damage after Grant Anderson retired the 1st batter he faced (Rendon) via infield popout.
VS. CHICAGO-AL: Heaney owns a lifetime 3-1 record and 5.45 ERA (24 ER/39.2 IP) in 7 games/starts against the White Sox, including 2-0, 4.94 ERA (13 ER/23.2 IP) in 4 G/GS here at Guaranteed Rate Field…he has not faced the Pale Hose since 8/12/21 at CWS w/ NYY (ND, 5.0 IP, 7 R-ER, 3 HR)…surrendered at trio of homers (José Abreu, Eloy Jiménez, Seby Zavala) in a 9-8 Yankees defeat, which featured a combined total of 8 home runs (4-NYY, 4-CWS).
ON THE ROAD: Has seen far better ERA results in his 5 starts on the road (1-2, 2.43 ERA) than in his 8 starts in Arlington (3-2, 5.35 ERA) this season…opponents are slashing .175/.261/.311/.572 (18-103) with 3 HR in his road outings compared to .267/.372/.466/.838 (39-146) with 7 HR at Globe Life Field…has posted quality starts in 3 of 5 away starts in 2023, and has 5.0+ IP in all 5 road outings.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:
WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox have lost seven of their last 10 games as they open a six-game, seven-day homestand tonight against the Texas Rangers.
LHP Tanner Banks is scheduled to open for the White Sox, who are in fourth place in the American League Central, but just 5.5 games off the pace set by division-leading Minnesota.
The Sox are coming off a 2-4 trip to Los Angeles (1-2) and Seattle (1-2), which ended yesterday with a 5-1 loss to the Mariners despite Lance Lynn’s franchise-record tying 16 strikeouts.
Following this series and a day off on Thursday, the White Sox conclude the trip this weekend with three games vs. Boston (6/23-25) before returning to the west coast for a seven-game trip to Los Angeles-AL (6/26-29) and Oakland (6/30-7/1).
The Sox went 1-2 on their last homestand vs. Miami from 6/9-11 and 2-1 on their last trip to New York-AL from 6/6-8.
TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
LHP Tanner Banks will open tonight, ending the White Sox streak of 191 consecutive games started by a right-handed pitcher … per Elias, it was longest active streak in baseball, second-longest in Sox history (194 from 9/7/33-5/19/35) and longest in MLB since Cleveland (417) from 2017-21.
The White Sox are 17-5 at home against Texas since 6/20/15.
The Sox have gone 18-15 (.545) since 5/13, the best record in the American League Central … during that span, they own a 3.15 ERA (103 ER/294.2 IP), the best mark in MLB.
The White Sox rank second in MLB in June with a 2.87 ERA (43 ER/135.0 IP) but are 29th with a .207 (106-511) average and 48 runs scored (3.2 R/G).
Luis Robert is one of three players in White Sox history to record at least 20 doubles and 17 homeruns in his first 70 games of a season, joining Carlos Quentin (2011) and Zeke Bonura (1934).
Andrew Benintendi is a career .333/.390/.524 (35-105) hitter with three home runs, 19 RBI and 21 runs scored in 28 games against the Rangers.
ROSTER MOVES
Prior to tonight’s game, the White Sox placed RHP Lance Lynn on the Bereavement List and INF Romy Gonzalez on the 10-day injured list (retro to 6/18) with right shoulder inflammation and recalled RHP Nick Padilla from Class AAA Charlotte and INF José Rodríguez from Class AA Birmingham.
ULTIMATE WISH FOR BRADY NELSON
Fourteen-year-old Brady Nelson signed an honorary one-day contract with the Sox today.
Battling glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, Brady will be recognized with a pregame Home Run for Life.
Following meet-and-greets with Sox players and coaches, the Nelson family will be surprised with a $5,000 check on behalf of the Andrew Weishar Foundation.
Brady, a lifelong Sox fan who was diagnosed with glioblastoma in December 2020, is scheduled for neurosurgery later this week.
SOX CELEBRATE JUNETEENTH
African American artist Edo created custom Juneteenth T-Shirts for Sox players and athletes from the CWSC-supported ACE and Team Teflon programs.
The custom T-Shirts are available for purchase at the Chicago Sports Depot, with proceeds benefitting Phalanx Family Services.
ACE players today held a hitting and fielding clinic for more than 40 athletes from the Jackie Robinson West Little League.
As part of Sox Serve Week, front office staff and ACE players assisted Big Bros Ice Cream in delivering treats to employees at fellow Black-owned businesses across the city.
Sip N Savor Coffee, a Black-owned, community driven company running high-end coffee houses across Chicagoland, will be recognized as part of today’s Southside Monday honor.
YESTERDAY’S RECAP
Lance Lynn tied the franchise record with a career-high 16 strikeouts, but Seattle recorded a 5-1 victory over the White Sox in the deciding game of the series.
Lynn allowed three runs on four hits with two walks and the 16 strikeouts to tie the Sox record set by LHP Jack Harshman on 7/25-1/54 at Boston.
Lynn struck out the side in the fourth and sixth inning and fanned two in his other five full frames for his 25th career game with 10 or more (previous high was 12 strikeouts).
The Sox, who were limited to five hits and did not walk, trailed, 2-1, entering the eighth before the Mariners scored three runs on Jarred Kelenic’s bases-loaded triple off Reynaldo López.
WHITE SOX VS. TEXAS RANGERS
The Rangers went 4-3 against the White Sox in 2022, winning two of three games in Chicago and splitting four at Globe Life Field, for their first season series victory since 2014.
The White Sox batted .244/.311/.354 (62-254) with a 4.29 ERA (31 ER/65.0 IP) and were outscored by the Rangers, 36-35.
Prior to 2022, the Sox had won five straight season series and were 7-1-1 in the last nine season matchups.
Elvis Andrus played 12 seasons and 1,652 games with Texas from 2009-20, where he was a two-time All-Star and helped the Rangers reach the Playoffs four times, including back-to-back World Series appearances in 2010-11.
GRAB SOME BENCH
Some notables from Lance Lynn’s 16-strikeout performance yesterday at Seattle:
16 strikeouts are the most in MLB since Spencer Strider also fanned 16 on 9/1/22 vs. Colorado;
33 swings and misses are the most by a pitcher since Jacob deGrom’s 35 on 9/6/20 vs. Philadelphia;
Fifth pitcher since 1990 to suffer the loss with 16-plus strikeouts while allowing three earned runs or less … MLB teams with a pitcher striking out 16 or more batters are now 109-27-2 all-time;
16 strikeouts most in a game since 1913 by a pitcher entering the game with a 6.00-plus ERA;
At age 36, oldest since pitcher to strike out 16-plus since Arizona’s Randy Johnson fanned 17 at age 39 on 9/14/02 vs. Milwaukee.
ARMS RACE
The White Sox are 18-15 (.545) since 5/13, the best record in the American League Central … during that span, the Sox lead MLB with a 3.15 ERA and .207 opponents average and rank third with a 1.17 WHIP.
A breakdown of the Sox pitching through their first 40 games of the season and last 33:
Games W-L ERA QS IP H R ER HR BB SO AVG OPS WHIP
Last 33 18-15 3.15 15 294.2 223 115 113 34 121 303 .207 .650 1.17
First 40 13-27 5.66 12 351.2 366 241 221 65 167 385 .263 .817 1.52
ROTATION SENSATION
White Sox starting pitchers own a 3.29 ERA (66 ER/180.1 IP) with a .223 (150-672) opponents average and 198 strikeouts in 33 games since 5/13 … during that span, they lead MLB in ERA and rank second in opponents average.
During that 33-game stretch, Sox starters have made eight scoreless outings, allowed one earned run seven times and two earned runs seven times … the rotation since 5/13:
W-L ERA WHIP QS IP H R ER HR BB SO SO/9.0 AVG OPS
10-8 3.29 1.23 15 180.1 150 72 66 23 72 198 9.9 .223 .691
SOUTHPAW SUCCESS
The White Sox are batting .272/.337/.441 vs. left-handed pitching since the start of the 2019 season … during that span, the Sox lead MLB in average, rank third in on-base percentage, fourth in OPS (.779) and sixth in slugging percentage.
Tim Anderson leads MLB with a .349 (152-435) average vs. left-handers since 2019.
SEARCHING FOR HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE
The White Sox have won eight of their last 12 home games and are 14-8 since 4/30 following a 3-9 start to the season.
During the 22-game stretch, the Sox are hitting .263/.318/.417 (194-738) with a 3.01 ERA (68 ER/203.0 IP) … they have allowed three runs or less in 11 of their last 15 home games.
RISING TO THE TOP
The White Sox are playing seven consecutive series (22 games) from 6/6-29 against teams who were at or above .500 at the beginning of that stretch (5-7 so far).
The stretch includes 13 games on the road against the Yankees (2-1), Dodgers (1-2), Seattle (1-2) and Angels and nine at home vs. Miami (1-2), Texas and Boston.
STARTING PTICHER – #57 TANNER BANKS LHP
BANKS AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his first career start (42nd appearance) and third career appearance against Texas.
Has pitched to a 0-1 record with a 3.86 ERA (5 ER/11.2 IP), .220 (9-41) opponents average, two walks and 10 strikeouts in 2023.
Three of his six outings this year have been scoreless, spinning 1.0 IP in each scoreless outing … has tossed 2.2-plus IP in three outings, recording multiple strikeouts in all three such appearances.
Made his major-league debut in relief on 4/10 at Detroit at age 30, working 2.0 scoreless IP with four strikeouts in the White Sox 10-1 win … became the first Sox player to make his MLB debut at age 30-plus since Junior Guerra in 2015 (Elias).
Originally selected by Chicago in the 18th round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Utah.
SOUTHPAW STARTER
Today will snap a streak of 191 consecutive games in which a RHP has started for the White Sox … per Elias, it was the longest active streak in baseball (Minnesota is second at 141), second-longest in Sox history (194 from 9/7/33-5/19/35) and longest in MLB since Cleveland (417) from 2017-21.
Banks will become the first LHP to start for the Sox since Dallas Keuchel on 5/26/22 vs. Boston … for reference from the start of the 2007 season until Keuchel’s start on 5/26/22, 1,021 of Chicago’s 2,372 games (43.0 percent) were started by lefties.
LAST TIME OUT
Suffered the loss on 6/16 at Seattle after entering in relief, allowing two runs on three hits (one home run) with no walks and four strikeouts over 2.2 IP in the Sox 3-2 defeat.
Marked his first decision of the season and first career loss.
Allowed just his second home run this year (1.54 HR/9).
