TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas lost to the White Sox, 7-6, last night, and is now 1-1 on this 7-day, 6-game road trip at CWS (1-1 + 1 G) and NYY (3 G)…Rangers have won 3 of 4 and 4 of last 7 G, but have still dropped 5 of 10 and 8 of last 13 G…team is 10-8 in June, and has won 12 of 21, 16 of 26, 19 of 30, and 27 of last 42 G (beg. 5/6)…team still has MLB-best 31-17 (.646) record since 4/28, outscoring its opponents 289-193 (+96) over that span…TEX is 37-22 in last 59 G and 41-24 last 65 G beg. 4/9.
- At 45-28 (.616), TEX owns the 4th-best record in MLB to TB (.671, 51-25), ATL (.644, 47-26), and BAL (.625, 45-27)… club’s 45 wins also rank 3rd in MLB (51-TB, 46-ATL, 45-TEX).
- The 45-28 start is T2nd-best 73-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 needs a win tonight to secure a series win in this 3-G set at CWS (1-1)…took 2 of 3 vs. TOR on Fri.- Sun., as this would be 1st time to win back-to-back series since 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)…club is 16-6-1 overall in series this year, going 8-3-1 at home and 8-3-0 on the road…is 12- 3-1 in last 15 series and 15-4-1 in last 19…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.
ON THE ROAD: TEX is 21-15 (.600) on the road, T4th-best away record in MLB (ATL 23-11, .676; ARI 21-12, .636; BAL 23-14, .622)…is 2-4 in last 6 G away from Arlington, but has still won 8 of 13, 10 of 16, 12 of 19, and 15 of last 23 road G…last month, TEX tied franchise record for road wins in a calendar month with 13 in May (also Aug. 2013, 13-3).
- TEX leads MLB in R (208) and R/G (5.78) on the road…3.67 road ERA is 4th in A.L. (3.41-HOU, 3.55-MIN, 3.65-TB).
VS. CHICAGO-AL: The Rangers have gone 1-1 in the 1st of 2 scheduled 3-G series with the White Sox in 2023 (also 8/1- 3 at TEX)…TEX is 6-9 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 .386 win pct. (51-81) 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, and team has not won 2 consecutive series here since 5/8-10/09 (2-1) and 6/1-3/10 (2-1)…Rangers trail in the all-time series (256-282-3) and games in Chicago (103-162-3).
- TEX has gone 8-3 vs. A.L. Central foes in 2023, winning 6 of its last 8 G against the division…club’s .727 win pct. vs. A.L. Central is 3rd-highest in A.L. (TB .923, 12-1; BAL .737, 14-5) and would be highest single-season win pct. against the division in team history (.673, 35-17 in 1999).
COREY CLUTCH: Corey Seager drove in 5 of Texas’ 6 runs in last night’s loss, going 3-for-4 with 2 2B and a walk…it was the highest single-game RBI total of his Rangers career, and his most since 9/10/19 at BAL w/ LAD (also 5 RBI)…he became the 1st Texas batter to plate 5+ RBI in a start at shortstop since Elvis Andrus on 7/24/18 vs. OAK (also 5 RBI).
SEA-WORTHY: Since returning from the Injured List on 5/17, Seager is batting .369/.408/.692/1.101 (48-130) with 9 HR, 15 2B, and 41 RBI in 31 G…he leads MLB in RBI over that span by a wide margin (LAD’s J.D. Martinez is 2nd w/ 29), and ranks among A.L. leaders during that time in BA (1st), H (1st), times on base (1st, 58), TB (1st, 90), XBH (1st, 24), 2B (1st), HR (2nd), OBP (2nd), SLG (2nd), and OPS (2nd).
- Despite appearing in just 42 G this season, Seager’s 2.8 rWAR figure (baseball-reference) is T6th-highest among A.L. position players and ranks 3rd among A.L. shortstops behind only TB’s Wander Franco (3.9) and TOR’s Bo Bichette (3.4).
HELLO LEO: Leody Taveras went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles last night, improving on his team-leading .305 BA (64-210), which ranks 4th among A.L. qualifiers behind BAL’s Austin Hays (.327), TOR’s Bo Bichette (.317), and BOS’ Masataka Yoshida (.308)…Taveras is batting .340/.388/.551/.940 (53-156) with 8 HR, 7 2B, and 27 RBI over his last 43 G since the beg. of May, ranking among A.L. leaders in that span in BA (2nd), H (T3rd), OBP (5th), SLG (5th), OPS (5th), TB (9th, 86)…his 2.0 fWAR (FanGraphs) figure over that stretch is 4th-highest among A.L. position players (see chart).
HIGHEST fWAR AMONG A.L. POSITION PLAYERS,
SINCE BEGINNING OF MAY
Ohtani’s WAR as a batter only
Player fWAR
Luis Robert 2.4
Shohei Ohtani 2.3
Aaron Judge 2.1
Leody Taveras 2.0
Corey Seager 1.9
I LIKE TEXAS: Martín Pérez is expected to start on the mound for the Rangers in tonight’s series finale…in 9 seasons with Texas (2012-18, 2022-23), Pérez has gone 61-60, 4.30 ERA (494 ER/1035.0 IP) in 187 games/174 starts…with a win tonight, he would tie Derek Holland (62 wins w/ TEX) for the 2nd-most wins by a left-handed pitcher in club history, trailing only Kenny Rogers (133) for the all-time lead.
EL BOMBI: Adolis García blasted a solo shot to left in the 4th inn. last night, his team-leading 16th HR of 2023…he has plated runs in 3 straight and 4 of his last 6 G, and enters today’s slate tied with LAA’s Shohei Ohtani for the MLB lead in RBI (58)…that is the most RBI by a Ranger over the team’s first 73 G of a season since Josh Hamilton in 2012 (64 RBI).
- García has reached base safely via H/BB in 18 of his last 20 G (beg. 5/30), slashing .312/.398/.481/.878 (24-77) with 2 HR, 7 2B, 9 RBI, and 11 BB/25 SO.
YANKEES NEXT: Following tonight’s series finale in Chicago, the Rangers will fly to New York where they will spend Thursday’s off day before opening a 3-game weekend series against the Yankees…Texas took 3 of 4 G vs. NYY from 4/27- 30 in Arlington, and will need to win just one of 3 G this weekend to secure its 1st season series victory over the Yanks since 2016 (4-3)…TEX is 3-10 in its last 13 G at Yankee Stadium, and has not won a series of any length over the Bombers in the Big Apple since 2017 (2-1, 6/23-25/17).
SHORTS: TEX is 14-8 in series finales this season, incl. 7-3 on the road…last night was the Rangers 6th loss of 2023 when leading after the 7th inning…TEX still has MLB-best .315 BA and .891 OPS w/ RISP…Rangers 14 Outs Above Average (Statcast) this season are 2nd-most in MLB (18-SD).
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – #54 Martín Pérez, LHP (6-3, 4.54)
TONIGHT: The 32-year-old southpaw is slated to make his 15th start of the season in tonight’s series finale here in Chicago…has lost back-to-back starts, and is 0-2, 6.43 (15 ER/21.0 IP) in last 4 starts to raise season ERA from 3.83 to 4.54, 5th-highest among A.L. qualifiers…has produced starkly different home/ road splits over his last 4 starts, posting a 1.38 ERA (2 ER/13.0 IP) in his last 2 home starts and a 14.63 ERA (13 ER/8.0 IP) over his last 2 away starts…will pitch on regular 4 days’ rest after taking tough-luck loss on Fri. vs. TOR (see below)…opponents are batting .291/.345/.456/.801 (90-309) in ‘23, highest opp. BA and 3rd-highest opp. OPS among A.L. qualifiers…has already allowed 12 HR (1.40 HR/9) this season, tied w/ Heaney for staff lead, this after permitting just 11 HR (0.50 HR/9) in all of 2022…made 2 starts for Venezuela in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, posting no record and a 9.82 ERA (4 ER/3.2 IP)…after returning to the Rangers on a one-year free agent deal for 2022, he elected to stay with Texas in 2023 on a one-year deal after accepting the club’s qualifying offer in November…spent the first 11 seasons of his professional career with the Rangers (2008-18), and has been with the organization for 12 of his 15 years as a pro…left the club for 3 years for brief stints with Minnesota (2019) and Boston (2020-21)… since 2016, his first full campaign after returning from ‘Tommy John’ surgery, has the 2nd-most starts (188) and 2nd-most innings pitched (1078.0) of any pitcher in the American League…saw two seasons cut short in 2014-15 following ‘Tommy John’ ligament reconstruction surgery on his left elbow on 5/19/14…Texas has gone 9-5 in his 14 starts this season.
LAST START: Took tough loss in Rangers’ 2-1 defeat on Fri. vs. TOR (L, 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R-ER, 2 BB, 3 SO,1 HR, 95 pitches/56 strikes)…only runs allowed came on a 2-R HR by Danny Jansen in the 5th inning, and Rangers’ lone run was a solo HR by Leody Taveras in the 3rd inning…the Jansen HR marked Pérez’s 1st HR allowed at GLF this season, as he had not surrendered a HR in a home start since 8/3/22 vs. BAL (Ryan McKenna)…became the 1st TEX pitcher to take a loss in a start with 6.0+ IP and 3-or-fewer hits allowed since Mike Foltynewicz (6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R-ER) in a 3-1 defeat on 8/18/21 vs. SEA.
FOREVER RANGER: Has a 61-60 record with a 4.30 ERA over 187 games/174 starts in his Rangers career, ranking among club’s all-time leaders in starts (7th), innings (7th, 1035.0), wins (10th), and strikeouts (12th, 685)…his 61 wins are the 3rd-most ever by a Texas left-hander, trailing only Kenny Rogers (133) and Derek Holland (62)…Pérez and Rogers (1909.0 IP) are the only LHP in TEX history to log 1000.0+ IP with the club.
- Since returning to Texas prior to the start of the 2022 campaign, Pérez has gone 18-11, 3.35 ERA (102 ER/273.2 IP) in 46 G/GS…ranks among qualified A.L. pitchers over that span in innings (4th), quality starts (T4th, 29), ground ball pct. (6th, 48.5%), starts (T5th), HR/9 (6th, 0.76), and wins (T7th).
VS. CHICAGO-AL: Pérez is 3-3, 5.94 (31 ER/47.0 IP) over 8 G/GS in his career vs. CWS, taking ND in lone start last year, a wild 11-9, 10-inning win for Texas on 6/11/22 here at Guaranteed Rate Field (ND, 5.0 IP, 12 H, 7 R-6 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR)…is 1-2, 6.85 (18 ER/23.2 IP) in 4 G/GS in his career here at Guaranteed Rate
ON THE ROAD (AGAIN): Is set to make his 10th road start of the season tonight, entering with an away mark of 3-2, 6.50 ERA (33 ER/45.1 IP), compared to a home record of 3-1, 1.71 ERA (6 ER/31.2 IP)…has the 2nd–highest road ERA among MLB qualifiers (8.35-KC’s J. Lyles), allowing 6+ R in 3 of last 5 GS on the road…his 9 road starts entering play today are T2nd in MLB…has traditionally fared slightly worse on the road, owning a 38-42, 4.49 ERA in 127 career G/113 GS on the road, compared to 43-37, 4.33 ERA in 139 career G/123 GS at home.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:
WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox have lost seven of their last 10 games as they continue a six-game, seven-day homestand tonight with the series finale against Texas.
RHP Michael Kopech is scheduled to start for the White Sox, who are in fourth place in the American League Central, but just 4.5 games off the pace set by division-leading Minnesota.
The teams have split the first two games of this series, with the Sox rallying last night for a 7-6 victory after Texas posted a 5-2 win in the opener.
Following tonight’s game and a day off tomorrow, the White Sox conclude the homestand 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).
TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
Elvis Andrus will play in his 2,000th career game, becoming the 247th player in MLB history to reach that milestone … Andrus became the 290th player in MLB history to record 2,000 hits on 4/5 vs. San Francisco with a single off Logan Webb.
Michael Kopech is 2-1 with a 1.72 ERA (6 ER/31.1 IP), five walks, 44 strikeouts and a .148 (16-108) opponents average over his last five starts.
The White Sox rank second in MLB with a 3.28 ERA (114 ER/312.2 IP) since 5/13.
The Sox rank third in MLB in June with a 3.18 ERA but are 29th with a .219 average and 3.35 runs per game (57 runs).
Andrew Benintendi is a career .330/.383/.513 (38-115) hitter with three home runs, 19 RBI and 21 runs scored in 30 games against the Rangers.
ROSTER MOVES
Prior to tonight’s series finale vs. Texas, the White Sox added RHP Touki Toussaint to the active roster and optioned RHP Nick Padilla to Class AAA Charlotte.
Toussaint was claimed yesterday off waivers from Cleveland.
LAST NIGHT’S RECAP
Zach Remillard, playing in his fourth MLB game, delivered his second game-winning hit, a two-out RBI single off Grant Anderson with two outs in the eighth inning to lead the White Sox to a 7-6 victory over Texas.
Luis Robert Jr. started the three-run rally in the eighth with a one-out walk, and Yasmani Grandal followed with a single … after pinch-hitter Tim Anderson advanced Robert Jr. and pinch-runner José Rodríguez (MLB debut) to second and third, Elvis Andrus tied the game with a two-run single to set up Remillard’s hit.
Eloy Jiménez hit a two-run homer (No. 9) off Nathan Eovaldi in the first, and Andrus hit a solo shot (No. 2) off Eovaldi in the fifth, his second career home run against his former team.
Dylan Cease posted a ND despite allowing two runs on five hits with two walks and nine strikeouts over 6.0 IP and leaving with a 4-2 lead … Keynan Middleton suffered his first blown save, giving up two runs without recording an out … Kendall Graveman was credited with his second win after pitching a 1-2-3 ninth.
Per Elias, Remillard is the first Sox player in the expansion era (1961-) with multiple game-winning hits in his first four games.
SOX HOLD MIRACLE LEAGUE GAME
The White Sox held an exhibition game at the ballpark earlier today for children and young adults with disabilities to play Miracle League baseball.
Tanner Banks, Lucas Giolito, Gavin Sheets and Jason Benetti joined the group of 30 for the game.
The group was outfitted in full White Sox uniforms and coupled with volunteers to assist during at-bats.
Founded in 1998, the Miracle League supports more than 350 organizations and 450,000 children and young adults.
SOX CELEBRATE PRIDE NIGHT
The White Sox celebrate Pride Night tonight with an exclusive Summer T-Shirt Series giveaway, created by local LGBTQ+ artist Sandra Antongiorgi (@santongiorgi).
The organization will welcome groups from Howard Brown Health and Center on Halsted, community organizations dedicated to the health and wellbeing of the LGBTQ+ community.
Gonzalo Guzman, a Latino photographer and proud member of the LGBTQ+ community will photograph the game as part of the club’s Game Changers Through the Lens series.
Additional programming includes a National Anthem performance from Drag Queen Denime Infiniti Sanchez, a pregame set from DJ Zel and Pride-themed photo opportunities at various locations throughout the ballpark.
WHITE SOX VS. TEXAS RANGERS
The White Sox are 18-6 at home against Texas since 6/20/15.
The Rangers went 4-3 against the 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.
Prior to 2022, the Sox had won five straight season series and were 7-1-1 in the last nine season matchups.
STARTER – #34 MICHAEL KOPECH RHP
KOPECH AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his 15th start of the season, ninth at home and first against the Texas Rangers.
Owns a 2-1 record, 1.77 ERA (7 ER/35.2 IP), 0.93 WHIP, .175 (22-126) opponents average and 48 strikeouts in his last six starts, including two 10-strikeout performances during that span.
Has recorded 5.0-plus IP in 10 of his 14 starts this season and 6.0-plus IP six times, allowing just one run in four of those outings.
Went 3-2 with a 2.75 ERA (11 ER/36.0 IP), 43 strikeouts and .148 (18-122) opponents average in six starts in May, compared to 0-3 with a 7.01 ERA (20 ER/25.2 IP), 1.71 WHIP and .280 (28-100) opponents average in five starts in April … ranked first in opponents average, second in strikeouts, tied for eighth in IP (36.0) and ranked 14th in ERA among American League leaders in May.
Is limiting left-handed hitters to a .180 (22-122) batting average this season, the third-best mark among AL right-handed starters with at least 10 starts.
Has received zero runs of support in four of his 14 starts this season and three or more just three times.
Has gone 10-15 with 3.67 ERA (92 ER/225.2 IP), .210 (172-821) opponents average and 232 strikeouts in 47 career starts … is 3-3 with 3.90 ERA (24 ER/55.1 IP),
.225 (47-209) opponents average and 80 strikeouts in 40 career relief appearances.
Has recorded 100-plus strikeouts in each of his last two seasons (2021-22).
Spent his first full season in the major leagues in 2021, pitching out of the bullpen (40 games) while making four starts … opted out of the 2020 season for personal reasons … missed the entire 2019 season recovering from Tommy John surgery (performed on 9/18/18).
Was acquired by the White Sox from Boston with OF Luis Basabe, RHP Víctor Díaz and INF Yoán Moncada in exchange for LHP Chris Sale on 12/6/16.
LAST START
Received a no decision on 6/16 vs. Seattle, allowing one run on six hits with a season-high tying six walks (second time) and four strikeouts over 4.1 IP … threw
102 pitches (57 strikes).
Surrendered a RBI double to Teóscar Hernández in the fifth inning … held the Mariners to 1-9 with RISP.
Departed the game in the fifth with the score tied 1-1 … Gavin Sheets and Andres Benintendi hit solo homers for the Sox … Chicago lost 3-2.
Owned a 58.3 first-strike percentage and 5.9 swinging-strike percentage (six swing and misses) vs. 24 batters … threw 61 four-seam fastballs (95.3 mph avg; 98.1 mph max), 32 sliders (85.3 avg; 87.3 max), eight changeups (90.0 mph avg; 91.5 max) and one curveball (81.4 mph).
VS. TEXAS RANGERS || A.L. WEST
Is scheduled to make his fourth career start (sixth appearance) vs. Texas and third at home.
Graduated from Mount Pleasant (Texas) High School in 2014, approximately 139 miles from Globe Life Field.
Has gone 1-1 with a 5.00 ERA (5 ER/9.0 IP) in his three career starts against the Rangers … struck out a career-high 10 batters on 4/25/21 in Chicago.
Is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA (12 ER/15.0 IP), 17 strikeouts and a .305 (18-59) opponents average over three starts vs. the American League West this season.
