The Texas Rangers will be at home to face the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night. The Rangers lost against the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 on Wednesday to bring their record to 46-58 this year. Looking at the White Sox, they are now 53-51 this season after their 4-1 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday. Texas has been inconsistent at home this year, with an underwhelming 21-29 record at Globe Life Field.
"Off to Texas with the series W." - @whiteSox
Cole Ragans will be making his first major league start on Thursday. The lefty has posted an 8-5 record with a 3.04 ERA in his time in Double-A and Triple-A this season. The White Sox are a known free-swinging team, so if Ragans is to have a successful debut, he'll need to try and find some quick outs.
"From two Tommy John surgeries to the bigs..." - Joseph Hoyt
Johnny Cueto, who is 4-4 with a 2.86 ERA, will be on the hill Thursday for Chicago. The veteran has been better in the last few weeks, holding a 1.93 ERA in his past four outings. The White Sox righty has been excellent away from home this year, holding a 1.70 road ERA this year in 6 road starts. The Rangers' offense is decent, but if they don't go deep, they sometimes fail to find other ways to score. White Sox pitching has been lights-out recently, allowing three or fewer runs in each of the past five games. Look for Cueto to try and keep this streak going in Texas.
Texas Rangers vs. Chicago White Sox Match Details
Fixture: Chicago White Sox @ Texas Rangers
Date & Time: Thursday, August 4, 8:05 P.M. EDT
Venue: Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas
Texas Rangers vs. Chicago White Sox Betting Odds
Texas Rangers vs. Chicago White Sox Best Picks
Tim Anderson is riding a nine-game hitting streak at the moment, and he has 1.049 OPS versus lefties this year. Against the Texas southpaw, look for Anderson to get on and score at least once.
Pick: Tim Anderson Over 0.5 Runs Scored (-120)
Texas Rangers vs. Chicago White Sox Betting Prediction
The over has hit 11 of 14 home games for the Rangers. Furthermore, the White Sox have been scoring 6.3 runs per game for Cueto in his last three outings. Back the road team to score a decent number of runs facing Cole Ragans in the series opener.
Prediction: White Sox Team Total Over 4.5 Runs (-125)