White Sox pounding out runs since All-Star break as Rangers struggle

The Chicago White Sox keep earning victories behind a strong offense.

They hope to keep the trend going against the host Texas Rangers in Arlington on Tuesday night, especially given new injury concerns.

American League Central-leading Chicago routed Texas 10-3 in Monday's series opener despite losing catcher Kyle Teel (left ankle) and shortstop Colson Montgomery (right shin) to injury.

Teel, who was using crutches after the game, was set to undergo further evaluation Tuesday, while Montgomery is considered day-to-day.

With the lineup in flux, six different players drove in runs as Chicago collected eight extra-base hits and stopped a 10-game losing streak in Arlington. Andrew Benintendi had a bases-clearing double in the fifth inning for the key blow while Miguel Vargas had three hits and two RBIs.

Vargas' ninth-inning double scored Chase Meidroth to set a career best with his 61st RBI of the season. The White Sox moved to seven games over .500 (53-46) for the first time since 2021.

Chicago's relentless offense has led the team to three wins in four games since the All-Star break, outscoring opponents 25-8.

Texas pulled to 5-3 Monday on Jake Burger's solo home run in the seventh before allowing five runs in the ninth. The Rangers, who trail the Seattle Mariners by a half-game for the AL West lead, have lost three of four games since the All Star-break, getting outscored 39-16.

Joc Pederson hit a leadoff home run, and the Rangers handed ace Jacob deGrom a 2-0 lead after two innings, but the team couldn't sustain the momentum.

"Probably a couple missed-location pitches tonight that cost us some runs. ... The other teams have capitalized on some mistake pitches," Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said postgame. "So the crooked numbers have cost us the last couple games, and we just haven't been able to catch up."

The White Sox, however, took advantage of the scoring opportunities. Benintendi's big double was his first career hit off deGrom after going hitless in 10 at-bats against him.

"We were kind of waiting for that one big hit. We had chances all night, it felt like," Benintendi said, per MLB.com. "Obviously he's really good, so you're not going to get many pitches to hit. If you miss one, you're probably not going to get another one. Just stick with it and go from there."

Texas will turn to right-hander Kumar Rocker (2-8, 4.40 ERA) on Tuesday as he aims to regroup from his struggles to start July. In two starts this month, Rocker is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA and four home runs allowed over 10 innings.

Rocker pitched five shutout innings to defeat the visiting White Sox on June 15, 2025, in his lone career appearance against them.

"Win a game. That's how you get back on track," Schumaker said. "So (Tuesday), with Rocker going, it's going to be important for him to get off to a good start to keep us in the game."

Rookie left-hander Noah Schultz (3-6, 5.60 ERA) will start for the White Sox as they aim to secure their third straight series victory. He has never faced the Rangers.

Schultz will pitch for the first time since July 12, when he picked up his first victory since May 1 with a steady outing against the visiting Athletics in the first-half finale.

After walking seven batters in 9 1/3 innings over his previous two starts, Schultz issued zero walks against four strikeouts while limiting the A's to one run and four hits in five innings of a 9-1 win.

"We really found that I was just tensing up too much, doing some things," Schultz said. "We kind of emphasized the whole week of just kind of being loose and being free out there. I think it definitely helped with getting ahead of guys and attacking guys early."

--Field Level Media