Shortstop Corey Seager has steadied the first-place Texas Rangers whether the team has prevailed in low-scoring games or blowouts.
Entering the Rangers’ game Tuesday night against the host Chicago White Sox, a fellow American League division leader, Seager has collected multi-hit games in seven of his past eight contests and is 15-for-31 during that span.
His 3-for-4, three-RBI effort keyed the Rangers’ 11-2 rout of the White Sox in the opener of a three-game series on Monday. Texas reached a season high in runs and opened a half-game lead over the Houston Astros atop the AL West as Jake Burger, Ezequiel Duran and Wyatt Langford each had two hits and two RBIs.
“For us, it’s just about trusting each other and getting guys hot again,” Burger said. “It felt like all of us were cold at the same time there for a few weeks. Obviously, (Seager) is coming around, doing his thing.”
Burger and Langford both homered on Monday.
Chicago remained in first place in the AL Central but has lost five of eight games since a road sweep of division-rival Detroit from Aug. 14-16.
Tristan Peters, Chicago’s No. 8 hitter, provided the lone spark Monday with a two-run home run and has gone deep in three consecutive games.
“You get slugging at the bottom of the lineup, you’ve got a chance, you know,” Chicago manager Will Venable said. “We’ve seen that from him, and really, the reason why our offense has been so good is the length of the lineup. And guys down there, he, Chase (Meidroth) and whoever is in the nine-hole are really doing a nice job.”
The White Sox hope for more consistency from their traditional run producers, however. Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery both struck out three times Monday.
Left-hander Anthony Kay (9-6, 3.96 ERA) will start for the White Sox. He has lost four of his past five starts at Rate Field, with the latest setback coming 2-0 against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday despite a quality start.
Kay scattered two runs and five hits in six innings with one walk and six strikeouts. He has pitched with hard luck at home, with the normally high-scoring White Sox putting up just seven runs in those four losses. Overall at home, he is 6-4 with a 3.20 ERA in 14 appearances (12 starts).
Kay has a 2.66 ERA in four August starts covering 23 2/3 innings. In his only career appearance against Texas, he allowed two runs and five hits in five innings with two walks and four strikeouts in the 4-2 victory on July 22.
Texas will counter with right-hander Jacob deGrom (9-8, 3.77 ERA), who did not pitch when the clubs met last month in Arlington, Texas.
On Thursday, deGrom delivered a quality start against visiting Washington to win for the second time in three starts. He limited the Nationals to one hit in six scoreless innings with one walk and 10 strikeouts in a 2-0 victory while surpassing 2,000 strikeouts for his career.
“It was very cool,” deGrom said. “Obviously, I’ve said it before: Personal accomplishments are cool, but the goal is to win. The most important thing tonight was to go out there and put us in a position to win. I go out there and try to leave it all out on the field. That’s how I’ve always played the game.”
The season series between the Rangers and White Sox is tied at two games apiece.
Against Chicago in his career, deGrom is 0-1 with a 3.28 ERA in four starts.
–Field Level Media
