The three-game series between the Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies in Denver this weekend will attract attention, but not because both teams are in the playoff race.
Instead, with the major league trade deadline looming on July 31, rivals undoubtedly will have their eyes on players they might want to try to acquire from two teams that can only be considered sellers.
The Rockies and White Sox have the worst records in baseball.
Entering the series opener on Friday evening, Colorado has just 20 wins and is on pace to have the fewest wins in a season in the modern era — a record set by the 41-121 White Sox in 2024.
The Rockies are on pace for just 37 wins. They have yet to win a home series this season, and the holiday weekend offers the best chance for their first series victory.
A pair of right-handers will tangle in the series opener. The White Sox will send Adrian Houser (3-2, 1.90 ERA) to the mound against Antonio Senzatela (3-11, 6.69).
The Rockies avoided a sweep Thursday by getting 13 hits and holding for a 7-6 win over the Houston Astros.
One of Colorado’s leaders at the plate is Jordan Beck, who had a career-high five hits in Tuesday’s 6-5 loss to Houston and two more Thursday. Beck has stumbled at times but doesn’t get discouraged.
“This is our job,” Beck said. “Like anything else, we’re going to mess up things and we’ve got to go over it. If we don’t learn from it, it’s bad on our part.”
He is batting .273 with 10 home runs. In his first full season in the majors, Beck hasn’t played against the White Sox. But Senzatela has. He’s made two appearances (one start) but doesn’t have a decision. He has a 4.75 ERA in 7 2/3 innings against Chicago.
The White Sox, who have only 28 wins this season, are on their second city of a six-game road trip that started in Los Angeles, where Dodgers great Clayton Kershaw got his 3,000th career strikeout against Chicago on Wednesday. The White Sox dropped all three games against the Dodgers after winning three of their previous four contests.
Houser is slated to start his eighth game since the White Sox signed him to a one-year, $1.35 million contract on May 20.
In his most recent outing, he tossed seven shutout innings in a 1-0 win against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday. He has six quality starts out of seven.
His success has increased chatter about his availability ahead of the trade deadline, but Houser, in his ninth major league season, said he is happy with the White Sox.
“Been comfortable. It’s been nice. The group, everybody here has been great,” Houser said. “The guys are awesome, the vibe’s been good in here.
“I’ve been trying to keep doing what I’ve been doing since the beginning of the season, doing my work and attacking it that way. It’s been fun to play baseball.”
White Sox manager Will Venable has seen improvement in Houser.
“His stuff has ticked up this year,” Venable said. “He’s just got that experience and that ability to navigate a lineup. Game plan is working extremely well, and (he’s) communicating extremely well with our catchers.”
Houser has faced the Rockies six times — five starts — and is 1-0 with a 5.67 ERA in his career against them.
–Field Level Media
