Texas @ Chicago preview
Guaranteed Rate Field
Last Meeting ( Jun 2, 2010 ) Texas 9, Chi. White Sox 5
The Texas Rangers were without Vladimir Guerrero on Wednesday night, as the slugger was a late scratch after a ball ricocheted off his left eye during batting practice.
Guerrero is listed day-to-day, but the Rangers did just fine without him. Texas’ offense came to life for the second consecutive night against the Chicago White Sox, pounding out 12 hits in a 9-5 victory.
The Rangers go for the sweep on Thursday night, sending right-hander Colby Lewis to the hill against White Sox right-hander Freddy Garcia. If the Rangers win, it would be their first sweep of the White Sox in Chicago since 1986.
Even without Guerrero and Nelson Cruz, the Rangers offense showed no signs of slowing down. Michael Young and Matt Treanor ignited the offense as Young had three hits and three RBIs and Treanor added two hits and four RBIs.
Over their past two games, the Rangers have 18 runs and 31 hits.
Lewis didn’t have a great month of May, going 1-3 with a 4.11 ERA. In his last start against the Minnesota Twins on Friday, Lewis allowed two runs with four walks and a season-low one strikeout in six innings. He took the loss in a 2-1 game.
Against the White Sox, Lewis has struggled in his career, going 1-2 with a 9.15 ERA in five games, including three starts.
Garcia, meanwhile, will be looking to build off his last start for the White Sox. Against the Tampa Bay Rays, who currently own the best record in baseball, Garcia permitted two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings to lead the White Sox to a 4-2 victory.
In 19 lifetime starts against the Rangers, Garcia is 6-5 with a 4.39 ERA. He has yet to face Texas this season.
In addition, the White Sox welcomed back closer Bobby Jenks, who has been sidelined since May 28 with what he called a cramp in his calf. He was available to close the ninth on Wednesday, but the situation didn't present itself.
For the second straight night, the offense came through too late. In the past two games, the White Sox have put up runs but, quite simply, not enough to match the Rangers’ offensive output.
On Wednesday, the White Sox scored five runs, and Paul Konerko had two home runs and four RBIs. Still, that wasn’t enough to overcome what had become a seven-run deficit by the sixth inning.