Gamethread: White Sox at Rangers

The last two games have gone... well, let's just say not well. After Dylan Covey allowed four homers and nine runs on Friday (and broke the Game Score stat with a -19), Luis Avilan and Bruce Rondon imploded in a seven-run eighth inning Saturday. Now the Rangers are in position to sweep the White Sox out of Arlington this afternoon.

Reynaldo Lopez tries to put the stopper to the Rangers offense, which has scored 23 runs over the first two games. Lopez has failed to put together quality starts in his last two outings, allowing nine runs (eight earned) and three homers over 10⅔ innings. However, in his three starts before that he posted a 1.86 ERA despite the same low strikeout totals he's been dealing with all year.

The Rangers' side of today's bill features Cole Hamels, who has already allowed an eye-popping 20 home runs, yet is somehow still sporting a 3.61 ERA (his FIP is 5.23). Two of those home runs came in his last start, when he gave up four runs to the 27th-ranked Padres. He's still striking out a batter per inning, so the strikeout-prone Sox (suddenly with the second-highest K-rate in baseball) will need to show restraint against the four-time All-Star.

Lineups