The White Sox (35-37) will open a three-game series against the Rangers (40-35) in Arlington. In tonight’s game, the White Sox will turn to Reynaldo López, who struggled against the Yankees in his last outing and is having a rough first half overall. He enters with a 6.31 ERA, 5.81 FIP, 5.71 xFIP, and 0.3 fWAR. López faces off against a Rangers offense that has been incredibly average this season (99 wRC+).
On the hill for the Rangers will be 23-year-old righty Ariel Jurado. He enters with a 4.23 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 4.65 xFIP, and 0.7 fWAR. Like López, he struggled in his most recent start, allowing seven runs in three innings against Cincinnati.
Here are tonight's starting lineups:
Tonight's #WhiteSox starters for the opener in Arlington: pic.twitter.com/ThK3dgTt0Q
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 21, 2019
#FirstDayofSummer lineup is out!
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) June 21, 2019
Reply with your favorite summertime GIF or emoji below. pic.twitter.com/hRpeTxmncn
Leury García is on a hot streak. During his six-game hitting streak, he has slashed .308/.357/.654 with two home runs. One of those home runs was on the very first pitch of Wednesday’s game.
However ...
Charlie Tilson will be leading off today. Perhaps García is not in the starting lineup because of his platoon splits (.619 OPS against righties and .915 OPS against lefties), which would make sense. The sparkplug also has seemed to be dragging a bit on the field this week, so maybe this is one of Ricky Renteria’s patented “two days off” stretches for a winded player.
The decision to have Tilson batting leadoff, however, does not make much sense.
I don't love Leury Garcia batting leadoff for the #WhiteSox, but it's nowhere near as offensive as Tilson's .279 xwOBA. Just bat Anderson/Moncada or Anderson/Jimenez first and second each and every day and be done with it. https://t.co/aL5H1Gsdms
— Patrick Nolan (@SoxMach_pnoles) June 21, 2019
[Ed. note: Who?]
In Wednesday’s game against the Cubs, Zack Collins drew a walk in his major league debut. Through one plate appearance, he is on pace to shatter the all-time record for career on-base percentage. Collins gets his first career start, as he will bat eighth and be the designated hitter.
Shortly before the game, the White Sox signed an old friend.
White Sox Sign Hector Santiago https://t.co/g0H5RmRxXd pic.twitter.com/0oNbNG4Kfa
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) June 21, 2019
That’s right; for the third time in his career, Hector Santiago will join the organization.
The game will start at 7:05 CST. It will be televised on NBC Sports Chicago, and it will be available on the radio at WGN 720.