MLB Thursday August 4th White Sox at Rangers Betting Preview
Chicago Building Momentum
The White Sox remain two games back from the Twins in the AL Central with the Guardians still to jump, but if this were a car race it feels like this is the time Chicago is making their move. The South Siders have won four of their last five, and are 5-3 so far in a stretch of 19 consecutive games against teams with a losing record.
At 46-58 Texas definitely qualifies as a team with a losing record, and the home team doesn’t look to have a lot of life coming into the August 4th White Sox at Rangers betting matchup. Texas just got swept at home by the Orioles while scoring a total of 7 runs over three games. That’s a big reason Chicago is a -138 favorite in the first of a four game set in Arlington.
Sox Hope to Start Faster
Chicago has done a nice job of rebounding from slow starts to a series since the All-Star break. They lost the first two of the second half to the Guardians before rallying for a 2-2 series split. The White Sox also lost openers to Oakland and Kansas City before coming back to take two of three. Chicago is 2-6 in their last 8 during game 1 of a series.
The Sox offense – and pitching – looked good the last two nights, outscoring Kansas City 13-3. Eloy Jimenez had 3 hits on Wednesday and is 12 for his last 22 (.545). Andrew Vaughn is also hot going 8 for his last 19 (.421) while Tim Anderson and Josh Harrison are also among a group of White Sox players hitting better than .350 over the past week.
Johnny Cueto (4-4, 2.86 ERA) tries to give Chicago a better start to a series than they’ve seen lately. The right-hander has returned to the All-Star break in solid form, completing 7.0 IP in his last two starts. Cueto has allowed 2 ER or less in 4 of his last 5 and has a 1.70 ERA on the road compared to 3.71 at home.
Rangers Waving the White Flag?
Texas had to go on the road the first 11 games out of the All-Star break, finishing with a 5-6 mark. The Rangers looked good in taking 3 of 4 from the Angels in their last road series, but all that momentum was burned up when Baltimore came into Arlington this week and picked up 7-2, 8-2, and 6-3 wins.
There’s obviously some big offensive concerns for Texas coming into the August 4th White Sox at Rangers betting matchup after scoring just 7 runs in their last 3 games – all at home. Nathaniel Lowe has been solid since the All-Star break with a .351 average and 3 HRs in his last 14 games, but he’s the only Rangers batter hitting better than .300 over that span.
Cole Ragans (0-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his MLB debut on Thursday night with his team just a +118 underdog. The left-hander was the #30 overall selection by Texas in the 2016 draft, but had successive Tommy John Surgeries in both 2018 and then again in 2019, and then didn’t pitch in 2020 because of the pandemic. Ragans has a 3.04 ERA and a 29.3% K rate between Double A and Triple A this season.
August 4th White Sox at Rangers Betting Pick
The White Sox have to get this one up against a pitcher making his MLB debut – although Chicago has traditionally struggled in that spot over the years. It does seem odd that Texas is just a +118 underdog here and with 87% of the betting public on the Sox at what seems like a reasonable price, it’s time to go Rangers here.
Free Pick: Rangers +118
