The Texas Rangers welcome in the Chicago White Sox on Thursday in the first game of a four-game series. The Rangers are in third place in the AL West Division but sit 12 games under .500 and 21 games behind first place Houston. The White Sox come into this matchup one game over .500 and just two games in back of the Twins for first place in the AL Central Division. Thursday's pitching matchup will feature veteran righty Johnny Cueto (4-4, 2.86) of the White Sox battling rookie lefty Cole Ragans (0-0, 0.00) making his major-league debut. First pitch is scheduled for 805pm EST.
For the most part, the White Sox held the line during Tuesday's trade deadline as they kept all their key pieces on the roster and decided not to make any major additions despite the team being just two games behind the Twins in the standings. Last season at the deadline, the White Sox were extremely active but the trades did not translate into success as the White Sox exited the playoffs in the first round. The White Sox come into this series after taking two out of three over the Royals in Chicago. The White Sox are now 7-3 in their last ten games. On Wednesday afternoon, the White Sox prevailed 4-1 as Jose Abreu continue his recent power surge with a home run in his second-straight game and Lance Lynn continued his return to form by throwing four-hit ball over six innings for the win.
??Next stop: Texas. pic.twitter.com/OBMTkQffvf
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 4, 2022
The White Sox are starting to put together the pieces that made them a preseason favorite to win the AL Central Division. Lance Lynn's return has given the White Sox a formidable starting five to go along with one of the AL's best bullpen. Before the deadline, the White Sox did make a move to try to strengthen their bullpen as they added lefty Jake Diekman in a deal with Boston. Diekman pitched a scoreless 7th inning on Wednesday, striking out two batters. On the mound on Thursday will be Johnny Cueto. Cueto has been a revelation for the White Sox since his arrival in May. Cueto has 11 quality starts out of the 13 starts he's made for the White Sox. In July, Cueto went 2-0 in five starts with a 2.12 ERA.