The Ball Should Fly Out In Rangers Vs White Sox

Rangers vs. White Sox, 2:10 ET

I recorded a podcast about the NFL Awards and season-long predictions with my buddy Geoff Clark (read all of his stuff here on Outkick). After we were done, we were catching up a bit and he asked which bets I made in baseball for the day. I told him that I took the Athletics, the Orioles, Rockies, and Padres. For Outkick, I wrote about the Athletics and Padres. That put my record for the day at 1-1. Overall it was 2-2. I share this because if I wrote about the Orioles and Rockies, I look like a genius. If I wrote about the Orioles and Padres, I look like an idiot. I want to look like a genius today as I put a play on the game between the Rangers and White Sox.

We will certainly have a new World Series champion as the Rangers aren't going to make the playoffs this season to defend their crown. Sure, they had injuries and some other issues this year, but so have other teams and they found a way to make it work. Repeating in any sport is difficult, but baseball requires a lot to go correctly. That's why I give credit to teams like the Astros and Dodgers for getting to the playoff so consistently. If they at least get into the playoffs they have a good chance to finish the job. The Rangers still have had a solid offense this year, but they aren't quite as good as they were last season. The pitching staff has a somewhat high ERA at 4.28 as well. However, their best active pitcher is taking the ball today with Nathan Eovaldi on the hill. He has once again put together a nice season with a 9-7 record, 3.79 ERA, and a 1.10 WHIP. He has struggled on the road this season, throwing to a 4.83 road ERA compared to 3.16 at home. Eovaldi has produced back-to-back quality starts, allowing three runs in each game. This hasn't been a great month for him overall as he has allowed 14 earned runs in 21 innings. However, today he essentially faces the White Sox, a club that is probably closer to Triple-A level than a Major League roster. He faced them once this season and allowed just four hits in seven innings, resulting in two runs and 10 strikeouts.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 07: Luis Robert Jr. #88 of the Chicago White Sox hits a home run in the first inning off Cooper Criswell  of the Boston Red Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on June 07, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

103 losses coming into today's game. The White Sox are 72 games under .500. That's disgusting considering there are still 28 games remaining for the team. Since the All-Star Break, the White Sox are 4-31. That's not a typo. They haven't won two games in a row since the end of June. At that time they won three straight games. They've only won more than one game in a row six times this season. They are currently on a six-game losing streak. Maybe they deserve a bit of credit lately for scoring three or more runs in four of the past five games. You can't place all of the blame on the pitching staff, though they can take the bulk of it. The White Sox came close to winning the game yesterday before the Rangers literally robbed them by pulling a home run back. Today they send out Nick Nastrini to the mound for his seventh start of the season. He has not played very well overall with an 8.39 ERA, but most of that has come from his road starts. At home, he has made three starts where he allowed a total of six earned runs over 14.1 innings. This is his first start since June though, so it will be interesting to see how he performs here.

There is a real possibility that this game gets out of hand quickly for the White Sox. I don't have all that much faith that Nastrini is going to come up here and mow down a bunch of Rangers hitters. Normally with Eovaldi on the mound, I would say the Rangers will crush the White Sox. The way he has pitched lately doesn't give me quite as much confidence. I'm going to back the over 8.5 because I think both pitchers will allow a decent amount here and it isn't a ridiculous amount of runs for them to get over. 

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024