White Sox vs. Rangers Lineup: Huge Start for Urquidy, Drew Romo Playing Better, More
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Thanks to a Tristan Peters walk-off blast, the Chicago White Sox were able to grab the series win over the New York Mets. It could prove to be a particularly meaningful victory for Will Venable's team, as he will now welcome a frisky Texas Rangers squad to Rate Field.
While the Rangers' 65-66 record isn't going to blow anyone away, it does have them tied with the Astros for the top spot in the AL West. In other words, they are very much alive in the playoff hunt and are working hard to put together a winning stretch. They have already won three of their last four games.
Game Info
Who: Texas Rangers (65-66) vs. Chicago White Sox (68-62)
Where: Rate Field
When: 6:40 CT
Watch: CHSN
Listen: ESPN Chicago WMVP 1000 AM, 107.9 La Ley
Chicago White Sox Lineup
1. Sam Antonacci, LF
2. Munetaka Murakami, 1B
3. Miguel Vargas, 3B
4. Andrew Benintendi, DH
5. Braden Montgomery, RF
6. Colson Montgomery, SS
7. Chase Meidroth, 2B
8. Tristan Peters, CF
9. Drew Romo, C
Will Venable is sticking with a nearly identical look to start the series against the Texas Rangers. The only change for the manager will come in the nine-hole, which features Drew Romo getting the start for Jake Rogers. Romo has shown some signs of life over the last seven games, hitting two homers with 5 RBIs. He's also fresh off recording a hit and touching home plate in the Sox' meeting with the Mets on August 22.
Add in Jake Rogers' walk-off homer in the Mets' series, and there is no question it's been refreshing to see the White Sox' catchers producing at the plate. This has been a glaring issue all season long, with multiple roster changes being made. Speaking of which, there could be another very soon, as Kyle Teel is taking a big step forward in his recovery this week.
Can Tristan Peters return to his early-season form? The All-Star outfielder hit quite the slump but has now hit a ball over the fence in back-to-back games, which included the walk-off hit on Sunday. The White Sox put a lot of stock into Peters by moving off a handful of outfielders throughout the year. They clearly believe he can be a key piece come postseason time, and he can prove them right by building on the Mets series.
Texas Rangers Lineup
1. Joc Pederson, DH
2. Corey Seager, SS
3. Wyatt Langford, LF
4. Brandon Nimmo, RF
5. Ezequiel Duran, 3B
6. Evan Carter, CF
7. Jake Burger, 1B
8. Elias Diaz, C
9. Cody Freeman, 3B
On the Mound ...
White Sox – Jose Urquidy, RHP
The Chicago White Sox are giving Jose Urquidy the opportunity he's been waiting for. This will mark his first start since the 2023 ALCS. Of course, injury trouble is what ended Urquidy's time as a starter, but he's also struggled to look the same effective arm in his limited big league stints over the last couple of years. That is ... until last week.
Urquidy was incredible against the Chicago Cubs with 6.0 innings of two-hit baseball. This included 51 of his 68 pitches landing as strikes and a total of eight strikeouts. It's only one outing, but it came against one of the best units in baseball. The White Sox have also desperately needed a boost in their rotation, so why not see if they can build off this momentum?
To be sure, expectations shouldn't be that Urquidy dominates as he did in his last outing. However, if he can simply limit the damage and eat 5+ innings of action, the White Sox could feel good about his role moving forward.
Rangers – Kumar Rocker, RHP
The White Sox will have an opportunity to jump on the Texas Rangers early with Kumar Rocker on the mound. The 26-year-old has a 4.46 ERA on the year and has already given up 14 earned runs in August. He's typically only good to go for about 5.0 innings and has been known to allow some hard contact over the fence.
Righties and lefties alike can expect to see plenty of sliders from Rocker, which account for 38.0 percent of his pitches. This checks in at about 83 mph and typically drops to the bottom of the zone. Meanwhile, Rocker's secondary pitch is his sinker, which sits in the mid-90s and has been hit pretty consistently this season.
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Elias Schuster is a sports journalist and content creator from the northern suburbs of Chicago. A graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he has covered the Bulls since 2019-20 and previously served as the editor of BN Bulls at Bleacher Nation. He has been the Publisher for Bulls On SI since December of the 2025-26 season. When he isn't obsessing over hoops, Elias spends his time obsessing over practically every other sport – much to his wife's dismay. He also loves strolling the streets of Chicago for the best cozy bar or restaurant to set up shop and write his next article.
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