CHICAGO — The Texas Rangers moved into sole possession of first place in the American League West on Monday night, beating the Chicago White Sox 11-2 at Rate Field. Texas improved to 66-66 and opened a half-game lead on the idle Houston Astros. The Rangers had not held the division lead by themselves since July 30.
Texas scored in five of its first six times at bat and finished with a season-high 11 runs. Corey Seager went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI. Jake Burger and Wyatt Langford homered, and each finished with 2 hits and 2 RBI. Ezequiel Duran added 2 hits and 2 RBI of his own. The Rangers outhit Chicago 14-5.
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker spoke on Rangers Sports Network after the game, following a night in which Texas drew 4 walks off White Sox starter José Urquidy and put together three separate multi-run innings.
“They did an excellent job. We knew their bullpen might have been light just because they have played a lot of games, doubleheader and everything else, and we made them work,” Schumaker said. “I thought it was a really good job, a lot of walks the first couple innings, hit by pitch, and then some big hits. I mean, Corey Seager, my goodness, he’s back. It’s kind of nice to see where he’s at, no pun intended with the back, but it’s just fun to watch him play. And then up and down the lineup, it’s a really good offensive performance.”
Joc Pederson opened the game with a walk and came around on Duran’s groundout. Evan Carter followed with a two-out RBI double for a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the first, Brandon Nimmo went over the right field wall to take a two-run home run away from Andrew Benintendi and end the inning with the score still 2-0.
Duran’s two-out infield hit with the bases loaded made it 3-0 in the second. Pederson, who entered the night in an 0-for-24 stretch, struck out looking to begin the inning and was too late asking for an ABS challenge. Plate umpire Chris Guccione ejected him for continuing to argue from the dugout. Tristan Peters answered with a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom half to cut the lead to 3-2, his 10th of the season and his third home run in three games. Seager put Texas back up by three with a two-out, two-run double in the third.
Kumar Rocker worked 5 2/3 innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 runs, and 3 walks with 8 strikeouts. It was his first win since July 27, and it moved him to 5-10 on the season. Schumaker had his bullpen up as early as the third inning.
Asked on Rangers Sports Network how Rocker adjusted after Chicago squared up his slider early, Schumaker returned to the sixth inning.
“Nimmo with a huge rob of a home run, which is one of my favorite plays in the game. I said it before, I think every fence should be like five feet, so there would be more of those. But that was a big play at the moment,” Schumaker explained. “And then it felt like he settled in. And this felt like he got back to the slider of old. He was on the attack with his fastball, which is really good to see as well. But again, for him to get into the sixth inning like he did really helped us moving forward.”
Jake Burger Reaches 500 Career Hits in Return to Chicago
Burger led off the fifth with his 22nd home run of the season, connecting against left-hander Tyler Schweitzer. Justin Foscue, who replaced Pederson, and Seager followed with back-to-back two-out doubles for a 7-2 lead. Burger added an RBI double in the sixth and was thrown out trying for third.
That double was the 500th hit of Burger’s career. The White Sox drafted him 11th overall in 2017 out of Missouri State University, and he spent his first three major league seasons in Chicago from 2021 through 2023 before a trade to Miami. Burger spoke on Rangers Sports Network afterward, in the same ballpark where he made his debut on July 2, 2021.
“It’s huge. There’s a lot of fond memories here. The double where I got thrown out at third was my 500th hit,” Burger said. “So it’s just really cool to look back at my career and know that so many of the starting blocks were here in Chicago. And you hit enough home runs in a place, you kind of have a feel for if they’re going to go or not. And I was pretty confident that was gone.”
Duran scored on a wild pitch in the eighth. Langford closed the scoring in the ninth with a two-run shot off Trevor Richards, his 15th of the year.
Texas Bullpen Gets a Night Off Before Milwaukee
Robby Ahlstrom retired all 4 batters he faced. Jordan Montgomery finished with 2 perfect innings. Rangers pitching set down the last 10 White Sox hitters after Chase Meidroth drew a two-out walk in the sixth.
Urquidy lasted three innings in his first start since 2023, when he was with Houston. He gave up 5 runs and 6 hits, walked 4, hit 2 batters, and struck out 2 while throwing 93 pitches. Chicago acquired him from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a July trade, and he had pitched twice in relief for the White Sox after a minor league stint, including 6 shutout innings against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.
The loss dropped the White Sox to 68-63, still first in the American League Central. It was the sixth time this season Chicago has lost by nine runs or more, per MLB.com. The White Sox went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and are 2-for-22 in those spots on the homestand.
Monday’s game opened a three-game series in Chicago. Texas travels to Milwaukee afterward.
“Two really good teams. Obviously we’ve got to take care of business here in Chicago and then we go to Milwaukee,” Burger explained. “But if we want to be in the dance at the end of the season and compete at the end of the season, these are the teams that we have to beat, and we have to do it on the road, too. So we’re really excited for these next five games.”
Monday’s result evened the season series between the clubs at two wins apiece. Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom (9-8, 3.77 ERA) starts Tuesday against White Sox left-hander Anthony Kay (9-6, 3.96). First pitch at Rate Field is set for 7:40 p.m. CT.
