Game Thread: Rangers at White Sox

Texas is in town for three

Happy Friday! The Rangers (25-26) are in town for a three-game series against the White Sox on this holiday weekend. Before we address the interesting lineup, the White Sox had a fun Friday afternoon news dump for us.

The good news? Andrew Benintendi is back, and depending on how you feel, Andrew Vaughn has been demoted. That means Tim Elko is the new first baseman, right? Wrong! He is gone, too. Who needs an actual first baseman when you have six outfielders (who aren’t quite qualified to play in the outfield, either)? Elko has been optioned to Charlotte, and Mike Tauchman is back from injury.

With all that out of the way, who plays first tonight? In a maybe normal world, you would guess a fellow who has trouble fielding, like Lenyn Sosa, right? Nah. It’ll be Miguel Vargas! Sean Burke is back on the mound, after a rough outing against the North Side team.

Red-hot Tyler Mahle is taking the mound for the Rangers tonight. Mahle owns an ERA of just 1.47. The White Sox will face some old friends tonight with Marcus Semien and more recently, Jake Burger.

Continuing to be a shining star, Burger, and his wife Ashlyn made a couple special stops today. First to Gigi’s Playhouse:

And to a Chicago staple, Portillos.

First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. CT. You can catch the game on CHSN or ESPN Chicago 1000.