53-45 this season

After an off day, the Sox are ready to get back at it tonight against the Rangers. Just like many series before, this is a critical one to win. Tonight, Robin is sending out the following guys to take care of business:

Alejandro De Aza CF, Youk 3B, Big Donkey DH, The King 1B, Alex Rios RF, The Cuban Missile SS, The Cuban Tank LF, Tyler Flowers C, Bacon 2B.

Chris Sale will start for the Sox tonight. Chris will be looking to put his previous outing behind him and start a new consecutive win streak. Tonight is the 18th start of the season and ninth at home for Chris.

You want a stud on the mound? Chris is your man. He ranks among AL leaders in ERA, winning percentage, opponents batting average and wins. This is always good to have out of a pitcher. Unfortunately, these numbers were not what Chris gave in his last start. In that start against the Tigers, Chris gave up a five runs (tying a career high) on seven hits. He did last for seven innings. Against the Rangers, he is pretty darn good. He is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in five career games. His one win came in his only start against the Rangers earlier this month when he allowed just one run on five hits in 7.1 innings worth of work.

58-39 this season

Ron Washington is sending out the following guys in hopes of potentially building distance in the AL West:

Ian Kinsler 2B, Elvis Andrus SS, Josh Hamilton LF, Adrian Beltre 3B, Michael Young 1B, Nelson Cruz RF, Mike Napoli DH, Yorvit Torrealba C, Craig Gentry CF.

Yu Darvish will start for the Rangers tonight. He is making his first appearance against the White Sox. Tonight will make his 19th start fo the season. Just like Sale, Darvish also ranks among American League pitchers in strikeouts per nine innings, strikeouts, wins and opponents batting average. He also is third in the AL with 61 walks and tied for third with nine hit batters. (Where is The Carlos Quentin, who dares you to hit him so he can get on base, when you need him.) Darvish also leads all AL rookie pitchers with 132 strikeouts.

His last outing was a win over the Angels where he went seven innings and striking out 11. So far this season, he is 7-1 at home and he won his first seven career home starts before falling on a streak of bad luck. Although he has not faced the Sox, he is 2-1 against the AL Central. For those who fear the worst when the Sox face a new pitcher, Darvish gives you pause. He is 8-1 with a 2.51 ERA when he is facing a team for the first time. However, Darvish hasn’t been able to get the ball over the plate lately and he has been giving up the walks. This hopefully works to the White Sox’s advantage.

*Notes: The Sox will need just one win this series to have a season series win against the Rangers for the first time since 2004. Elvis Andrus has a 13-game hitting streak going right now.