Recent Play Details

Play on CHICAGO WHITE SOX -2.0 runs (+153) (a run-line play on the Sox is good with the juice of +130 or better)

NOTE I: The White Sox plays the visitor role in Arlington vs. the Rangers. Tonight, my Dead Presidents Report supports the Southsiders from Chicago, and the three positions in tonight's junior circuit event are the money line, -1.5, and -2 run-line investments. The three positions in the Dead Presidents Report are plus-money on the run-line, with the money-line part as a road favorite. Each position in tonight's event has been entered individually, and all three carry a 2% rating.

---------

Play on CHICAGO WHITE SOX -2.0 runs (+153) (a run-line play on the Sox is good with the juice of +130 or better)
2%  confidence  rating
List  Pitchers:  Cueto and Ragans
HP Umpire:  Rob Drake and his large K-zone is a dream fit for the veteran Cueto. The young southpaw for the Rangers doesn't yet know how to manipulate or interact with the umpires with home plate assignments in the Big Boy League.  
Weather: The forecast at Globe Life calls for temps that feel like 100+, and the roof will be in full coverage zone tonight in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  

In what has to be a stroke of genius -  the Texas Rangers coaching staff decided to put a rookie in his first big league start against a White Sox offense that has a contract, dead or alive deal, to wound, maim or kill southpaws that take the mound to get in their way of success.

When August rolls around, and summer vacation is coming to a close for a large contingent of middle and high school students, the dialogue of Major League Baseball fans and media portal pundits is about disappointing teams and who did what before the trade deadline. The Los Angeles Angels top the list of MLB franchise disappointments, the San Diego Padres are the next best thing since Tang due to engineering a deal for a young power bat, and will or can the Yankees steer clear of Page 6 of the Post and headlines of Here Come da Judge and There go da Judge.  

Categorizing the Texas Rangers as a bust has avoided being a headline act this summer. Still, the label isn't avoidable considering what the Rangers did and how much they spent doing it in the offseason.

Texas has been, to a degree, opposed unfortunate as apposed to capturing the title of "plain awful." The combination of a pitcher-friendly umpire with tonight's home plate assignment, the White Sox starting pitcher, and the lineup's prowess and contract to destroy left-handed pitching comes full circle tonight.

Rob Drake drew the home plate assignment at Glove Life tonight when the Sox and Rangers square off. His large K-Zone, his propensity to favor veteran pitchers, the savvy of a Johnny Cueto, and his ability to read a room all the while facing a rookie southpaw getting his first major league starting gig screams White Sox victory by ... as many as they want to win by.

Johnny Cueto and his Luis Tiant skit on the mound benefit greatly from Drake grading balls and strikes. Rookie left-hander Cole Ragans makes his MLB debut after slashing top-tier numbers at Double-A that warranted a promotion to Triple-A, which has given him his 15-minute moment on the mothership.  

The hurdles for Ragans do not stop at the opposition's; heright-handed prowess against southpaws. It figures to be convoluted. The best pitch, tracked by Statcast, is his changeup, and right in step with his debut coming against the White Sox is that Chicago lineup hits over .350 with a 98 mph exit velo against the pitch.

The Rangers, like the Sox, prefer facing lefthanded pitchers. However, Cueto is not just right-handed, he is right-handed extreme in his delivery.

Texas has been closer to a high school lineup when facing right handed pitching in Globe Life, ranking at the bottom of most important metric containers.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX -2.0 RUNS