The Chicago White Sox face off against the Texas Rangers in the middle clash of a three-game series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, so we’ve prepared the best betting pick and odds for this American League showdown set for Saturday, September 18, with the first pitch at 7:05 PM ET.

The ChiSox opened at -215 on Bookmaker Sportsbook. The Rangers are +196 moneyline underdogs at home, while the totals sit at 9.0 runs. Back in April, Chicago swept Texas in a three-game set at Guaranteed Rate Field (Friday’s game in Arlington has been excluded from the analysis).

The White Sox’s iffy form goes on             

The Chicago White Sox have lost seven of their first 13 games in September, but they are still topping the AL Central comfortably. Chicago fell to 83-63 on the season following a 9-3 defeat to the Los Angeles Angels last Thursday, tallying their fifth defeat over the last eight outings.

The ChiSox are slashing .275/.347/.408 in September, smacking 25 extra-base hits and just 11 home runs through 13 contests. On the pitching side of things, they’ve registered a 4.42 ERA to go with a 1.26 WHIP and a .239 batting average against.

Lance Lynn will get the starting call Saturday, and he’s 10-4 with a sharp 2.50 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 161/42 K/BB ratio across 25 starts and 140.2 innings of work this season. The 34-year-old right-hander has been terrific for most of the season, allowing fewer than a couple of runs in nine of his previous 12 showings. Last time out, Lynn fired five scoreless innings in a 2-1 win to Boston, yielding just a pair of hits while punching out nine.

The Rangers are playing well in September

The Texas Rangers fell to 54-92 on the season following a heavy 12-1 defeat to the Houston Astros this past Thursday. It was their seventh loss in 14 outings this month, as the Rangers have upset some odds over the last couple of weeks.

Still, Texas has registered a poor 5.49 ERA in September, allowing a .262 batting average to its rivals. The Rangers have slashed .244/.299/.363 while scoring 59 runs in those 14 contests.

Spencer Howard will take the mound Saturday, and the 25-year-old righty is 0-4 with a terrible 7.38 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in 12 starts and four relief appearances this term. Howard won’t last for too long, especially if gets pounded in the first inning. In two of his last three starts, Spencer has allowed 11 runs in total across just 3.1 frames of work.

Trends:

ChiSox:

  • 6-2 in Lance Lynn’s last eight starts 
  • 6-1 in the last seven games against Texas
  • 5-1 in the last six games played on Friday

Texas:

  • 1-4 in the last five games at home
  • 1-7 in the last eight games against AL Central 

Chicago White Sox vs. Texas Rangers Pick

The White Sox have been pretty unpredictable over the last few weeks, but they shouldn’t have any problems outlasting the Rangers in this one. Spencer Howard is playing in poor form, so the visitors could easily build a solid lead early in this game.

A.J. Alexy should throw a few innings in relief for the Rangers, but he’s struggled last time out, giving up six earned runs across 3.2 frames in a 15-1 defeat to the Astros. On the other side, the former Ranger should dominate on the mound, as Lance Lynn is enjoying another beautiful season.

Pick: Take Chicago White Sox at -215  

The Total:

The totals are a tricky wager here mostly because of Spencer Howard, who could be easily smashed by the ChiSox. In his last six showings, Howard has posted a brutal 11.30 ERA, allowing a .969 OPS to his opponents.

On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lance Lynn completely shut down the lowly Rangers. Furthermore, the ChiSox bullpen has registered a nice 2.84 ERA and 2.79 FIP over the past two weeks. On the other side, the Rangers ‘pen has a 3.72 ERA and 4.46 FIP in that stretch.

Pick: Go under 9.0 runs at -120