When surging Texas goes for a three-game sweep of the visiting Chicago White Sox on Sunday at Globe Life Park in Arlington Authentic Baker Mayfield Jersey , Texas, Cole Hamels, the pitcher the Rangers expected to be their bell cow in this season of rebuilding, will be on the mound.
It remains to be seen how much longer Hamels (4-6, with a 3.61 ERA) stays in that position. He could, instead, be a huge piece to the puzzle in a trade that would net more prospects for a team in dire need of them.
The White Sox will send right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (3-5, 3.73 ERA) to the mound in the series finale.
The Rangers beat Chicago 13-4 on Saturday behind five solid innings from the ageless Bartolo Colon, a three-run double from Robinson Chirinos, a home run from Joey Gallo and a seven-run eighth inning.
Texas was without designated hitter Shin-Soo Choo on Saturday as he battles right quad soreness and was given the night off.
Choo said his upper quad has been bothering him over the past 10 days, but her17;s played through it well enough to extend his streak of reaching base to 41 straight games, tops in the Major Leagues this season. Itr17;s also tied with Toby Harrah (1985) for the third-longest single-season streak in club history.
r0;I felt like it was an opportunity to get him off his legs, give him a day,r1; manager Jeff Banister told mlb.com about Choor17;s absence from the starting lineup. r0;Her17;s played through it for a while.r1;
Choo underwent an MRI at his own request on Saturday and said afterward he does not believe the injury is serious.
r0;I know I have the streak going on, but my body and staying healthy is more important,r1; Choo said. r0;And winning games is more important than records. I donr17;t want to make it worse. I donr17;t think itr17;s serious.r1;
Chicago is another team building from the ground up but already has its second baseman of the future, Yoan Moncada http://www.officialcoyotes.com/authentic-adidas-clayton-keller-jersey , on the field as an everyday player. Moncada, who was acquired from Boston as part of the trade that sent Chris Sale to the Red Sox, has struggled through the first half of the season, hitting just .225 after batting .231 in 54 games last season.
He also has a team-high 13 errors at second base.
r0;I did not expect to have as many tough, difficult moments as Ir17;ve been having,r1; Moncada told the Chicago Sun-Times. r0;Ir17;ve learned that this is a process, itr17;s something young guys have to get used to. You canr17;t get frustrated at any point. If you keep your faith in what you do, your17;re going to be good.r1;
Lopez will make his 17th start of the season, 10th on the road and second against the Rangers this season when he takes the hill on Sunday. He is 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA over his past three road starts. His last time out, on June 26, Lopez earned the win versus Minnesota, allowing four runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings in an 8-4 Chi-Sox victory.
Lopez is receiving a 3.45 run support average this season, the ninth-lowest in the AL. He will be making his third career start against the Rangers and second at Globe Life Park.
Lopez garnered the win in his last start against Texas on May 20 in Chicago, pitching eight scoreless innings.
Hamels will also make his 17th start of the season and leads all Texas starters in ERA (3.61), starts (16), innings (97 1/3), and strikeouts (97). He has gone 3-2 with a 3.28 ERA in his nine starts since May 5 to lower his ERA from 4.08 to 3.61.
Hamels will be working on five daysr17; rest and last worked and took a no-decision in the Rangersr17; 7-4 win on Monday at home against San Diego. He allowed a season-high nine hits in that game Authentic Baker Mayfield Jersey , exiting after trailing 4-1 in the sixth, ending a streak of eight straight starts six-plus or more innings pitched.
Hamels has gone 2-0 with a 2.86 ERA in four career starts against the White Sox, recording quality starts in three of those four outings.
Donald Crisman has more than a half-century of Super Bowl memories behind him, from taking a 24-hour train ride to Super Bowl II to seeing his beloved New England Patriots win in overtime last year.
But he says the 52nd Super Bowl featuring the Philadelphia Eagles and the Patriots on Sunday just might be his final big game.
The 81-year-old resident of Kennebunk, Maine, is a member of the ever-shrinking r1;Never Miss a Super Bowl Clubr1; thatr17;s attended every season finale since its inception in 1967. He has bought his own ticket every year except one.
Crisman was featured in a 2010 Visa commercial along with three friends who had attended every Super Bowl. He is attending this game with a heavy heart because friend Larry Jacobson of San Francisco died last fall. Crisman said attending the game without Larry would be different, and he might not have gone if the Patriots werenr17;t in it.
He shared some of his favorite memories with The Associated Press.
r12;
LAST TIME IN MINNEAPOLIS
Crisman prefers the warmer venues for the Super Bowl. But he has fond memories of the last Super Bowl in Minneapolis r11; in 1992 at the now-gone Metrodome.
He has a hat from the game bearing the Super Bowl XXVI logo that was signed by Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, quarterback Mark Rypien and wide receiver Gary Clark. He is bringing it with him to this yearr17;s game at U.S. Bank Stadium, built on the site of the old Metrodome, to r1;show and tell it.r1;
r12;
SUPER BOWL THAT ALMOST WASNr17;T
Crismanr17;s trip to the second Super Bowl in 1968 was an odyssey. He had made arrangements to take a private plane to the game in Miami but an ice storm made it impossible to fly.
Crisman was undaunted and managed to find a train that took 24 hours to get to Miami. r1;I canr17;t believe how many times that train stopped,r1; he said. r1;It was agonizing, to say the least.r1;
r12;
FAVORITE VENUES
The Miami area, which will set a record by hosting its 11th Super Bowl in 2020, is Crismanr17;s favorite place to see the game. Her17;s also a fan of San Diego, which has hosted three times.
The Rhode Island native has been a Patriots fan since the teamr17;s inception in 1960, so his favorite Super Bowl play of all time is fittingly James Whiter17;s overtime, game-winning touchdown last year. Previously, he was the subject of endless teasing because his favorite plays were a pair of field goals.
Specifically, field goals that won Super Bowls for the Patriots in 2002 and 2004.
r1;Ir17;ve been laughed at and kind of ridiculed. `You canr17;t have a field goal be your favorite play,r1;r17; he said. r1;Well, I do.r1;
r12;
WILL HE KEEP GOING?
Crismanr17;s crew at the Super Bowl included Jacobson and Pittsburgh Steelers fan Tom Henschel and Green Bay Packers fan Bob Cook, who also had attended every game. But the group has dwindled to just him and Henschel after the death of Jacobson last year and Cook, who died in 2011. Her17;s welcoming Jacobsonr17;s daughter Heather on Sunday and expects to shed a few tears when she sits in what would have been her dadr17;s seat.
His son, Don Jr., called his dad r1;the most consistent force in football.r1; He said it will be different when his father no longer goes to the big game. After 51 Super Bowls and counting, the elder Crisman said that day might be coming soon.
r1;Ir17;m thinking about it,r1; he said. r1;But this year, Ir17;m taking the Patriots.r1;
