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ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers' offense struggled on a cold night and starter Justin Grimm missed with one pitch as The Chicago White Sox won 3-1 at frigid Rangers Ballpark to hand Texas its first series loss of the season.

Offense flails: The Rangers had three hits, one Adrian Beltre's home run in the second inning. They were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position with Beltre failing to come through in the first two situations. The Rangers had the tying runs on base in the ninth inning and Mitch Moreland struck out on three pitches and Leonys Martin fanned to end the game.

One pitch costs Grimm: Justin Grimm, earlier awarded American League Rookie of the Month, dominated the White Sox for most of the night, except for four walks. He was in cruise control until the top of the sixth before he gave up singles to Conor Gillaspie and Alexei Ramirez and a three-run home run on a curve ball that didn't bite enough to catcher Tyler Flowers, his fourth of the year. Grimm tied a career-high nine strikeouts and had retired 10 in a row before Gillaspie's hit.

Beltre's latest miss: Beltre accounted for the Rangers only run with a solo shot to start the second inning. But it was a big miss with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the sixth that stood out in this game. Beltre got down in the count and fisted a ground ball to third base for an inning-ending double play. He also had the tying runs on base in the bottom of the eighth and struck out on a 72-mph curve ball by Ranger nemesis Jesse Crain. Beltre is 4-for-34 with runners in scoring position.

Clean shave works: Left-handed reliever Michael Kirkman is clean shaven after allowing runs in four of his past six appearances. He faced one batter Thursday night in the seventh inning, Adam Dunn, and struck the slugger out on three pitches.

Dog night: There were 689 canines in attendance for Dog Night at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Overall attendance was 31,199 for a game that had a game time attendance of 43 degrees, the third coldest start in ballpark history.

Up next: The Rangers open a three-game series against the team with baseball's best record, the Boston Red Sox. Left-hander Derek Holland (1-2, 3.38 ERA) will face Red Sox left-hander Felix Doubront (3-0, 4.24) at 7:05 p.m. on Channel 21 and ESPN-FM 103.3 and 1540-AM.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Jake Peavy has been scratched for Thursday night's start against the Rangers because of back spasms, so the Rangers will see left-hander Hector Santiago instead.

PODCAST
ESPN senior MLB analyst Buster Olney joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the Rangers' strong start, Matt Harrison's additional back surgery and much more. Listen

It means the Rangers will face a left-handed starter for the third straight game. How this will impact the Rangers' lineup remains to be seen. David Murphy is supposed to start Thursday, but he has sat the last two nights with a left-handed starter going for the White Sox. It's also currently 46 degrees, which means the cold weather could impact designated hitter Lance Berkman and his sore knee and maybe catcher A.J. Pierzynski and his sore oblique (which he said was much improved after a pinch-hit appearance in Wednesday's game).

Santiago, a 23-year-old from Newark, N.J., is 0-1 with a 2.51 ERA in seven appearances. He will be making his first start of the season and fifth of his career. He appeared twice against the Rangers in 2012 and allowed a hit and no runs in two innings. Ian Kinsler had the lone hit out of seven Rangers' at-bats.

The 31-year-old Peavy is 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA for the season. He won his most recent start last Friday against Tampa Bay. But the two-time All-Star hasn't had great success against the Rangers, so Peavy being scratched might not be that big of a break.

Here are the lineups for Thursday's game:

RANGERS
2B Ian Kinsler
SS Elvis Andrus
DH Lance Berkman
3B Adrian Beltre
RF Nelson Cruz
C A.J. Pierzynski
LF Jeff Baker
1B Mitch Moreland
CF Craig Gentry
SP Justin Grimm

WHITE SOX
LF Alejandro De Aza
2B Jeff Keppinger
RF Alex Rios
1B Adam Dunn
DH Paul Konerko
3B Conor Gillaspie
SS Alexei Ramirez
C Tyler Flowers
CF Dewayne Wise
SP Hector Santiago

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas Rangers catcher Geovany Soto stood in front of his locker after a 5-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox and owned up to a mistake that was costly in Wednesday night's loss.

PODCAST
Randy Galloway, Matt Mosley and Glenn "Stretch" Smith discuss the first month of the 2013 season for the Rangers. Listen

Soto misjudged a line drive off the bat of Ian Kinsler with one out and the bases loaded with the Rangers trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the second. Mitch Moreland came home from third with the tying run, but Soto also should have scored from second base on a ball that caromed off the top of the out-of-town scoreboard in left field.

The Rangers didn't score any more runs in the inning and missed out on a chance to gain momentum against one of the American League's toughest pitchers, White Sox left-hander Chris Sale.

"I read the ball badly," Soto said. "I just thought he hit it with top spin when he hit the ball. I thought it was going to come up short and [Alejandro De Aza] was going to make a catch on the warning track, but it wasn't that way.

"I should have been halfway between the base line and see the result of the play and go accordingly. Even if he catches it, I'm still in scoring position. But he didn't. I should have scored on that play."

Sale was able to settle in and retire 10 straight Rangers after Kinsler's long single. Sale went seven innings, matching his season high with seven strikeouts. The Rangers didn't get another runner in scoring position against him.

The Rangers missed out on a chance to pick up Soto after his baserunning error. Elvis Andrus struck out after a nine-pitch faceoff with Sale, failing to score a runner at third with one out to give the Rangers the lead. Lance Berkman grounded into a fielder's choice to end the rally.

"We still had the bases loaded and one out," Soto said. "We could have capitalized. But definitely a running mistake on my part. That didn't help."

Soto did an admirable job of guiding rookie starter Nick Tepesch through a tough beginning when he allowed a run each in the first two innings to fall behind 2-0. Soto and Tepesch went away from his fastball and relied heavily on his slider and sinker as he threw four scoreless innings from the third to the sixth.

The White Sox finally got to Tepesch with two home runs in the top of the seventh. White Sox third baseman Conor Gillaspie led off the inning by belting a 1-0 change-up into the Rangers' bullpen in left-center field for a 3-2 lead. Tepesch later hung a slider that De Aza hit for a two-run home run for key insurance runs with two outs in the inning.

"He just left it up a little bit," Soto said. "He pitched with his heart. He pitched with poise, and you can see that. Just one pitch. That's how games go."

ARLINGTON, Texas -- A.J. Pierzynski and Addison Reed were battery mates last year, starting catcher and closer for the Chicago White Sox.

PODCAST
Randy Galloway, Matt Mosley and Mark Friedman discuss the latest with the Rangers, including their loss last night and Ron Washington's decision to leave Nick Tepesch in the game. Listen

On Wednesday, Reed, still the White Sox's closer, went inside on his former teammate Pierzynski in the bottom of the ninth and hit the Texas Rangers catcher on the elbow. Pierzynski, who had missed the first 17 innings of the series because of a sore oblique muscle, got drilled with two outs and nobody on and the White Sox leading 5-2.

Chicago held on to win by that score. Was there any foul play by the White Sox?

"I'm sure they were trying to pitch me inside and it just got away," Pierzynski said. "There were two outs and we were down by three runs."

Reed said after the game that's exactly what happened.

“I was trying to throw inside and it happened to hit him,’’ said Reed, who worked a scoreless ninth for his ninth save. “Was I trying to hit him? Absolutely not.’’

Reed said he enjoyed throwing to Pierzynski when he was the White Sox catcher.

“I grew up a Sox fan rooting for him,’’ Reed said. “I have nothing at all against him.’’

Pierzynski said he didn't know of any ill will between him and the 24-year old Reed, who broke through with the White Sox last year to record 29 saves.

""Not that I know of," said Pierzynski, who last year had 27 home runs in one of his best seasons with the White Sox. "I always got along fine with him."

White Sox manager Robin Ventura said with a three-run lead against the powerful Rangers lineup, “we’re not trying to put anybody on base. You saw what happened. Thirty seconds later, they had the tying run at the plate.

“There was no message sent.’’

ARLINGTON, Texas -- It's not necessarily a decision that cost the Rangers a game Wednesday night. But it's one that manager Ron Washington even second-guessed -- make that triple-guessed -- after a 5-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

PODCAST
Randy Galloway, Matt Mosley and Mark Friedman discuss the latest with the Rangers, including their loss last night and Ron Washington's decision to leave Nick Tepesch in the game. Listen

Washington had reliever Joseph Ortiz ready in the bullpen for a lefty-lefty matchup with Alejandro De Aza with a runner on first and two outs and the Rangers trailing 3-2 in the top of the seventh. Starter Nick Tepesch had given up the lead on a leadoff home run by White Sox third baseman Conor Gillaspie and was at 103 pitches.

But Washington stuck with his rookie right-handed starter and Tepesch gave up a two-run home run to put the Rangers down 5-2 and make it more difficult for the offense to make a comeback.

"Bad decision by me," Washington said. "I stayed with Tepesch one batter too long. I should have brought in Ortiz and I didn't. I'll take the blame for that one."

Washington said he actually second-guessed himself. His intention was to go get Tepesch and bring in Ortiz to face De Aza. But Washington changed his mind and decided to give Tepesch a chance to get out of the inning.

"It didn't work," Washington said. "So it's a bad decision on my part."

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Nick Tepesch allowed two home runs in the top of the seventh as the Chicago White Sox snapped a 2-2 tie and beat the Texas Rangers 5-2 on Wednesday night at Rangers Ballpark.

Rough seventh for Tepesch: For the second straight start, rookie Nick Tepesch had a rough seventh inning. He allowed two home runs with the game tied at two. White Sox third baseman Conor Gillaspie led off the inning with a 384-foot home run to right-center field. With two outs, leadoff hitter Alejandro De Aza smacked a two-run home run to right field for a 5-2 lead. Tepesch had allowed two home runs in 27⅓ innings before Wednesday's seventh inning.

Too long with Nick?: Rangers manager Ron Washington stuck with Tepesch after Gillaspie's tiebreaking home run even though the right-hander was around 100 pitches. The White Sox made the Rangers pay with De Aza's two-out homer for a three-run lead.

Eighth-inning threat crumbles: The Rangers hadn't scored against White Sox reliever Jesse Crain in 27⅓ innings before Wednesday night. They had one of their best shots at him after Elvis Andrus and Lance Berkman led off with singles. But Adrian Beltre continued his struggles with a fly out to center but did move Andrus to third. Nelson Cruz struck out on a high fastball. Sox left-handed reliever Matt Thornton came in and got David Murphy to ground out back to the pitcher.

Baserunning gaffe: The Rangers should have scored more in the bottom of the second. With the bases loaded, Ian Kinsler just missed a grand slam, as his line drive to left field hit off the top of the wall. The Rangers scored just one run because Geovany Soto didn't score from second base.

Beltre scuffles: Beltre, who had a two-run home run in his last at-bat Tuesday night, failed to get a hit with a runner at second base and two outs in the first inning. Beltre is four for his past 31 with runners in scoring position.

Frasor improving: Reliever Jason Frasor retired all four batters he faced with two strikeouts. Frasor hasn't allowed a run in his past six innings.

Up next: The Rangers and White Sox wrap up their three-game series Thursday night when rookie right-hander Justin Grimm (2-0, 1.59 ERA) takes on veteran right-hander Jake Peavy (3-1, 3.38 ERA) at 7:05 p.m. on Fox Sports Southwest and ESPN 103.3-FM and 1540-AM.

A.J. Pierzynski, who missed Tuesday's series opener against the White Sox because of an issue with his right oblique muscle, is out again tonight. Geovany Soto will be behind the plate catching Nick Tepesch, who is coming off a win last Thursday against the Twins. Chris Sale is on the mound for the White Sox. Here are the lineups:

RANGERS

Ian Kinsler 2B
Elvis Andrus SS
Lance Berkman DH
Adrian Beltre 3B
Nelson Cruz RF
Jeff Baker LF
Mitch Moreland 1B
Geovany Soto C
Craig Gentry CF

WHITE SOX

Alejandro De Aza LF
Jeff Keppinger 2B
Alex Rios RF
Adam Dunn DH
Paul Konerko 1B
Conor Gillaspie 3B
Alexei Ramirez SS
Tyler Flowers C
Dewayne Wise CF

Wednesday night's Rangers-White Sox game features a pair of 24-year-old pitchers: Rangers up-and-coming rookie Nick Tepesch and White Sox standout left-hander Chris Sale. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. on FSSW and ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM (1540 AM in Spanish).

Tepesch (2-1. 2.53): Tepesch, maybe the best story of the first month of the season, makes his fifth career start. ... He picked up his second win Thursday at Minnesota, taking a shutout into the seventh inning. He allowed one run in 6⅔ innings and didn't walk anyone as the Rangers held on for a 2-1 victory. Tepesch retired the first 12 batters in order. He gave up a hit to three of the last four batters he faced, including a solo home run by Josh Willingham. ... It was Tepesch's first start since being hit on the right wrist/forearm area by a line drive against Seattle, knocking him out of the game in the second inning. ... Tepesch is getting it done with ground balls. He has recorded 39 ground-ball outs against 15 fly outs for a 72.2 ground ball percentage. ... He also hasn't been walking anyone and will look to build on a 19⅓ consecutive innings streak without a base on balls. ... He is 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA and just six hits allowed in two home starts.

Sale (2-2, 4.09 ERA): Sale, one of the top young pitchers in baseball, makes his sixth start of the season. ... He won his last outing against Tampa Bay, allowing two runs on four hits in seven innings. He had seven strikeouts and four walks. ... Sale has pitched at least seven innings in four of his five starts. ... He has a 3.20 ERA since the start of the 2012 season, the fifth-lowest mark in the American League. ... Sale is 2-1 with a 3.71 ERA in six games, including two starts, against the Rangers. ... He won his previous start at Texas, allowing five runs and six hits in 6⅓ innings ... He is 1-0 with a 7.04 ERA in three appearances at Rangers Ballpark. ... His fastball velocity averages 92.2 mph this season ... He also throws a slider and a changeup.

Hitters: Tepesch faces the White Sox for the first time in his career. Adrian Beltre (4-for-8) and Nelson Cruz (3-for-6, 1 HR, 3 RBIs) have had success against Sale.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- About Rangers' first baseman Mitch Moreland. And an offense not hitting with runners in scoring position.

The Rangers took a while to heat up Tuesday night, staring at a 2-0 deficit until the bottom of the fourth inning. Back-to-back home runs by Nelson Cruz and Jeff Baker served as the spark. Moreland's third hit of the night was the dagger in the Rangers' 10-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Moreland has quietly turned his season around in the last nine games, hitting .429 to raise his batting average to a season-high .267. He's hit in five straight games. On Tuesday, Moreland reached based all four times, getting three more hits, all against left-handers.

Moreland's big blow started the Rangers' six-run sixth inning. With one out and Geovany Soto on first base, Moreland smoked a scorching line drive up the left-center field alley off left-handed reliever Donnie Veal. The ball was hit so hard, with some tailing action, that White Sox left fielder Alejandro De Aza never had a chance. Soto scored from first for a 5-4 lead. The Rangers scored five more runs on an Ian Kinsler RBI, two wild pitches and a two-run home run by Adrian Beltre.

"He [Moreland] hasn't been keeping the bat on his shoulders," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He's confident that he has a dangerous bat and he let it fly."

Moreland's early season struggles against lefties are behind him. He is 7-for-17 with five doubles against left-handers in the last seven games. He's handled Jason Vargas, Scott Diamond and now Jose Quintana. Moreland and right-handed hitting Jeff Baker, who is crushing lefties, were the only two Rangers with a pair of hits off Quintana.

Moreland has never wavered in his approach, whether it's a lefty or righty. He didn't look at the numbers while he started 1-for-18 against southpaws.

"I really didn't," Moreland said. "I tried to separate the numbers from what's going on at the plate. I've been putting myself in a position where I've been hitting the ball hard."

Moreland and the Rangers were 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position. That after the club batted .194 in those situations for the seven games in Anaheim and Minnesota. Kinsler had two hits Tuesday night, upping his average to .394 with runners in scoring position.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers overcame a slow start by both Yu Darvish and their bats to pound the Chicago White Sox 10-6 on Tuesday night at Rangers Ballpark. Texas has won seven of its past eight games at home.

Moreland coming alive: Mitch Moreland has been the Rangers' hottest hitter over the past week and he continued his surge against the White Sox. Moreland was 3-for-3, including a line-drive double to left field off a left-handed reliever, Donnie Veal, to give the Rangers a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the sixth. Moreland's three hits were against left-handed pitchers, boosting his season average to .243 against southpaws.

Kinsler drives them in: The Rangers might be struggling with runners in scoring position, but leadoff hitter Ian Kinsler isn't. He had two more RBI hits Tuesday, one to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth, and another a key insurance run with two outs in the sixth inning. Kinsler is up to .391 for the season with runners in scoring position. He is 4-for-11 with two outs and runners in scoring position.

Six-run sixth: The Rangers snapped a 4-4 tie, then broke the game open with a six-run sixth inning. They scored in a variety of ways. The aforementioned RBI double by Moreland and RBI single by Kinsler gave them a 6-4 lead. The Rangers loaded the bases and then White Sox reliever Nate Jones had a forgettable three-pitch sequence. He threw consecutive wild pitches to score Kinsler and Elvis Andrus. Adrian Beltre then snapped out of his slump with a two-run home run to left field for a 10-4 lead.

Back-to-back: The Rangers woke up a quiet crowd with back-to-back home runs with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. Nelson Cruz, who has carried the offense, broke through against White Sox starter Jose Quintana with his sixth home run of the season, a sky-high shot to left field. Jeff Baker, who has played his way into the lineup on a regular basis against right-handed starters, tied the game at 2-2 with a 434-foot home run to center field, his second of the season.

Taking advantage: The Rangers jumped on a mistake by the White Sox in the bottom of the fifth. Craig Gentry grounded into a fielder's choice and advanced to second on a throwing error by Chicago second baseman Tyler Greene. It worked essentially as a sacrifice, with a faster runner, Gentry, ending up at second instead of Moreland. Kinsler gave the Rangers the lead with a double inside the third-base bag. Andrus followed with a single up the middle for a 4-2 lead.

Darvish settles in: Darvish allowed two runs in the first inning on four hits. The first one, a one-out triple by Greene, should have been caught by Cruz in right field. The White Sox jumped on the opening. Alex Rios and Konerko had RBI singles to snap Darvish's 19-inning scoreless streak.

Hanging curveball: Darvish was settled in until the top of the sixth, when he had a lead-off walk and later failed to execute a 3-6-1 double play as he wasn't able to keep his foot on the first-base bag. The Rangers paid for it as No. 9 hitter Dewayne Wise connected with a hanging curveball for a two-run homer to tie the game 4-4. Wise had two hits in 22 at-bats entering Tuesday. He had three hits in three at-bats versus Darvish and was 4-for-4 for the night.

Walk-up crowd: Darvish is drawing fans to the ballpark. The Rangers had 4,000 fans walk up and purchase tickets Tuesday night as the stadium filled in nicely in the early innings. The final crowd total was 40,646.

Scheppers streak ends: Tanner Scheppers relieved Darvish in the top of the seventh and quickly saw his scoreless innings streak to start the season end. Scheppers allowed a two-out home run to Adam Dunn, ending the right-hander's streak at 12⅔ innings.

Up next: A pair of 24-year-old pitchers face off Wednesday night when Rangers right-hander Nick Tepesch (2-1, 2.52) faces White Sox left-hander Chris Sale (2-2, 4.09 ERA) at 7:05 p.m. on ESPN-FM 103.3 FM and 1540-AM.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Rangers catcher A.J. Pierzynski will not play against his former team Tuesday night.

PODCAST
Ron Washington joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss Yu Darvish, the Rangers' recent losses and if the notion that the team looked fatigued is warranted this early in the season. Listen

Pierzynski is being held out of Tuesday's series opener against the White Sox because of an issue with his right oblique muscle. He is missing his first chance to play against Chicago in a regular-season game after playing eight seasons with the White Sox, including leading them to the 2005 World Series title.

"Obviously I want to play," Pierzynski said. "It's killing me not to play, especially for this series."

Geovany Soto is slated to be behind the plate for Rangers ace Yu Darvish.

Pierzynski said he is sitting out for precautionary reasons and that the oblique issue, which he has had for two weeks, was actually worse on the Rangers' road trip to Anaheim and Minnesota. With the Rangers off Monday, Pierzynski will get at least two full days off. Soto might also get the start Wednesday with the Rangers facing tough White Sox left-hander Chris Sale.

Pierzysnki, who saw team physician Keith Meister on Monday, said he isn't having any issues when he's catching, but when he's swinging. An oblique issue he had in the same area last year with the White Sox forced him to miss a series against the Rangers.

"It's better; it just looks worse," Pierzynski said of the coloring caused by a bruise. "It was worse last year. It feels better than it has in two weeks. I just don't want to miss two weeks or a month because of this."

Pierzynski is off to a great start. He's batting .295 with four home runs and 11 RBIs. He also has handled a pitching staff that leads the majors with a 3.023 ERA.

The Rangers don't have much catching depth behind Pierzynski and Soto. Robinson Chirinos, who was acquired earlier this month in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, is batting .327 with nine RBIs since joining Triple-A Round Rock on April 11.

So the Rangers proceed cautiously with Pierzynski.

"I need him around here for the rest of the year," Rangers manager Ron Washington said.

The Rangers are back in Arlington to open a three-game series against the White Sox on Tuesday night. Yu Darvish will take the mound against Jose Quintana as Texas looks to snap a two-game skid. The lineups:

RANGERS

PODCAST
Tanner Scheppers joins Matt Mosley and Chuck Cooperstein to discuss pitching for the Rangers and what it's like watching Yu Darvish. Listen

2B Ian Kinsler
SS Elvis Andrus
DH Lance Berkman
3B Adrian Beltre
RF Nelson Cruz
LF Jeff Baker
C Geovany Soto
1B Mitch Moreland
CF Craig Gentry

WHITE SOX

CF Alejando De Aza
2B Tyler Greene
RF Alex Rios
1B Adam Dunn
DH Paul Konerko
3B Conor Gillaspie
SS Alexei Ramirez
C Hector Gimenez
CF Jordan Danks

MINNEAPOLIS -- Two starters coming off back-to-back wins will square off as the Texas Rangers' Yu Darvish opposes the Chicago White Sox's Jose Quintana on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game set. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. CT on Fox Sports Southwest and ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM, with the Spanish broadcast on 1540 AM.

PODCAST
Ron Washington joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss Yu Darvish, the Rangers' recent losses and if the notion that the team looked fatigued is warranted this early in the season. Listen

Darvish (4-1, 1.65 ERA): Darvish, 26, has gone back-to-back outings and a total of 18 consecutive innings going back three starts without allowing a run. … He struck out 11 over six innings his last time out in an 11-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday. The right-hander has notched double-digit strikeouts in back-to-back games. He has yet to strike out 10 or more hitters in three consecutive starts in his major league career. … Darvish faced Chicago once last season and was saddled with the loss after allowing six runs – five earned – on eight hits and three walks with six strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings on July 27. … Darvish is 5-0 in seven regular-season home starts since losing to the White Sox.

Quintana (2-0, 2.78 ERA): The left-hander lasted just five innings against Cleveland in his last outing but got the win in Chicago’s 3-2 victory after allowing two runs on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts. … Quintana’s three strikeouts against the Indians tied a season low. … The 24-year-old picked up the win in his only career outing against Texas last season, allowing one run on just two hits and a walk while striking out eight through eight innings on July 5. … Quintana has yet to allow an earned run on the road this season, having given up a combined six hits and two walks in 13 2/3 innings with 14 strikeouts against Cleveland and Toronto. Quintana was better on the road (3.42 ERA in 12 appearances) than at home (4.13 ERA in 13 appearances) last season.

Hitters: Gordon Beckham (2-for-3) is the only White Sox player with multiple hits or an extra base hit against Darvish, but he’s on the disabled list with a fractured hamate bone in his left wrist. Rangers hitters are a combined 2-for-19 against Quintana. Adrian Beltre and Ian Kinsler own the only two hits.

Up Next:

Wednesday vs. Chicago: RHP Nick Tepesch (2-1, 2.53) vs. LHP Chris Sale (2-2, 4.09), 7:05 p.m. CT, ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540 AM/FSSW
Thursday vs. Chicago: RHP Justin Grimm (2-0, 1.59) vs. RHP Jake Peavy (3-1, 3.38) 7:05 p.m. CT, ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540 AM/FSSW

The Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox play their only three-game series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington beginning Tuesday night.

PODCAST
Ron Washington joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss Yu Darvish, the Rangers' recent losses and if the notion that the team looked fatigued is warranted this early in the season. Listen

The White Sox will throw three quality starters at the Rangers -- left-handers Jose Quintana (2-0, 2.78 ERA) and Chris Sale (2-2, 4.09) and right-hander Jake Peavy (3-1, 3.38). The Rangers will counter with Yu Darvish (4-1, 1.65) on Tuesday night, followed by rookie right-handers Nick Tepesch (2-1, 2.53) and Justin Grimm (2-0, 1.59).

Here's some other things to look for:

Strong starting pitching: The White Sox's starting rotation has been the team's strength. Sox starters have a 3.03 ERA over the last 13 games with a 5-3 record during that span. Peavy is tied for sixth in the American League with 39 strikeouts. Overall, Chicago is fourth in the AL with a 3.60 team ERA. The Rangers are first with a 3.02 ERA.

Where's the offense?: The White Sox are last in the AL in batting average at .229 and 13th out of 15 teams with a .382 slugging percentage. They are last in the AL in runs (83), walks (54) and hitting with runners in scoring position (.188). The White Sox have scored two runs or less seven times this season. They've been held to five or fewer hits seven times, too.

Pair of sluggers: Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn rank fourth and fifth among active players in home runs. Konerko, who is fourth, hit his 426th home run Sunday, putting him in a tie for 45th overall behind Chicago Cubs great Billy Williams. Dunn has 411 home runs, ranking him 48th all-time, three behind Darrell Evans. Konerko and Dunn have combined for nine home runs this season.

Sox look for 2012 repeat: The White Sox had a 6-3 record against the Rangers in 2012, their first season series victory over Texas since 2004. Chicago won five straight games in July, including a three-game sweep at U.S. Cellular Field on July 3-5. The Rangers and White Sox split six games at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

The Rangers take a much needed day off Monday before a week filled with Sox -- the Chicago White Sox and then baseball's best team, at least record-wise, the Boston Red Sox.

A Rangers offense that went cold over the weekend and didn't hit with runners in scoring position on a road trip to Anaheim and Minnesota faces tough pitching matchups this week. They'll see Chicago's Chris Sale and Jake Peavy, and Boston's Jon Lester.

White Sox start slow: Chicago is 10-14 to start the season, 4 1/2 games behind American League Central leader Kansas City. The White Sox are 3-7 on the road, having been swept by Washington and Minnesota. The White Sox are last in the AL with a .229 batting average and 83 runs scored. They are fourth in the AL with a 3.60 ERA (the Rangers are first with a 3.02 ERA, and the Red Sox are third at 3.39).

Pierzynski faces old team: Rangers catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who played for the White Sox from 2005 to '12, faces his old team for the first time in the regular season since signing as a free agent with the Rangers. Pierzynski helped the White Sox win the 2007 World Series. He had a .364 batting average against the White Sox when he played for Minnesota from 1998 to 2004. That, of course, was a long time ago. Pierzynski has warmed up to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, where he is batting .360 in seven home games.

Konerko moves up list: White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko hit his fourth home run of the season in Chicago's 8-3 loss to David Price and Tampa Bay. It was Konerko's 426th career home run, tying him with Billy Williams for 45th all time. Konerko has 14 RBIs but is batting only .235 with 19 strikeouts.

Red Sox rolling: The Red Sox finished off a four-game home sweep of the hapless Houston Astros to improve to 18-7, matching their best start since 2002. The Red Sox, who have Monday off, can set the club record for most victories in April with a win Tuesday against Toronto. Boston is getting lights-out pitching from its top three pitchers: Lester, Clay Buchholz and former Ranger Ryan Dempster, who are a combined 10-2 with a 1.99 ERA.

Ortiz back and hot: Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz is back and is one of the hottest hitters in baseball. He had two hits in Sunday's 7-2 victory over Houston, giving him a 20-game hitting streak dating to last year, the longest run going in the major leagues. Ortiz went 2-for-4 on Sunday, dropping his batting average to .516.