ARLINGTON, Texas — Max Scherzer struck out a season-high nine to take over 10th place on the career list, Marcus Semien homered and the Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox 2-1 on Thursday.
Scherzer pushed his career total to 3,400 after first passing former teammate and fellow three-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander with his third strikeout of the game, after Eloy Jiménez took a 93.3 mph fastball for a called third strike in the second inning. Scherzer leads among active pitchers.
Two days before his 40th birthday, Scherzer threw 62 of 85 pitches for strikes in his 464th game over 17 big league seasons. He allowed one run and walked one while pitching three-hit ball over six innings.
The reigning World Series champion Rangers (51-52) won their fifth game in a row to match their season-best streak and completed their first four-game sweep at home since 2017, three years before they moved into Globe Life Field. They have won 12 of 16, moving within a game of .500 for the first time since June 2.
Chicago (27-78) has lost 11 games in a row and 17 of 20. The White Sox are 51 games under .500 for the first time they were 50-101 in 1948 and are on pace for 120 losses, which would match he expansion 1962 New York Mets for the most since the 19th century.
David Robertson, the third Texas reliever, worked two innings for second save in seven chances.
Semien's 15th homer led off the third against rookie right-hander Jonathan Cannon (1-5) to tie the game at 1-1. The Rangers went ahead an inning later when Nathaniel Lowe had a leadoff double and scored when Leody Taveras grounded into a forceout.
Cannon scattered eight hits over six innings in his 10th big league start.
Chicago led 1-0 after Brooks Baldwin drew a leadoff walk in the third and scored on a double by No. 9 batter Korey Lee. It was the major league-high 30th time the White Sox scored first and lost. They have dropped 39 games in which they led at some point.
Texas designated hitter Robbie Grossman, who had a pinch-hit homer Wednesday night, marked his 10th year of major league service with two hits.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: RHP Dane Dunning was activated from the 15-day injured list after missing 16 games because of right shoulder soreness. RHP Gerson Garabito was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock.
UP NEXT
White Sox: After their 0-7 trip, the White Sox are back home for the first time since the All-Star break to open a three-game series Friday night against Seattle. They went 1-5 on their last homestand before the break.
Rangers: Left-hander Andrew Heaney (4-10, 3.60 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game series in Toronto. He has received two or fewer runs of support in 11 of his last 15 starts.
