The Chicago White Sox will try to win their third game in a row when they host the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.Chicago (56-82) is coming off a dramatic 4-2 win in Monday’s series opener. The White Sox trailed 2-1 entering the ninth inning but tied the score on a home run by Daniel Palka before winning it with a two-run shot by Matt Davidson.The victory pushed the White Sox into sole possession of third place — something few thought possible as the White Sox flirted with baseball’s worst record a month ago. But Chicago has rallied by winning eight of their last 11 Rickey Henderson Jersey , 14 of 20 and 19 of 31.Article continues below ...White Sox manager Rick Renteria said everyone on the team deserves credit for the success. But it’s hard not to notice the stellar performance of the starting rotation as of late, which has helped to lead the charge.“They’ve been great,” Renteria said. “I think these guys are settling in, learning about themselves, knowing what they’re capable of doing. I think they’re starting to trust themselves. I think their confidence level continues to rise.“We’re trying to get through the back end of ballgames to complete what those guys on the front end have done. Right now, we’re going to try to find out a lot, so we’ll see how it goes.“But it doesn’t ever take away, regardless of the outcome at the end, it never takes away from what those guys have done at the beginning of the ballgame. We have a lot of guys that have thrown a lot of quality starts for us, up and down (the rotation).”A prime example is right-hander Lucas Giolito (10-9, 5.66 ERA), who is scheduled to make his 28th start in the second game of a three-game set against Detroit.Giolito is 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA in his last three starts, limiting opponents to a .191 batting average (18-for-94) during that span. He tied a season high with eight strikeouts his last time out against the Boston Red Sox.In five career starts against Detroit, Giolito is 3-1 with a 4.06 ERA. He has walked 10 and struck out 27 in 31 innings.As Chicago enjoys a hot streak, the same cannot be said for Detroit (55-83). The Tigers’ latest walk-off defeat sent them to fourth place in the AL Central and marked their eighth loss in the past 10 games.Tigers left-hander Francisco Liriano (3-9, 4.96 ERA) will try to stop the skid when he makes his 22nd start. Liriano gave up five runs (four earned) and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings his last time out against the New York Yankees but did not pick up a decision.In 19 appearances against the White Sox, including 13 as a starter, Liriano is 6-5 with a 4.66 ERA. He drew the loss in his last outing against Chicago as he surrendered five runs and six hits in five innings. He has a 6.38 ERA at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Baseball Writers' Association of America announced the finalists for each major MLB award earlier this week, including the three players in the running for the AL and NL MVP awards.In the American League, Boston Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts, Cleveland Indians infielder Jose Ramirez and Los Angeles Angeles center fielder Mike Trout finished in the top three in the balloting.On the National League side, it was Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado, Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez and Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich as the leading vote-getters.With the field now trimmed to three, it's time for some updated look at each MLB race, complete with odds and predictions.AL MVPMookie BettsBillie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty ImagesOddsMookie Betts, RF, Boston Red Sox: 1-4Mike Trout http://www.padresfan...ie-smith-jersey , CF, Los Angeles Angels: 17-3Jose Ramirez, 2B/3B, Cleveland Indians: 19-1Stat ComparisonBetts:186 OPS+, 84 XBH (32 HR), 80 RBI, 129 R, 30 SB, 10.9 WARRamirez:150 OPS+, 81 XBH (39 HR), 105 RBI, 110 R, 34 SB, 7.9 WARTrout:199 OPS+, 67 XBH (39 HR), 79 RBI, 101 R, 24 SB, 10.2 WAROutlookMLB MLBYour 2018 AL MVP finalists:mookiebettsmrlaparaMikeTrout xLG3flO3CkBetts was runner-up to Trout in the 2016 voting, and those two will dominate the balloting once again this year.However, it's Betts who is the clear front-runner this time around.The 26-year-old led the AL in batting average (.346), slugging percentage (.640) and runs scored (129) as one of the driving forces behind a juggernaut offense in Boston.With 30 steals and 32 home runs, he was one of just two 30/30 players around baseball this year.Betts was also his usual brilliant self defensively in right field, tallying 20 DRS with a 21.1 UZR/150 to win his third straight Gold Glove Award.Mike TroutMasterpress/Getty ImagesWhile Trout had another excellent season鈥攍eading the AL in walks (122), on-base percentage (.460), OPS (1.088) and OPS+ (199)鈥攈e did it while playing for sub-.500 Angels team that finished a distant fourth in the AL West.Fair or not, playing for a winning team still factors heavily into the voting.After finishing third in the voting a year ago Cory Spangenberg Jersey , Ramirez actuallyimproved in a number of statistical categories, including OPS+ (145 to 150), home runs (29 to 39), RBI (83 to 105) and steals (17 to 34), to join Betts as a 30/30 player.However, a case can be made that he wasn't even the best player on his own team, as Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor (131 OPS+, 38 HR, 92 RBI, 25 SB, 7.9 WAR) is headed for a top-10 finish in the voting as well.In the end, the biggest surprise on the AL side was that Ramirez finished ahead of Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez, whohit .330/.402/.629 with 37 doubles, 43 home runs and an AL-leading 130 RBI.Prediction:Betts wins AL MVPNL MVPChristian YelichMorry Gash/Associated PressOddsChristian Yelich, LF, Milwaukee Brewers: 1-9Javier Baez, 2B/SS, Chicago Cubs: 23-2Nolan Arenado, 3B, Colorado Rockies: 49-1Stat ComparisonArenado:133 OPS+, 78 XBH (38 HR), 110 RBI, 104 R, 2 SB, 5.6 WARBaez:126 OPS+, 83 XBH (34 HR), 111 RBI http://www.padresfan...c-hosmer-jersey , 101 R, 21 SB,6.3 WARYelich:164 OPS+, 77 XBH (36 HR), 110 RBI, 118 R, 22 SB, 7.6 WAROutlookMLB MLBYour 2018 NL MVP finalists:Nolan Arenadojavy23baezChristianYelich CulW8H0IyjYelich has garnered MVP votes just once in his career, finishing 19th in the balloting back in 2016.That speaks to the significant strides he made this season in his first year with the Brewers, as he helped lead Milwaukee to a surprise NL Central title.The 26-year-old won the NL batting title and finished two home runs and one RBI away from winning the Triple Crown.An otherworldly month of September where he hit .370/.508/.804 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI in 27 games helped the Brewers chase down the Cubs in the standings and solidified his standing as the MVP front-runner.At this point, the question is not whether he'll win the award. It's whether he'll win it unanimously.There have been just two unanimous NL winners in the past 15 years鈥擜lbert Pujols in 2009 and Bryce Harper in 2015.Javier BaezJonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesBaez should scoop up the majority of the second-place votes after turning in a breakout season with the Cubs.The free-swinging infielder showed a slightly more refined approach at the plate, trimming his strikeout rate (28.3 to 25.9 percent) and improving his hard-contact rate (32.4 to 35.8 percent) in the process.His quick-twitch athleticism was still on full display on a daily basis, though, as he was a game-changer on the basepaths and defensively at second base and shortstop, along with his gaudy offensive numbers.Arenado edged out the likes of Freddie Freeman, Paul Goldschmidt and Matt Carpenter to finish third in the voting.As usual, he filled up the stat sheet while playing excellent defense at third base for a contending Rockies team.However, his dramatic home (1.105 OPS, 23 HR, 62 RBI) and road (.772 OPS, 15 HR, 48 RBI) splits water down his overall stat line.Prediction:Yelich wins NL MVP unanimouslyAll stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.
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The Chicago White Sox will try to win their third game in a row
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