White Sox fall in the power rankings after an up-and-down week

White Sox fall in the power rankings after an up-and-down week originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Chicago White Sox are doing their best to separate themselves from the rest of the pack in the American League Central. Currently, they have a 3.5-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians, the biggest gap they have had this year. 

They have played great baseball while missing a key piece of their offense, Munetaka Murakami, who missed nearly six weeks of the season with a Grade 2 right hamstring strain. 

And the pitching staff could get a nice boost as the team recently called up Hagen Smith and Tanner McDouglal over the weekend, with Smith picking up a win on Sunday after throwing two scoreless innings coming out of the bullpen. 

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White Sox fall in the power rankings after an up-and-down week

Last week ended up being quite the week for the White Sox. They took on the red-hot Boston Red Sox before taking on the Guardians over the weekend. 

They had no answers for the Red Sox, getting swept in the three-game series, but they were able to turn things around against their division rivals. 

They took down the Guardians 2-1 in the series, which helped give them some breathing room in the division. But with a losing week, Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter knocks them down a few spots from No. 9 to No. 11 in his latest power rankings.  

“The White Sox promoted top pitching prospects Hagen Smith and Tanner McDougal over the weekend, with Smith picking up the win on Sunday with two scoreless innings of relief coming out of a rain delay. Their 3.5-game lead atop the AL Central standings entering play on Monday is a season-high, despite the fact that they have held at least a share of the division lead since July 4.”

Now, the White Sox will look to keep up their momentum in their series against the Cincinnati Reds before taking on another division rival, the Detroit Tigers, over the weekend. 

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