ARLINGTON -- Chicago right-hander Dylan Covey spent his Friday night start against the Texas Rangers trying to get them to chase his borderline pitches.
It never happened. Instead the Rangers limited Covey to his shortest start of the season as Texas pounded out an 11-3 victory over the White Sox in the opener of a season-long 10-game road trip.
Covey (3-3) was done in by a 42-pitch second inning in which the Rangers hit three homers off him and scored seven times. Covey lasted just 2 1/3 innings and was charged with nine runs (eight earned) on eight hits and three walks.
"I made a couple of mistakes that they capitalized on," said Covey, who now has a 25.20 ERA in three appearances against Texas. "For the most part I was throwing good pitches. They were just taking the borderline ones and were all over everything that was in the zone. I don't have an explanation. I felt good. The ball was coming out good. I just have [to put] that one behind me."

Covey worked around a pair of baserunners in the first by getting a pickoff for one of the outs. The second didn't go as well as Rougned Odor led off the inning with a homer and Robinson Chirinos and Nomar Mazara each hit three-run homers. Covey allowed six hits in that inning. Joey Gallo also homered off Covey in the fourth on a night in which he allowed a career high in homers and a season high in runs.
"They put some good swings on him, obviously," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. "It's a club that strikes and when they strike big, they can strike with multiple guys in their lineup, and they did just that. When you get hit around a little bit, you're searching around for reasons. I think there were probably a lot of pitches left over the center of the plate."
While the Rangers were rolling, the White Sox struggled against Texas right-hander Yovani Gallardo (2-0). The White Sox didn't have a baserunner off Gallardo until Avisail Garcia tripled to right-center field with one out in the fourth. First baseman Jose Abreu followed with an RBI grounder to put the White Sox on the board.

Chicago didn't record another hit until the seventh and then used three hits in the eighth inning to score a pair of runs. Yoan Moncada made it 11-2 with an RBI grounder, and Garcia's second hit of the night plated Adam Engel.
Garcia had two of the five Chicago hits.
Chicago's bullpen did quiet the Rangers, as three relievers allowed just one earned run over the final 5 2/3 innings. That included an inning from outfielder Matt Davidson.
SOUND SMART
It made perfect sense that the first baserunner of the game for the White Sox came courtesy of a triple. Garcia's one-out liner to right center in the fourth inning was his third triple of the season and the 23rd for the White Sox, which is the most in the American League.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Davidson saved an inning for the White Sox bullpen by coming on to pitch the eighth inning, the first White Sox position player to pitch this season. The infielder fared well, using a fastball that topped out at 91 mph to retire all three batters he faced. He also showed some nifty glove work by snaring a liner off the bat of Carlos Tocci for the second out of the inning. He finished the frame with a strikeout of Odor.

Davidson, who hadn't pitched in a game since he was in high school in California in 2009, threw some on flat ground during the last homestand just in case the White Sox bullpen needed a breather.
"It sounds cheesy but it was a dream come true," said Davidson. "I grew up as a pitcher. That's all I did. I didn't really start playing position full time until maybe my junior or senior year [of high school]. My favorite player was Randy Johnson growing up. It was really cool. It was a lot of fun being out there."
HE SAID IT
"It's only us and the Angels with [Shohei] Ohtani who have someone who can chuck and hit." -- Renteria on the scoreless eighth inning by Davidson.
UP NEXT
Carlos Rodon goes for Chicago in Saturday's 8:05 p.m. CT matchup against the Rangers in Arlington. He's 1-0 with a 3.91 ERA in four career starts against Texas. The Rangers will counter with 45-year-old veteran Bartolo Colon.