In this article we will formulate a Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox prediction for this MLB game on Monday, May 6th at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game one in the series.
Rays Coming off of a Sweep
The Tampa Bay Rays are 17-18 this season and they have won four of their last six games. Tampa Bay is coming off of a series sweep against the Mets, where they won all three games and scored 20 runs in the series. Prior to that series, the Rays lost two out of three against Milwaukee and were swept by the White Sox on the road. Tampa Bay really needed that series win against the Mets over the weekend, as they are currently fourth in the AL East behind the Orioles, Yankees and Red Sox.
The Tampa Bay pitching staff has a 4.59 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP, and a .250 opponent batting average. The Rays offense has scored 140 runs with a .243 batting average and a .311 on base percentage. Randy Arozarena is batting .143 with five home runs and 11 RBI’s for the Rays this season. Tampa Bay is 19th in runs scored this year and they have scored three runs or fewer in five of their last seven games.
White Sox Looking for Three in a Row
The Chicago White Sox are 8-26 this year and they have lost four of their last six games. Chicago is coming off of a series win against the Cardinals, where they won two out of three games and scored 11 runs in games two and three. Prior to that series, the White Sox were swept by the Twins in three games and swept the Rays in three games. Chicago has won two out of their last three series, but they only have eight wins and they are dead last in the AL Central.
The Chicago pitching staff has a 4.96 ERA, a 1.42 WHIP, and a .248 opponent batting average. The White Sox offense has scored 100 runs with a .211 batting average and a .272 on base percentage. Andrew Benintendi is batting .195 with three home runs and 13 RBI’s for the White Sox this season. Chicago is last in the MLB in runs scored, but they have scored at least four runs in seven of their last nine games.
Starting Pitchers
The projected starting pitcher for Tampa Bay is Tyler Alexander, who is 1-1 with a 5.02 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP over 28.2 innings pitched this year. Alexander has allowed five earned runs and nine hits over his last 8.0 innings. The projected starting pitcher for Chicago is Mike Clevinger, who is making his first start of the season in the MLB. Clevinger has thrown two outings at Triple-A, after signing with Chicago in early April.
Why the Tampa Bay Rays will win
- Probable Starting Pitcher: Tyler Alexander Record this season: 1-1 ERA: 5.02
- The White Sox have lost each of their last nine Monday night road games against American League opponents.
- The home team has won nine of the Rays’ last 10 games.
- The White Sox have failed to cover the run line each of their last eight Monday games against American League opponents that held a losing record.
- The home team has covered the run line in each of the last four games between the White Sox and Rays.
- The White Sox have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last five night games against opponents that held a losing record.
Why the Chicago White Sox will win
- Probable Starting Pitcher: Mike Soroka Record this season: 0-3 ERA: 6.48
- The Rays have lost each of their last six night games against American League opponents following a win.
- The White Sox have won 10 of their last 11 road games against AL East opponents that held a losing record.
- The White Sox have covered the run line each of their last 13 road games against AL East opponents that held a losing record.
- The Rays have failed to cover the run line each of their last six games against teams that held a losing record.
- The Rays have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last five games against opponents that held a losing record.
Total Runs Facts
- Seven of the Rays’ last eight home games after going to extra innings have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- Five of the White Sox’s last six night games after playing the previous day have gone OVER the total runs line.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the White Sox’s last 14 night games against AL East opponents.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the last three games between the White Sox and Rays.
Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox Prediction
Tampa Bay comes into this matchup after sweeping the Mets over the weekend, and they will be looking for revenge after getting swept by Chicago last week. Chicago out scored Tampa Bay by a score of 21-13 in their first series and they have actually played decent baseball over the last week or so. The White Sox are starting to hit the ball much better and they will start Mike Clevinger, who pitched pretty well for Chicago last season. Tampa Bay is going with Tyler Alexander, who does not impress me. I think Chicago will be able to continue their offensive improvement here and my Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox prediction is for the White Sox to win.