In this article we will formulate a Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox prediction for this MLB game on Tuesday, May 7th at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game two in this series.
Rays are Getting Hot
The Tampa Bay Rays are 18-18 this season and they have won four games in a row. Tampa Bay won game one of this series by a score of 8-2 on Monday night. Prior to this series, the Rays swept the Mets in three games, lost two out of three against the Brewers, and were swept by the White Sox in three games. Tampa Bay has really started to play much better in their last four games and they have moved up to fourth in the AL East behind the Orioles, Yankees, and Red Sox.
The Tampa Bay pitching staff has a 4.52 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and a .247 opponent batting average. The Rays offense has scored 148 runs with a .246 batting average and a .315 on base percentage. Yandy Diaz is batting .234 with one home run and 16 RBI’s for the Rays this year. Tampa Bay is 18th in runs scored this season, but they have scored 28 runs in their last four games.
White Sox Have Found Success Against the Rays
The Chicago White Sox are 8-27 this year and they have lost five of their last seven games. Chicago dropped game one in this series, but they have played better in recent games. Prior to this series, the White Sox won two out of three against the Cardinals, were swept by the Twins, and swept the Rays in three games. In that series sweep against Tampa Bay, the White Sox outscored Tampa Bay by a total of 21-13 in three games. Chicago is last in the AL Central, 10 games behind the Tigers for fourth place.
The Chicago pitching staff has a 5.00 ERA, a 1.44 WHIP, and a .251 opponent batting average. The White Sox offense has scored 102 runs with a .208 batting average and a .270 on base percentage. Andrew Benintendi is batting .190 with three home runs and 13 RBI’s for the White Sox this year. Chicago is dead last in the MLB in runs scored this year, but they have scored at least five runs in six of their last ten games.
Starting Pitchers
The projected starting pitcher for Chicago is Michael Soroka, who is 0-3 with a 6.48 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP over 33.1 innings pitched this year. Soroka has some ugly numbers this season, but he has allowed two earned runs in each of his last two starts. The projected starting pitcher for Tampa Bay is Zach Eflin, who is 1-4 with a 4.17 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP over 41.0 innings pitched this season. Eflin has allowed 0 earned runs in two of his last four starts, but has allowed seven earned runs in his last two outings.
Why the Tampa Bay Rays will win
- Probable Starting Pitcher: Zach Eflin Record this season: 1-4 ERA: 4.17
- The White Sox have lost each of their last six road games against American League opponents.
- The home team has won each of the Rays’ last six games.
- The home team has covered the run line in each of the last five games between the White Sox and Rays.
- The White Sox have failed to cover the run line in four of their last five road games against American League opponents.
- The Rays have led after 3 innings in each of their last eight Tuesday games against AL Central 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 five of their last six games as favorites against American League opponents.
- The White Sox have won five of their last six games as underdogs against AL East opponents.
- The Rays have failed to cover the run line in 10 of their last 11 games as favorites after playing the previous day.
- The White Sox have covered the run line in seven of their last eight games as underdogs against AL East opponents.
- The Rays have trailed after 5 innings in five of their last six games as favorites against American League opponents.
- The Rays have trailed after 3 innings in four of their last five games as home favorites against AL Central opponents.
Total Runs Facts
- Each of the Rays’ last four night games against AL Central opponents have gone OVER the total runs line.
- Each of the White Sox’s last four road games against American League opponents 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 15 night games against AL East opponents.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Rays’ last five games as favorites against AL Central opponents.
Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox Prediction
Chicago was able to get the better of Tampa Bay a couple of series ago, but the Rays responded with a blowout win on Monday night. Tampa Bay has played much better since getting swept in Chicago, while the White Sox have been slightly improved recently. I don’t love this pitching matchup for either side, but Soroka has been better in his last two starts. Chicago is just 3-15 on the road this season, but I am going to give Soroka a shot with the huge plus money. My Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox prediction is for the White Sox to win.