White Sox vs. Rays Picks: Best Bets for Friday’s MLB Showdown

The Chicago White Sox (57-51) and the Tampa Bay Rays (64-44) open a three-game series Friday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.

It’s a battle of two first-place teams, too, as the White Sox are two games clear of the second-place Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central Division, while the surprising Rays hold a 3.5-game advantage over the high-priced New York Yankees in the AL East.

Chicago just split a four-game set against the aforementioned Yankees at Rate Field Monday through Thursday. After dropping the first two games, the White Sox fought back to notch a pair of 1-run victories, including a 2-1 win on Thursday.

Tampa Bay took two of three games from the visiting Texas Rangers, including a 3-2 win in the series finale on Thursday. In fact, not only did the Under cash in all three games against Texas, the total has gone low in five consecutive outings for the Rays.

Since July 20, a span of 10 games, Tampa Bay pitching has been on fire. The Rays’ staff has allowed just 17 total runs, or 1.7 runs per game (RPG), so it’s not a surprise that the Under has connected in seven of the previous eight outings.

The White Sox hand the ball to RHP Erick Fedde (5-6, 4.25 ERA, 1.40 WHIP) in the series opener, while the Rays counter with RHP Nick Martinez (10-2, 2.45 ERA, 1.10 WHIP.

Fedde has been a little better of late, at least in terms of runs surrendered, but he hasn’t been capable of going deep into ball games. And, on the road, Fedde is just 3-5 with a 5.40 ERA and eight homers served up across 46 ⅔ IP across seven starts and 10 appearances.

The All-Start Martinez has been money at home, going 7-1 across 11 starts at The Trop, but his ERA is 2.78, slightly higher than his overall number.

Martinez doesn’t have a long history against most of the White Sox batters. He’ll need to steer clear of Andrew Benintendi, who is 3-for-7 (.429) with a home run and three RBI in their brief dealings. He is just one of four Chicago batters who have faced Martinez.

Still, Tampa Bay isn’t giving up anything, and we’re rolling with Martinez and the home team in this crucial series opener. Who would’ve thought the White Sox and Rays would have huge playoff implications back in the spring?

In addition to backing RAYS (-142) at a reasonable price as moderate favorites, we’re going to keep pounding the UNDER 8.5 (-122) is Tampa Bay games, especially when the number is at 8 or higher.