Rays vs White Sox Odds & Prediction: Chicago Favored Over Slumping Tampa Bay

The Tampa Bay Rays (4-3) are small underdogs Friday as they visit the Chicago White Sox (4-2) in the opener of a three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Rays are coming off a series loss to the Oakland Athletics while the White Sox took two of three games from the Seattle Mariners. Find out which club has the edge in our Rays vs White Sox prediction.

Rays vs White Sox Odds & Analysis

Sportsbook Odds

The White Sox opened as the home favorites at -130 on the moneyline while the Rays were getting +120 as the road underdog. The total was set at 9 runs with the OVER going 3-0-1 in the last four meetings between the teams. Tampa Bay has won six of the last nine meetings in Chicago – a potential nod to the visitors for your Rays vs White Sox prediction.

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Starting Pitchers

Dylan Cease gets the nod for Chicago in his second start of the season after a sterling first outing. The southpaw threw five innings against the Detroit Tigers on April 9 and surrendered just one earned run on two hits while striking out eight. Cease went 13-7 over 32 starts in 2021 with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.

Drew Rasmussen is slated to start for the Rays after making his season debut on April 9 against the Baltimore Orioles, giving up three hits and two earned runs in a no-decision. The right-hander posted a record of 4-0 with a 2.44 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP through 20 appearances last season.

Rays Coming Off Series Loss To Athletics

The Rays fell 6-3 to the Oakland Athletics on Thursday as they dropped three games out of a four-game set. The contest got off to a terrible start for Tampa Bay when Oakland’s Cristian Pache hit an RBI single and eventually scored on the play thanks to a couple of misplays in the outfield and the A’s never looked back.

The reigning AL East champions will take the series loss as a bit of a shock given that the Athletics are projected to be one of the worst teams in the AL West. The Rays were outscored 31-16 in the series and will want to get their pitching and defense cleaned up quickly.

Pitching Lets Rangers Down Again In Loss To Rockies

The White Sox lost 5-1 to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday to wrap up a three-game set. Mitch Haniger and Jarred Kelenic knocked in two runs each while Logan Gilbert pitched five scoreless innings to earn the win. Jake Burger drove in the lone run for the White Sox as starter Jimmy Lambert was saddled with the loss.

Chicago has had a strong defensive start to the season, allowing just 19 runs through five games and never surrendering more than five in a contest. Their bats have not been stellar so far outside of a 10-1 win over the Tigers on April 10, but the White Sox have been able to pick up some wins regardless.

Rays vs White Sox Pick & Insights

Rays: Keys To Victory

The Rays have had an up-and-down start to their season, sweeping the Orioles in their first series before losing three of four to the Athletics. Which team is going to show up in this series? Tampa Bay will need to get more out of its bats after mustering a combined seven runs in the three losses to Oakland.

White Sox: Keys To Victory

The White Sox have thrived in lower-scoring games so far this season and they’ll hope to limit a struggling Rays offense once again. Chicago went 53-28 at Guaranteed Rate Field last season – tied for the best record in the majors – so the Pale Hose should have the edge on home turf.

Odds Shark’s Computer Rays vs White Sox Prediction: White Sox -140