Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox Prediction: Will Shane McClanahan Continue His Hot Start?
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox Prediction: Will Shane McClanahan Continue His Hot Start?
After spending much of the season in second place, both the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays open a three-game weekend series in third place after they were leapfrogged by the Guardians and Blue Jays, respectively. However, for Tampa Bay, its reason for its fall is more out of its hands, as the Blue Jays surpassed them amid a current eight-game winning streak. The Rays, after all, enter this series having won back-to-back games and six of their last ten.
On the other hand, Chicago dropped in the standings after losing three straight and five of its last six. The White Sox are now just one of two AL Central teams (Royals are the other) under .500 both at home and on the road.
Things do not get easier for the White Sox on Friday, as they look to end a four-game losing streak to AL East opponents and a four-game losing streak in series openers.
Does Chicago’s moneyline odds have any value, or is there a better game prop to identify
Read on for our prediction, best play, and the odds for Friday’s series opener between the White Sox and Rays.
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Rays vs White Sox Start Time, Where To Watch, and Odds
- Date: June 3, 2022
- Game Time: 7:10 pm ET
- Where to Watch: NBC Sports Chicago, BSS, MLB Extra Innings
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Rays vs. White Sox Line Movement
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox Prediction
The White Sox face Tampa Bay lefty Shane McClanahan (5-2, 2.01), which is usually a good thing for Chicago, as its splits offensively against lefties and righties are vastly different. Chicago ranks fourth against lefties with a .258 batting average, second with a wRC+ of 122, and fifth with a wOBA of .334. Against righties, those rankings plummet to 22nd in batting average (.230), 28th in wRC+ (22), and 28th in wOBA (.278).
While those splits are certainly meaningful going forward, they do not apply as much with a pitcher as hot as McClanahan on the mound. The Tampa Bay southpaw was one of baseball’s hottest pitchers in May, going 4-0 with a 1.15 ERA. He has not allowed more than three runs in any of his ten starts, and his 81 strikeouts lead the league.
In addition, Chicago’s offense accrued those impressive splits against left-handed pitching largely because of Tim Anderson’s prowess at the top of the lineup. However, Anderson, who is hitting .356 with five home runs, remains on the 10-day IL with a groin injury. It helps that Chicago got back Luis Robert from the COVID-19 list, but Yoan Moncada has also missed the last five games due to a sore quad.
We were tempted to play the under in this game, as Tampa Bay is battling its own injuries. Wander Franco is expected to miss two weeks with a quad injury, while Brandon Lowe has been out for longer with a back injury. However, currently, the Rays are slashing .361/.531/.509 against Chicago starter Vince Velasquez (2-3, 5.30), so Tampa Bay may have a road to scoring runs against the struggling righty.
Thus, the best play is the White Sox team total under, as we like for McClanahan to improve upon his 2.60 FIP and 0.91 WHIP today.
Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox Pick
PICK: Chicago White Sox Team Total UNDER 2.5 Runs (+100) (Bet $100 to win $100)
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