Chris Archer (7-4, 1.84 ERA) gets the ball for the Tampa Bay Rays (33-29) as they meet Jeff Samardzija (4-4, 4.93 ERA) and the Chicago White Sox (28-31) in the second of a three-game series at Tropicana Field. The Rays won the last game 7-5 and Tampa Bay leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 4:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jun. 13 and will air on CSN-CHI and SunSports.
In his most recent outing, Archer pitched 7.0 innings, giving up zero runs (one unearned) and striking out 11 in a 3-1 victory over the Mariners. In his career against the Rays, Samardzija is 0-0 with a 2.57 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and three strikeouts. Jose Abreu (.287, 32 Rs, 12 HRs, 39 RBIs) has been hitting the ball well for the White Sox, going 2 for 4 yesterday with one run, one home run, and two RBIs.
Tampa Bay, a -151 favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Chicago. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is set at seven runs. The Rays are 15-13 as the favorite and have an overall money line of +187. They are 3-1 as the favorite over their last 10 games. The Rays lead the AL in ERA with a 3.31 team average. The Rays don’t allow many hitters to get on base, ranking fourth in the league with a 1.19 WHIP.
Across the field, the White Sox have a subpar record of 12-18 when they are the underdog and are -383 overall with the money line. They also have some of the most overpowering arms in the AL with an average of 8.2 strikeouts per game.
The only other game between the two teams went Tampa Bay’s way. The Rays will take on a right-hander (Samardzija) in this game and have a 21-21 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the White Sox will be the right-hander Archer. They sport a 23-24 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – TB, O/U – Over
Notes
When the White Sox play into extra innings, they have a 4-2 record. The Rays are 2-2 when their games exceed nine innings.
The White Sox are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Rays have a 12-16 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Rays are 23-5. The White Sox have a 20-3 record when outhitting opponents.
Tampa Bay and Chicago both rank near the bottom of the league in runs. Tampa Bay sits at 25th with 229 runs this season and Chicago ranks 28th with 216.
Ranking 27th, Chicago is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 138 this season. Tampa Bay ranks in the bottom half at 18th with 168.
When the Rays hit at least one home run, they are 23-15. When the White Sox hit at least one homer, they have a 16-14 record.
