Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox
In what could be a preview of a playoff matchup, we have the Tampa Bay Rays coming to Chicago for a three-game set. With two of the best pitching staffs in baseball, this as the potential to be as close to a playoff series as we get until September. Below we will take a look at each game in the series.
Game 1: Tyler Glasnow vs. Lance Lynn
This game should be the best pitching matchup of the three. Lance Lynn is throwing Cy Young caliber baseball right now and has a 1.23 ERA. In fact the only better ERA in the majors right now is the freakishly good Jacob deGrom. On the other side, Tyler Glasnow has not been a slouch either. He currently sits with a 2.57 ERA and is second in the majors with 117 strikeouts. The White Sox as a team strike out almost nine times a game. I recommend taking a longshot bet on this game at a tie after five innings at +480 on Draftkings. Both pitchers have the potential to dominate and keep the other team off the board.
Game 2: Shane McClanahan vs. Dallas Keuchel
Games 2 and 3 will not have a line on the board until later, but we can still look at their pitching matchups. This is a much less exciting matchup between two pitchers with 4+ run ERAs. Shane McClanahan faces off against Dallas Keuchel. Neither pitcher has been all that spectacular this season, but I’m already looking to pounce on the White Sox ML because they are batting .273 against left-handed pitchers. The Rays are actually hitting slightly worse against lefties than righties. I think we can expect a higher posted total in Game 2 than the line of seven from Game 1.
Game 3: Ryan Yarbrough vs. Lucas Giolito
In Game 3, we have another lefty going against the White Sox. Yarbrough is hittable, but the White Sox haven’t been overly strong against him in the past. In limited at-bats (26) the team has four total hits against him. The Rays have just about the same results against Giolito. One thing to pay attention to is that Giolito’s ERA is about a run and a half higher in day games than in night games. Tampa Bay is about middle of the pack when it comes to home runs per game and Giolito has also given up five home runs in two games this month. Weather in Chicago looks like it will be beautiful so conditions should be ideal for the hitters, I expect runs to be scored in this one.
No matter the outcome of these three games, it should be a fun series. Sign up for the full MLB Package by clicking above and get all the picks for these games and more!
- David Troy
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