Chicago White Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays Betting Pick & Prediction 5/8/24

At 6:50 PM from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, we have an American League matchup between the White Sox and Rays. Heading into Wednesday’s game, the White Sox are just 8-28, while the Rays are 19-18. Chris Flexen is starting for the White Sox, and he is facing off against Aaron Civale for the Rays.

Tampa Bay comes into this one as the heavy favorite, with money line odds of -236, and the over/under line is sitting at 8.5 runs. You can catch this one on NBCS.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX VS TAMPA BAY RAYS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Chicago White Sox Moneyline +193

This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 6:50 ET on Wednesday, May 8th.

HOW TO BET THE WHITE SOX VS RAYS:

• We have the White Sox winning by a score of 5 to 4
• If you’re looking for a run line pick, we also like the White Sox to cover
• As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 9 runs and like the over

Tampa Bay cruised to a 5-1 win over the White Sox in the most recent game of this series. The Rays had a two-run lead after the 2nd inning and added three more runs in the 3rd. On the other side, the White Sox got on the board with one run in the 7th.

Zach Eflin pitched well for the Rays in this one, going seven innings and giving up just one run. He finished the game with three strikeouts and didn’t issue a walk. Michael Soroka had a rough outing for the White Sox, giving up three earned runs in five innings of work.

At the plate, Isaac Paredes was the star for the Rays, going 3/4 with a home run. He scored twice and drove in a run. Randy Arozarena also homered for Tampa Bay, while Jonny DeLuca scored twice and drove in a run while going 2/3.

White Sox Records & Stats

Chicago is just 8-28 overall this season, and they have dropped two straight games. So far, they are just 2-18 in divisional matchups, and they trail the Guardians by 15 games in the AL Central. The White Sox are on the road today, where they are 3-16 this season.

The White Sox have really struggled as the underdog this season, going just 3-16. They have yet to win a game as the favorite. Chicago’s overall series record is 2-8-1, and they are currently down 0-2 in their series vs. the Rays. Heading into today’s game, they are 4-6 over their last 10.

Chicago has been a poor run line bet on the road this season, going 6-13. The White Sox have lost two straight run line decisions away from home and are 16-20 overall. They have been an underdog in every game this season, so they are 16-20 against the run line. Their average run differential in losses is -3.9 runs per game.

So far this season, the White Sox have played 35 games with an average of 8.3 runs per game. Their over/under record is 17-18, and the average line for their games has been 8 runs. When the line has been set at 8.5 runs, the over/under record is 5-5. The White Sox have played 8 games with a line set at 8.5 runs, accounting for 22.2% of their games. Their games have gone under the line in 50% of their games.

Chris Flexen gets the start for the White Sox today as he faces the Rays on the road. So far, he has made five starts and one of them has been a quality start. Flexen’s ERA for the season is 4.85, along with a record of 1-3. In his most recent outing, he finished with a no-decision, going five innings and giving up two earned runs on four hits. Looking back at his last three outings, Flexen has finished with a no-decision in each one. Opponents are batting .237 off Flexen this season, and his ERA at home is 8.04 compared to 2.71 on the road.

Chicago has been one of the worst offensive teams in the league this season, as they are dead last in home runs and are averaging just 2.9 runs per game. Not only is this the worst mark in the league, but they have also been one of the worst home and road teams in terms of scoring. As a team, the White Sox are batting just .208 and have the league’s worst on-base percentage and OPS.

Paul DeJong and Eloy Jimenez are tied for the team lead in homers, but both players are batting under .230 for the season. DeJong has gone 5/18 in his last five games, while Jimenez is just 2/19 in this stretch. Leading the team in RBIs is Andrew Benintendi, who is also batting just .184 for the season.

Rays Records & Stats

The Rays have won five straight games, and they are 19-18 overall this season. In the AL East, they trail the Orioles by five games. So far, they are 3-4 in divisional games. Tampa Bay has taken the first two games of their series vs. the White Sox, and their overall series record is 4-5-2.

At home, the Rays are 13-9 this year compared to a 6-9 mark on the road. As the favorite, Tampa Bay is 14-14 this year and 5-4 as the underdog. Their overall home favorite record is 10-8. Looking at their overall record, the Rays are 6-4 across their last 10 games.

The Rays are 15-22 against the run line this season, but they are 9-13 at home. Their average run differential is -0.8 runs per game, and they are 2-0 against the run line in their last two games. They are 6-9 against the run line on the road and are 9-19 against the run line as the favorite.

The Rays have played 37 games this season, with 18 of those games having over/under lines set at 8.5 runs or higher. Their over/under record when the line is set at 8.5 runs is 6-8, and their games have had an average of 9.0 runs scored per game. In their last game, they played the White Sox, and the game finished with six runs scored. Their over/under record for the season is 21-16.

Aaron Civale is looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Mets, where he gave up seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work. In that outing, he gave up one homer. He has made three quality starts this year and has an ERA of 6.14 to go along with a record of 2-2. Opponents are batting .260 off Civale this year. The right-hander has a strikeout rate of 9.57 per nine innings. For the season, he has allowed seven homers. Civale’s ERA at home is 5.25 compared to 8.57 on the road.

Isaac Paredes has been a bright spot for the Rays this season, as he is batting .299 and leads the team with eight home runs. Paredes has also driven in 19 runs, which is 15th in the league. He has also been swinging a hot bat of late, going 10/25 in his last seven games. Harold Ramirez has also been hot of late, going 9/21 in his last seven games.

Overall, the Rays are averaging 4.1 runs per game, which is 20th in the league. They have been a better team at home, averaging 4.5 runs per game. As a team, they are batting .247, which is 10th in the league.