White Sox Turn To Floyd to Even Series with Rays in Game 4
The feisty Tampa Bay Rays (99-66 SU, 87-78 RL 77-86-2 O/U) will get another chance to show off their amazing resiliency following Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox (90-76 SU, 87-77 RL, 77-83-4 O/U) in the BetUS Sportsbook.
Chicago managed to stave off elimination behind a solid effort from starter, John Danks, and will turn to arguably, their best starter for Game 4 in left-hander Gavin Floyd (17-8, 3.84 ERA) who make his first career postseason start, but clearly isn’t lacking in confidence.
“I believe I can get those guys out, you know,” Floyd said. “So until they prove me wrong, then I guess we’ll find out. We put ourselves in a tough situation both times. So we’ve done it before and definitely capable of doing it again. I think we have the team to do it.”
Floyd is coming off an impressive outing in his last regular start, limiting the Detroit Tigers to one earned run on five hits while striking out eight in just six innings of Chicago’s 8-2 win on Monday.
The good news for the Rays entering tonight’s matchup is the fact that Floyd struggled mightily in September, going just 2-2 but posting a high, 4.81 ERA.
Tampa Bay will counter with right-hander Andy Sonnanstine (13-9, 4.38 ERA), who also makes his first career postseason appearance. Sonnanstine was hit hard in his last start, giving up five runs on five hits – including two home runs – in a 6-4 loss to the Tigers on Sept. 26.
Sonnanstine has dominated the ChiSox this season, going 1-0 with a 2.96 ERA in four starts against Chicago.
“I’m going to try to pitch to my strengths and hopefully have a great day,” the right-hander said.
Rays manager Joe Maddon took Sunday’s loss in stride, choosing to praise the White Sox rather than hit the panic button.
“To think that you are just going to waltz through this whole thing is not a good thought,” Maddon said. “It’s very unreasonable. They’re very good. They have faced some difficult moments recently in this ballpark and have done well.”
BetUS MLB bettors should know that the White Sox generally look like two different teams when playing oat home and on the road as they went 54-28 at home during the regular season and 35-46 on the road.
Here is a look at the game’s key trends, followed by my analysis and MLB Free Picks.
The Rays are 8-2 in Sonnanstine’s last 10 starts following a team loss in their previous game.
The Rays are 13-5 in Sonnanstine’s last 18 starts vs. a team with a winning record.
The White Sox are 6-1 in Floyd’s last 7 starts following a Quality Start in his last appearance.
The White Sox are 5-1 in Floyd’s last 6 starts vs. American League East.
The Over is 4-1 in Sonnanstine’s last 5 road starts vs. a team with a winning record.
The Over is 10-1-1 in Floyd’s last 12 home starts.
The Under is 14-4 in the last 18 meetings.
The Rays are 7-2 in the last 9 meetings.
The Rays are 6-15 in the last 21 meetings in Chicago.
MLB Odds
Tampa Bay Rays +1½ -190
Andy Sonnanstine –R +113
Chicago White Sox -1½ +160
Gavin Floyd –R -123
Over 8½ -115
Under 8½ -105
Analysis: I’ve ridden the Tampa Bay Rays hard all season long as they’ve fought off challenge after challenge, but I just don’t see them winning this game in Chicago despite Andy Sonnanstine’s impressive record against Chicago. I say take Gavin Floyd to keep the Rays in check long enough for his teammates to pull it out in the end.
