Chicago White Sox (23-26, third in the AL Central) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (30-21, third in the AL East)
St. Petersburg, Florida; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: White Sox: Vince Velasquez (2-3, 5.30 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 33 strikeouts); Rays: Shane McClanahan (5-2, 2.01 ERA, .91 WHIP, 81 strikeouts)
LINE: Rays -202, White Sox +171; over/under is 7 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Rays host the Chicago White Sox on Friday to open a three-game series.
Tampa Bay is 17-11 in home games and 30-21 overall. Rays pitchers have a collective 3.27 ERA, which ranks fourth in MLB play.
Chicago has a 12-13 record in road games and a 23-26 record overall. The White Sox are 17-6 in games when they did not allow a home run.
Friday's game is the fourth time these teams square off this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kevin Kiermaier ranks fifth on the Rays with 11 extra base hits (five doubles and six home runs). Ji-Man Choi is 5-for-22 with two doubles, two home runs and four RBI over the last 10 games.
Jose Abreu leads Chicago with six home runs while slugging .415. Jake Burger is 6-for-26 with two home runs and six RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rays: 6-4, .194 batting average, 2.80 ERA, outscored by two runs
White Sox: 4-6, .246 batting average, 5.70 ERA, outscored by 26 runs
INJURIES: Rays: Wander Franco: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Andrew Kittredge: 15-Day IL (back), JT Chargois: 60-Day IL (oblique), Chris Mazza: 60-Day IL (back), Brandon Lowe: 10-Day IL (back), Shane Baz: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Patino: 60-Day IL (oblique), Brendan McKay: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Pete Fairbanks: 60-Day IL (lat), Tyler Glasnow: 60-Day IL (elbow), Nick Anderson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Yonny Chirinos: 60-Day IL (elbow)
White Sox: Tim Anderson: 10-Day IL (groin), Joe Kelly: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Lance Lynn: 60-Day IL (knee), Garrett Crochet: 60-Day IL (elbow), Eloy Jimenez: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Yermin Mercedes: 10-Day IL (hand), Jonathan Stiever: 60-Day IL (lat)
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