The White Sox are coming off a series win in Detroit and will be hosting the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game set. The Good Guys are 7-3 in their last 10 games, including a four-game sweep in Minnesota that carried a six-game win streak.
On the mound for the South Siders is righthander Yoendrys Gómez, making his sixth start of the season, coming off of five strong innings where he gave up just one earned run against the Twins last week. Gómez has been efficient since rejoining the big league club,
and posted a 3.86 ERA in four August starts while racking up 22 strikeouts. He has definitely improved his overall ERA to 4.79, although his 1.548 WHIP still needs some work, and his 13% walk rate certainly needs to be lowered. Thankfully, the Rays have the third-lowest walk rate as a team in the league this season (7.6%), so hopefully that works in favor of the White Sox tonight.
We’ll be seeing some old friends with the Rays tonight, as Adrian Houser will be taking the mound, and Tristan Gray will also be batting eighth and playing shortstop tonight. The Rays acquired Gray before the trade deadline in exchange for cash considerations — a Jerry Reinsdorf specialty. Gray has actually been one of the best hitters for Tampa Bay recently, albeit with a small sample size; he is slashing .320/.357/.640 with a .997 OPS over the last 30 days (nine games, 25 ABs). Otherwise, the Rays have plenty of solid power at the top of the lineup, with Yandy Díaz batting second with an .822 OPS, and Junior Caminero in the four-spot with an .836 OPS on the season.
The Good Guys will face Houser, who carried Chicago’s pitching staff for the majority of the 2025 season. He’ll be making his 17th start and has so far achieved an 8-4 record with a 3.01 ERA across 101 2/3 innings. What is (possibly) good news for the South Siders is that Houser hasn’t been as lights out as he has been all season, and has given up four earned runs in two of his last three starts. Houser doesn’t strike out a lot of guys (17.6% strikeout rate), but he’s pretty good at getting guys to ground out, though (surprisingly) the White Sox have the fourth-lowest ground ball rate in the league.
Mike Tauchman is sliding back into the leadoff spot, but we will still have both Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero in the batting lineup to bolster the order, with Teel making the start behind the plate. Andrew Benintendi is slotted sixth, though he has been the hottest hitter for the White Sox over the last two weeks, slashing .405/.458/.738 with a glorious 1.196 OPS, including four home runs and 11 RBIs in 42 at-bats. Chase Meidroth is locking down the order in the nine-hole, but is right behind Benintendi for his strong offensive performance over the last couple of weeks, posting a .375 average and .944 OPS.
First pitch will take place at 6:40 p.m. CT, back home on the South Side. You can catch the action at CHSN or tune into the radio broadcast at ESPN Chicago AM 1000. Let’s kick off another series W!
