Chicago White Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/01/2026

Game Time: 4:10 pm ET, Saturday, August 1, 2026

Venue:  Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL 

Where to Watch:  MLB TV

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  White Sox +144, Rays -175; Over/Under:  8 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  White Sox +145, Rays -175; Over/Under:  8 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  White Sox +145, Rays -175; Over/Under:  8 runs

Chicago White Sox:  57-51 (1st place, AL Central)

Tampa Bay Rays:  64-44 (1st place, AL East)

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Chicago White Sox:  5-5 last 10

Tampa Bay Rays:  8-2 last 10

The White Sox are entering this series off a win and split their 4-game series against the New York Yankees 2-2 in their last series. They enter this game with a 57-51 record overall and have a road record of 23-30. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Rays on Saturday with the series opener still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 14th in the MLB with a .724 OPS. Erick Fedde is their starting pitcher on Friday while rookie pitcher Noah Schultz is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 3-7 with a 6.15 ERA this season. His team lost their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 3 ER, 0 HR, and 2 BB with 5 SO on 2 hits through 3.1 IP against the New York Yankees.

The Rays are entering this series off a win and won their 3-game series against the Texas Rangers 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 64-44 record overall and have a home record of 40-16. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the White Sox on Saturday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 7th in the MLB with a .733 OPS. Nick Martinez is their starting pitcher on Friday while Drew Rasmussen is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 9-5 with a 3.07 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 0 earned runs, 0 homers, and 1 walk with 9 strikeouts on 1 hit through 7 innings pitched against the Cleveland Guardians.

The current betting odds have the Rays listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Rays have looked great in their games this season with their 64-44 record overall which has them right at the top of the AL East with one of the best records in MLB. They have looked great in their own ballpark too with their 40-16 home record this season. Meanwhile, the White Sox have looked good in their games this season with their 57-51 record overall which has them right at the top of the AL Central. They have been a bad road team though with their 23-30 road record this year. The White Sox ended up splitting their last series with the Yankees after losing the first 2 games in it, but they are still only 5-5 in their last 10 games. The Rays have been rolling though, now 8-2 in their last 10 games, and they have one of the best home records in the league. The Rays are going with Rasmussen in this one and he has looked great this season. He is 9-5 with a 3.07 ERA and he hasn't been giving up many runs this year. He is coming off another great start giving up no runs which has been a common theme for him this season and the team has been having success with him too, winning 2 games in a row now with him starting. The White Sox are going with Schultz in this one and he hasn't looked great this season. He is 3-7 with a 6.15 ERA and has had a lot of trouble in this rookie year. He just gave up 3 earned runs in his last start which has been a common theme for him and the team has lost 2 games in a row now with him starting. The White Sox don't have a great bullpen either while the Rays have one of the best pitching staffs in the league and that hot White Sox offense has been slipping lately too. Look for the Rays to take advantage of this pitching matchup at home where they have looked like a completely different team this season. The best way to place a bet here is on the Rays to win this game. 

White Sox Rays Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Saturday, August 1, 2026 (4:10 pm ET start time) is Rays 6 White Sox 1.

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Chicago White Sox: 31-58 (-8.1 units) on the moneyline against AL East opponents. 158-274 (-55.5 units) on the moneyline in all games. 68-147 (-42.2 units) on the moneyline in road games. 12-7 UNDER revenging a same season 3 game sweep at home against an opponent.

Tampa Bay Rays: 124-95 (+6.5 units) on the moneyline in home games. 88-56 (+7 units) on the moneyline as a home favorite of -110 or higher. 159-151 (+7.8 units) on the moneyline vs. good fielding teams - averaging 0.6 errors/game or less. 29-16 UNDER when the total is 8 to 8.5.

Chicago White Sox:  K. Teel (C) Ten Day IL - Ankle. T. Gilbert (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Shoulder. A. Hays (LF) Sixty Day IL - Calf. J. Leasure (RP) Sixty Day IL - Flexor. T. Murray (LF) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. P. Berroa (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. B. Baldwin (LF) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. M. Vasil (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. D. Thorpe (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. K. Bush (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

Tampa Bay Rays:  S. McClanahan (SP) Day To Day - Back. C. Sulser (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Back. J. Heasley (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. G. Lux (LF) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. J. Fraley (RF) Ten Day IL - Groin. R. Pepiot (SP) Sixty Day IL - Hip. E. Uceta (RP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. S. Wilson (RP) Sixty Day IL - Back. M. Rodriguez (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

"We just kept grinding. It was a tough offensive day. [Ryan] Weathers did a really good job getting us to expand below the zone. We had to find ways to push a run across, and I think just the willingness to go out there and get it done was the difference again." - Will Venable after his team’s win against the Yankees in their game on Thursday. 

“Any time it's a back and not an arm [injury], I think we feel better about it. But we'll see.” - Kevin Cash on the injury to Shane McClanahan after his team’s win against the Rangers in their game on Thursday.

Chase Meidroth (R) 2B

Munetaka Murakami (L) 1B

Miguel Vargas (R) DH

Randal Grichuk (R) LF

Colson Montgomery (L) 3B

Everson Pereira (R) CF

Braden Montgomery (S) RF

Luisangel Acuña (R) SS

Edgar Quero (S) C

Yandy Díaz (R) DH

Jonathan Aranda (L) 1B

Junior Caminero (R) 3B

Cedric Mullins (L) CF

Jonny DeLuca (R) LF

Victor Mesa Jr. (L) RF

Ben Williamson (R) 2B

Taylor Walls (S) SS

Hunter Feduccia (L) C

Batting Average:  Sam Antonacci (.283)

Hits:  Chase Meidroth (106)

Home Runs:  Colson Montgomery (24)

RBI:  Miguel Vargas (63)

Stolen Bases:  Luisangel Acuña (15)

Wins:  Davis Martin (9)

Saves:  Seranthony Domínguez (12)

ERA:  Duncan Davitt (0.00)

Batting Average:  Yandy Díaz (.303)

Hits:  Yandy Díaz (122)

Home Runs:  Junior Caminero (29)

RBI:  Jonathan Aranda (65)

Stolen Bases:  Chandler Simpson (26)

Wins:  Nick Martinez (10)

Saves:  Bryan Baker (30)

ERA:  Michael Grove (0.00)

Managers:

Chicago White Sox: Will Venable (2nd season)

Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash (12th season)