The Tampa Bay Rays will try for their fifth straight victory and second consecutive series win on Wednesday night when they visit the Chicago White Sox for the second game of a three-game set.
Tampa Bay has done much of its damage lately via a mix of situational hitting and small ball, leaving opponents on notice.
“This kind of contact-heavy, team-first approach, it’s fun to watch,” hitting coach Chad Mottola said. “But more importantly … it’s frustrating for opposing teams, because that pressure just never lets up.”
Ryan Vilade (three hits) and Ben Williamson (two hits, three RBIs) sparked the Rays to 12 hits in Tuesday’s 8-5 victory in the series opener. But true to Mottola’s assessment, Tampa Bay also found effectiveness when its foes struggled to execute.
White Sox left-hander Noah Schultz, making his major league debut, threw wide of home plate on Williamson’s sacrifice bunt in the first inning, allowing two runs to score to push the advantage to 3-0.
Chicago has lost six of its past eight games. After managing only two runs through the first three games of a weekend series in Kansas City, the White Sox have totaled 11 in the past two games.
That includes home runs from recent call-up Tanner Murray, as well as from Colson Montgomery, Everson Pereira and Munetaka Murakami.
Still, the White Sox had just three hits until the ninth inning Tuesday, when Murakami’s team-high fifth homer drew them to within the final margin.
White Sox general manager Chris Getz said that a recent trade to Toronto of infielder Lenyn Sosa, a capable hitter, illustrated the organization’s push toward a different offensive profile. Sosa also was expendable because of the glut of promising infielders the White Sox have, including Montgomery and Chase Meidroth, both currently on the roster.
Sam Antonacci and William Bergolla Jr. are middle infielders off to strong starts this season at Triple-A Charlotte, with MLB.com projecting a 2026 arrival in the big leagues for Bergolla and Antonacci in 2027.
“Lenyn did good things in a White Sox uniform,” Getz said. “We can all acknowledge that he can bring some offense. It’s more prioritizing the style of play that we want for our major league club moving forward. When you have Antonacci and Bergolla, even (recently promoted) Tanner Murray, players that offer more defensive versatility, the baserunning.”
Chicago will try to even the series against a familiar face in Rays right-hander Jesse Scholtens.
With starter Joe Boyle sidelined because of a strained elbow, the Rays will turn to Scholtens (0-0, 0.00 ERA), who made 26 appearances, including 11 starts, for the White Sox in 2023. He missed the 2024 season due to injury, and Chicago designated him for assignment last August.
He joined the Rays and made two appearances at the end of the regular season.
Scholtens helped keep the Rays afloat in an eventual 6-2 home loss to the Chicago Cubs on April 8, providing 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. He scattered four hits, one walk and four strikeouts in his only appearance this season. Most recently, he has been pitching at Triple-A Durham.
Right-hander Sean Burke (0-1, 3.60 ERA) will make his fourth start of the season for the White Sox on Wednesday.
After allowing four runs (three earned) in four innings in a 6-1 loss at Milwaukee on March 28, Burke has been steady over his past two outings. He has spaced three earned runs, two walks and 10 strikeouts over 11 innings in no-decisions against the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles.
Burke is 0-0 with a 3.24 ERA in two career starts against the Rays, with 10 strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
