McClanahan Vs. Cease, Part II

Rays vs. White Sox, 7:10 ET

This exact game just happened about a week ago and I wrote about how if you love playoff pitching, you should watch this game. This was an early season Cy Young candidate battle, and now we are treated to a second round of the battle between Dylan Cease and Shane McClanahan. We took one unit the first time, let's do it again.

The Rays are the best team in baseball and it really isn't even close. They've lost back-to-back games though and are now headed on the road to take on the underperforming White Sox. There is basically nothing that Tampa Bay isn't doing well. Their hitting has been phenomenal and they even have 48 home runs already. You expect the pitching to be excellent, and it has been, but the batting has been better than expected. Their Cy Young hopeful, Shane McClanahan, is 4-0 through five starts and has a quality start in four of the five. The one he didn't get a quality start was just a five inning outing, but he only allowed one earned run. He only allowed three hits to the Sox in the first matchup, but two of them left the yard for solo home runs.

Cease Is The Lone Bright Spot For The White Sox

What is wrong with the White Sox? They have all the talent they need to be successful. I thought the issue was Tony LaRussa last season, but they are off to a 7-18 start and it is completely embarrassing. Maybe they can turn it around, though last season's performance doesn't give me much hope that it will happen. One person who has carried over his performance from last season is Dylan Cease. His ERA is almost a full run higher than McClanahan's but most other statistics line up evenly. He did allow three earned runs in the start against the Rays but he pitched well enough to get a win. I think he can do it again here.

I mentioned in an article recently that 6.5 total is saved for the aces of staff's facing each other. I think this game is a half-run too high (and I still might take the under in that one too). Seems like the books may be doing us a favor by posting this at a 7. I'll back the under 7 in this one.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on Twitter: @futureprez2024