First-place teams clash as White Sox visit Rays

In their first matchup this week with an American League division leader, the Tampa Bay Rays were victorious in two of three games against the Texas Rangers to win their 20th series of the season.

The AL East-leading Rays will hope to make it number 21 when they square off with the tops in the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox, on Friday night in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Manager Kevin Cash's Rays won the series against the AL West-leading Rangers on Thursday when Cedric Mullins' tiebreaking solo homer in the eighth inning gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 win.

That series win helped the Rays move to 20 games above .500 at 64-44 -- the best record in the American League. Forty of those wins have come at home, which tops the majors.

Good things are happening for the Rays, and Cash attributed much of Thursday's victory to two dynamite defensive plays by right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. that bookended the game.

In the first inning, Mesa ran down Brandon Nimmo's gapper, which likely that likely would have scored a run. And in the ninth inning, it was an improbable sprint and backhanded snare of Evan Carter's drive toward the right field line that would have at least tied the game at 3 and left a big mess for closer Bryan Baker.

"The instincts and jumps and reads (of Mesa) just come out of nowhere," said Cash, whose group is 3 1/2 games ahead of the New York Yankees. "He plays with so much confidence out there, but we have four or five outfielders who are pretty fearless."

Left fielder Jonny DeLuca also hit a solo homer to give all three outfielders key contributions.

The White Sox's magical, turnaround campaign continued Wednesday and Thursday on the South Side after losing the first two at home against the Yankees.

The first-place club, which dropped 102 games last season and a record-setting 121 in 2024, rallied from a 4-0 deficit Wednesday by withstanding some incredible five-man infield defense by New York, ultimately winning on Edgar Quero's 12th-inning single.

On Thursday, All-Star outfielder Tristan Peters worked a base on balls on four pitches with the bases loaded in the 11th inning to drive in the winner on a walk-off walk.

The White Sox recorded their AL-best ninth walk-off win, notching consecutive victories that way for the first time since June 3-4, 2023.

"This is a special group. Just to get a win against the Yankees is awesome," said Peters, whose first walk-off was a single against the Toronto Blue Jays in Chicago's home opener on April 3. "Everybody's ready to go, and we're not going to give up. It's just grit."

The White Sox will embark on a pair of three-game road series in Tampa Bay and Boston over the next week before hosting Cleveland next Friday.

Manager Will Venable's team is six games over .500 with a two-game lead over the Guardians.

Erick Fedde (5-6, 4.25 ERA) will pitch for Chicago in a matchup of right-handers Friday. He is 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA in two career starts against the Rays.

Tampa Bay with send out its leader in victories, 10-game winner Nick Martinez (10-2, 2.45). The All-Star is 2-4 with a 4.82 ERA in eight games (five starts) versus Chicago.

-Field Level Media