Division leaders White Sox, Rays square off in series finale

Last July, a few weeks before the MLB trade deadline, the Tampa Bay Rays shipped the 37th overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft to the Baltimore Orioles for reliever Bryan Baker.

With the benefit of hindsight, it looks like the Rays pulled off a coup.

The Rays will finish a typically successful homestand of nine games Sunday afternoon when they host the American League Central-leading Chicago White Sox in St. Petersburg, Fla. Tampa Bay enters the finale with a 6-2 record on the homestand, with Baker responsible for saving five of the six victories.

Baker (1-0, 1.45 ERA) has transformed an average and unspectacular six-year career into an All-Star campaign in 2026, slamming the door on the opposition as the AL East frontrunner's closer.

He arrived in Florida with three saves and eight blown saves in the first 174 games (two starts) of his career. But this season, the 31-year-old from Fort Walton Beach, Fla., has blossomed into one of baseball's top relievers. He leads the majors with 31 saves including 20 consecutive, the third-longest streak in club history.

"It all comes back to going with the game plan these guys have for us -- they do such a great job," Baker said of the Rays' coaching staff.

In the series' middle game on Saturday, the Rays found success on the mound as Drew Rasmussen struck out 10 over six scoreless innings before turning the game over to the bullpen. Relievers finished the game by allowing one hit and striking out six more batters.

Baker got the save with a very quick, six-pitch ninth inning in a game that zipped along in two hours, 14 minutes.

The pitching performance was better than in the series opener, won 6-1 by the White Sox on the strength of four home runs.

On Saturday, the Rays improved to 41-17 at home and 29-3 in the dome when scoring first.

Despite scoring just two runs through two games in the series, Tampa Bay moved to 20 games above .500.

The White Sox saw their three-game winning streak end, keeping the race in the Central tight with Cleveland and Minnesota. Their lead remained at three games after the Guardians and Twins, tied for second in the division, both lost.

Manager Will Venable's squad was blanked 1-0 for just the second time on the season -- the Toronto Blue Jays did it two weeks ago -- and only produced five singles and one at-bat with runners in scoring position.

Losing pitcher Noah Schultz, who tossed five innings behind opener Jordan Hicks, said no blame should have been handed to Chicago's offense, which is third in homers and second in runs scored in the American League.

"The offense has been so good all year. Games like this happen. It's baseball. You play 162 for a reason," the 6-foot-10 left-hander said.

Chicago will send out another left-hander in Sunday's rubber game when Anthony Kay (7-5, 4.25) makes his 21st start and 23rd appearance.

Kay went 1-2 with a 3.80 ERA in five July starts with wildness (10 walks and five hit batters in 23 2/3 innings) being his primary problem, especially considering he allowed just 17 hits.

Kay has no record and a 3.86 ERA in eight outings, two as a starter, against Tampa Bay.

Griffin Jax (6-8, 3.74) will make his 34th career appearance - his most against any club - when he faces the White Sox on Sunday, though it will be just his fourth start against them.

The right-hander is 3-2 with a 2.81 ERA against the White Sox.

Jax has rotated wins and losses in six consecutive outings. He dropped a hard-luck 4-1 decision to Texas on Tuesday, allowing one earned run, while fanning 10 over 5 2/3 innings.

--Field Level Media