Rays vs. White Sox final score: Tampa stays hot, beats Chicago, 6-2

The Tampa Bay Rays are still in the hunt for the last Wild Card spot, as they beat the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, 6-2. It was the Rays' 10th win in their last 11 games, and they are 2½ games behind the Athletics for the last Wild Card berth.

David Price won his 20th game of the year, pitching seven strong innings, giving up two runs and striking out four. Rookie Jose Quintana took the loss for the White Sox. Fernando Rodney pitched a scoreless ninth, striking out two and lowering his ERA for the year to 0.61.

B.J. Upton hit his 27th and 28th home runs and batted in three runs, and Ryan Roberts had a solo home run to pace the Rays offense.

The Rays head home to end their regular season with an absolutely massive series against the Baltimore Orioles. Alex Cobb will face Bruce Chen on Monday night at 7:10 p.m. ET to start the series.

MLB Standings: Rays clinging to slim playoff hopes

With only four games remaining in the regular season and trailing by three games in the American League Wild Card chase, the Tampa Bay Rays are facing a must-win situation beginning Sunday against the Chicago White Sox.

The Rays trail the Oakland Athletics by three games for the second AL Wild Card spot. If the Rays lose Sunday and the Athletics win, Tampa Bay will be eliminated from the playoffs. The good news for the Rays is they have been playing extremely well lately. Tampa Bay has won nine of its last 10 games.

They've won two of the first three games against Chicago and will then finish the season with three games at home against the Baltimore Orioles. The Rays currently trail Baltimore by four games in the AL East. The Orioles are tied for the division lead with the New York Yankees.

While the Rays have been playing well lately, they have been unable to gain significant ground recently as the Athletics and Orioles have both been winning as well. Baltimore has won its last three games with Oakland has won two straight.

Complete MLB standings can be found at Sports Illustrated.

Rays vs. White Sox: Lineups announced for Sunday

The Tampa Bay Rays are still fighting for a wild card spot in the American League playoffs, but it may be too little, too late for the Rays, who are three games out of a wild card berth with only four games left.

The White Sox, meanwhile, have slid in the AL playoff picture and trail the Detroit Tigers by two games in the Central division lead. Chicago has dropped eight of its last 10 and are eliminated from wild card contention.

That's what makes this game compelling -- two teams desperately motivated, but on opposite ends of the spectrum. Check out the lineups for Sunday here:

Rays

1. Desmond Jennings (R) LF
2. B.J. Upton (R) CF
3. Ben Zobrist (S) SS
4. Evan Longoria (R) 3B
5. Jeff Keppinger (R) 1B
6. Luke Scott (L) DH
7. Ben Francisco (R) RF
8. Ryan Roberts (R) 2B
9. Chris Gimenez (R) C

White Sox

1. Dewayne Wise (L) CF
2. Kevin Youkilis (R) 3B
3. Adam Dunn (L) DH
4. Paul Konerko (R) 1B
5. Alex Rios (R) RF
6. A.J. Pierzynski (L) C
7. Dayan Viciedo (R) LF
8. Alexei Ramirez (R) SS
9. Gordon Beckham (R) 2B

Rays vs. White Sox: Time, TV, radio and more

The Tampa Bay Rays will try to keep up their hot streak when they take on the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. David Price will take the hill for the Rays, where he'll face off with rookie Jose Quintana. Price hasn't lost a decision since August 27th against the Rangers, and the Rays will need him to keep up his form for them to have a chance to sneak into the wildcard game.

The Rays have won nine of their last ten games, but still sit three games behind the Athletics for the final AL wild card berth. An Oakland win and a Tampa loss would eliminate the Rays, as would two Oakland victories in their remaining games, regardless of how the Rays do.

First pitch on Sunday is 2:10 p.m. ET from Chicago. The game will be shown on Sun Sports and TBS. The radio broadcast can be heard on WFLA 970 and WAMA 1550 (Spanish).

Rays vs. White Sox final score: Tampa takes 10-4 win over Chicago

The Tampa Bay Rays have won nine of their last ten games, but remain on the outside of the playoff race after a 10-4 win over the Chicago White Sox. Matt Moore threw 5⅓ innings of one hit ball for his 11th win of the year. Chris Sale took the loss for the White Sox, giving up five runs in only 3⅓ innings of work. Sale did manage to strike out seven. Chris Archer earned a rare three inning save.

Matt Joyce hit two home runs for the Rays, and Jeff Keppinger and Chris Gimenez each contributed one home run a piece. Orlando Hudson hit a grand slam in the ninth for the White Sox in the eight inning, but the game was no longer in doubt by that point.

The Rays, despite the win, failed to gain any ground on the Athletics for the final wildcard spot. Tampa will look to finish off the White Sox series with a win on Sunday. First pitch is set for 2:10 p.m. ET.

Rays vs. White Sox game preview: Tampa's Matt Moore faces off against Chicago's Chris Sale

The Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox have split the first two games of their four-game weekend set, but the Rays will be looking for a big win on Saturday as they try and keep their slim postseason hopes alive. Tampa had been on an eight-game winning streak before losing 3-1 on Friday night at U.S. Cellular Field.

And while Tampa still has an opportunity to make the playoffs, Friday's loss definitely hurt their chances. The Rays now sit three games behind the Oakland A's for the second spot in the AL Wild Card after Oakland defeated the Seattle Mariners on Friday, 8-2. Tampa has just five games left to play in the regular season.

On Saturday, the Rays will turn to rookie pitcher Matt Moore, who is 0-4 with a 5.72 ERA in his last six starts. In his last three outings on the mound, the left-hander has lasted just four innings or less. The White Sox are expected to send Chris Sale to pitch opposite Moore. The last time these two met was in May with Moore taking the loss, as the White Sox went on to sweep the series with the Rays.

Rays vs. White Sox: Tampa Bay falls, 3-1, in crucial game against Chicago

The Tampa Bay Rays dropped a 3-1 decision to the Chicago White Sox on Friday night at U.S. Cellular Field, taking a step in the wrong direction if they are going to earn a playoff berth.

Ben Zobrist gave the Rays a 1-0 lead with a two-out homer in the first inning, but that was all the scoring the Tampa Bay hitters would be able to produce. The Rays managed just two hits over the next eight innings: singles by Luke Scott and Jeff Keppinger.

Jeremy Hellickson (9-11, 3.20 ERA) didn't pitch poorly, but without much run support, he couldn't avoid the loss. Hellickson gave up three runs -- two earned -- on nine hits in 5⅔ innings. Gavin Floyd (11-11, 4.47 ERA) picked up the win for Chicago, allowing a run on two hits in five innings. Addison Reed recorded two outs in the ninth inning to earn his 29th save.

The loss wasn't a crushing blow to the Rays' playoff hopes, but it certainly didn't help. The American League East race is all but over, as the New York Yankees hold a five-game lead with five to play. Tampa Bay is now 2½ games out of the final AL Wild Card spot.

2012 MLB Standings: Rays Can Eliminate White Sox Friday

The Tampa Bay Rays are one of five American League teams still mathematically alive for one of the two Wild Card spots. They can eliminate one of those teams with one more win over the Chicago White Sox.

The Rays (86-70) and White Sox (82-74) meet Friday night after Evan Longoria's ninth-inning homer gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 win in Thursday night's opener of the pivotal 4-game set in Chicago. Each team has six games remaining.

Tampa Bay is 2 games behind the Oakland Athletics for the second and final playoff spot, as are the Anaheim Angels. Baltimore is the top seed, a game ahead of Oakland. Chicago, after leading the AL Central most of the season, finds itself on the outside looking in, 2 games behind the Detroit Tigers. Chicago's elimination number for the Wild Card is down to 1.

The third-place Rays are still alive for the AL East crown, as well, just 4 games back of the division-leading New York Yankees, though it'd take near-perfect play and a Yankees collapse for that to happen. The Wild Card is still very much in play for Tampa Bay, even if they are one of four teams fighting for a spot during the season's final week.

Rays vs. White Sox: Game preview, TV schedule and more

The Rays are still clinging on to their playoff hopes with six games left to play.

Rays vs. White Sox final score: Evan Longoria home run leads to 3-2 victory for Tampa Bay

In game one of a four game series between two playoff hopefuls, the Rays came out victorious thanks to a ninth inning solo home run from Evan Longoria that broke a 2-2 tie and led to a 3-2 win for the Rays.

The Rays began the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth from Carlos Pena that drove in Ben Zobrist, but that lead didn't last for long. James Shields hit Dayan Viciedo with a pitch in the bottom of the frame while the bases were loaded, but was able to get out of the jam and avoid further damage.

A Luke Scott solo home run in the top of the fifth inning gave the Rays the lead once again, but Paul Konerko tied the game for the White Sox when he hit a grounded into a double play that scored Alejandro De Aza.

The scoring stopped there, though, as neither team was able to score for the next three innings until Evan Longoria hit a solo shot off Brett Myers in the top of the ninth. With a one run lead, Fernando Rodney came in to the game and got each of the first two batters out before allowing a single to Kevin Youkilis. However, he sealed the game and earned the save with a strikeout of Adam Dunn.

The win keeps the AL East title four games out of reach and keeps the Rays just two games behind the Oakland A's for the final wild card spot.

Game two of the four game series will take place at 8:10 p.m. ET on Friday night.

Rays vs. White Sox lineup: James Shields faces off against Jake Peavy

The Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox open a four-game set on Thursday with both teams needing to win as the 2012 MLB season draws to a close. The Rays postseason hopes are in jeopardy as they sit 2½ games back in the AL wild card standings with seven games left to play.

Meanwhile, the White Sox are trying to catch the Detroit Tigers who hold a 1½-game lead in the AL Central. Chicago swept Tampa in St. Petersburg when these two teams met in May, and winning at U.S. Cellular Field won't be an easy task for the Rays this time around.

Both teams have released their lineups for Thursday night's matchup. First pitch will be at 8:10 p.m. ET.

And now, the lineups for the visiting Rays:

1. Desmond Jennings (R) LF
2. B.J. Upton (R) CF
3. Ben Zobrist (S) SS
4. Evan Longoria (R) 3B
5. Carlos Pena (L) 1B
6. Jeff Keppinger (R) 2B
7. Luke Scott (L) DH
8. Matt Joyce (L) RF
9. Jose Lobaton (S) C
Pitcher - James Shields (R)

Here are the lineups for the home White Sox:

1. Alejandro De Aza (L) CF
2. Kevin Youkilis (R) 3B
3. Adam Dunn (L) DH
4. Paul Konerko (R) 1B
5. Alex Rios (R) RF
6. A.J. Pierzynski (L) C
7. Dayan Viciedo (R) LF
8. Alexei Ramirez (R) SS
9. Gordon Beckham (R) 2B
Pitcher - Jake Peavy (R)

Rays vs. White Sox game time, TV schedule and more

Tampa is fighting for its life in the Wild Card race, while the Sox are just a game off the Tigers in the AL Central.