* The Rays won six of ten contests with the White Sox in 2008, including being victorious in four of seven games played at Tropicana Field.
* The White Sox are making their first postseason appearance since winning the World Series in 2005. Chicago went 11-1 that postseason, with a 6-0 road record.
* The Rays are making their first postseason appearance in the franchise’s 11 year history. Prior to this season, the most wins Tampa Bay recorded in a season was 70 in 2004.
* Javier Vasquez struggled through his last three starts of the regular season, allowing 19 runs (18 earned) in only 12 innings. Vasquez allowed 18 hits, four of which were home runs in these contests.
* James Shields was 8-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 16 starts at Tropicana Field in 2008. The Rays were 13-3 in Shield’s starts at Tropicana. Shields also had a home start at the Ballpark at Disney which the Rays won.
* In 10 games against Tampa Bay this year, Jim Thome hit .375 (12-for-32) and slugged .781 (25/32) with three home runs, nine runs batted in and five runs scored.
* Carl Crawford is 11-for-26 (.423 batting average) against Javier Vasquez in his career.
* In his career against the White Sox, B.J. Upton is hitting .431 (22-for-51), his highest batting average against any opponent with a minimum of four games played against.
Copyright 2008 STATS LLC
