The Detroit Tigers (14-10) travel to face off against the Tampa Bay Rays (12-13) on Wednesday, April 24th. This game will be played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and televised on BSSUN. The Tigers are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Rays are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Tigers. First pitch is set for 6:50 ET.
Tigers vs Rays
Detroit rallied for three runs in the 8th inning in the most recent game of this Tigers vs. Rays series. The Tigers scored one run in the 3rd inning but didn’t score another run until putting up three in the top of the 8th, picking up a 4-2 win. Heading into the game, the Tigers were at +144 on the money line.
Kenta Maeda started for the Tigers, going five innings and striking out five without giving up a run. He picked up a win in the game, while Jason Foley got the save. Ryan Pepiot only went six innings for the Rays but gave up just one run on three hits.
Detroit’s offense was led by Riley Greene, who homered twice and went 2/3 at the plate. He scored all four of the Tigers’ runs. Mark Canha also had a two-hit game for Detroit.
Detroit is currently 14-10 overall and has won three straight games, with their most recent two wins coming vs. the Rays. Looking at the AL Central standings, the Tigers are in 3rd place, and they trail the Guardians by 3.5 games. Against other teams in the AL Central, the Tigers have gone 7-3.
So far, the Tigers have been really good on the road, putting together a record of 10-3. At home, they have gone just 4-7. Detroit has also been good as the road favorite, going 3-0, and they have won two straight games as the favorite.
The Tigers have been a solid bet on the run line this season, going 11-13 overall, but they’ve been especially profitable on the road, where they are 9-4 against the run line. They’ve covered the run line in six straight road games and are 10-4 vs. the run line as the underdog. Their average run margin in winning games is +2.6, while it drops to -2.8 in losses.
Today’s over/under line of 8 runs for the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays is right in line with the Tigers’ season average of 8 runs per game. The Tigers have played 23 games this season, and 11 of them have had over/under lines set at 8 runs or fewer. In those games, the over/under record is 1-4-1. The Tigers have gone over the line in just one of their last five games, and their games have averaged 7.6 runs per game this season.
Jack Flaherty Gets The Start For The Tigers
Jack Flaherty will be making his 4th start of the season for the Tigers, and it will be his 2nd road start. In his last outing, he went 6 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits, but he did strike out 10 batters. He has yet to earn a win this season, as he has a loss and a pair of no-decisions.
Tigers Offense Breakdown
For the season, the Tigers are averaging just 4 runs per game, which is 20th in the league. They have been even worse at home, averaging only 3.5 runs per contest. As a team, they are batting just .222, which is 19th in the league, and have a collective on-base percentage of only .298.
Kerry Carpenter has been a bright spot for the Tigers, as he is batting .293 for the season and went 11/35 in his last eight games. Carpenter’s 13 RBIs are the best mark on the team and 11th in the league. Mark Canha and Riley Greene are both on three-game hitting streaks, with Canha batting .260 for the season and Greene at .247.
Tampa Bay is looking to get back to .500 today, as they are currently 12-13 and have lost three straight games. The Rays dropped the final two games of their series vs. the Yankees and lost the first game of this series vs. the Tigers. In the AL East, the Rays are in 5th place and are 4.5 games behind the Yankees.
So far, Tampa Bay has gone 10-10 when favored and 2-3 as the underdog. They have also dropped two straight games at home and are 7-9 at home this season. As for the Tigers, they are 8-16 vs. the Rays’ 12-13 record.
The Rays have been a poor run-line bet overall this season, going 9-16 on the run line. That includes a 4-12 mark at home, where they have lost six straight run-line bets. They have been better on the road, going 5-4 on the run line, including a two-game run-line win streak as the underdog.
The Tampa Bay Rays have played 25 games this season, and the over/under line has been set at 8 runs in five of them. In those games, the over has hit four times. Overall, the Rays have played 25 games, and the over/under line has been set at 8 runs in 16 of them. In those games, the over has hit 11 times.
Shawn Armstrong Gets The Start For The Rays
Right-hander Shawn Armstrong gets the start for the Rays today as he faces the Tigers at home. Armstrong has made two starts this year and has yet to pick up a win, going 0-1 with an ERA of 4.09. In his eight appearances, Armstrong has a WHIP of 1.18 and opponents are batting .214 this season. Armstrong’s last outing came out of the bullpen, where he went two-thirds of an inning and didn’t allow a run. He finished with a no-decision in that outing. Armstrong has finished with a no-decision in each of his last three outings.
Rays Offense Breakdown
So far this season, the Rays are averaging 3.8 runs per game, which is 22nd in the league. They are batting .240 as a team, which is 14th in the league. The team’s top home run hitters are Isaac Paredes and Amed Rosario, who each have two homers. Paredes is also batting .274 and has driven in 16 runs, which is 8th in the league. Rosario comes into the game with a team-best batting average of .346.
Over his last eight games, Rosario has gone 13/33 with one home run and six RBIs. Richie Palacios has also been swinging a hot bat, going 6/18 in his last seven games. He has one home run and two RBIs during that stretch. Palacios is batting .286 for the season.
Tigers vs Rays Prediction
For this Tigers vs. Rays matchup, we really like the Rays to pick up the win at home. And with the money line payout sitting at -115, this is the best way to play this one.
Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Jack Flaherty lasting longer in this one than Shawn Armstrong. However, we have Armstrong finishing with more strikeouts, and his projected earned runs are also better than Flaherty’s.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.
Last updated:April 24, 2024 Rays, Tigers