The Tampa Bay Rays will look to bolster their win total and reward moneyline bettors when the Detroit Tigers invade Tropicana Field on Thursday.

Tampa Bay hands the ball to starter James Shields in this one and he'll try to improve on his 7-4 mark on the year. Detroit counters with Max Scherzer, who will try to quiet the fans and the Rays bats at the same time.



View Detroit vs Tampa Bay Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Tampa Bay opened as -134 moneyline favorites in this baseball match, based on the starting pitcher matchup. That pairing made odds makers settle on an Sportsbook over under number of 8.

Power Rankings:
This game matches up the No. 4 (Rays) and the No. 8 (Tigers) teams in their respective leagues, according to our current MLB Power Rankings.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Tampa Bay's No. 9-rated American League offense, averaging 4.2 runs per game, against a Tigers defense that ranks No. 10 in the American League at 4.6 in runs allowed per game. The Rays have averaged 7.7 hits per game so far, less than Tigers batters have averaged on the year (9 hits per game).

Tampa Bay owns the American League's No. 6 defense, allowing 4.1 men per game to cross the plate. That contrasts with Detroit's American League No. 10-rated defense.

Last time out for Detroit, they were a 13-9 loser as they battled the Rangers on the road. Moneyline bettors who got the Rangers at -135 were rewarded, while the 22 combined runs moved the game OVER for totals bettors. Detroit suffered a 13-9 loss against Texas on Wednesday, as Doug Fister wasn't able to lead his team to victory at Rangers Ballpark.

The Rays were a 5-4 loser in their most recent outing on the road against the Royals. That made Sportsbooks of bettors who got Kansas City at +124 on the moneyline, while the total score (9) was good news for UNDER bettors. Tampa Bay suffered a 5-4 loss against Kansas City on Wednesday, as Matt Moore wasn't able to lead his team to victory at Kauffman Stadium.


Detroit Tigers Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 3-7
Before playing Tampa Bay are 7-3
After playing Texas are 3-7
After a loss are 6-4

Tampa Bay Rays Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 7-3
Before playing Detroit are 6-4
After playing Kansas City are 5-5
After a loss are 4-6

A few Tigers at Rays trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay
Detroit is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games when playing Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Detroit's last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games when playing Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing at home against Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 7 games at home
Tampa Bay is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home


Next up:
Detroit at Tampa Bay, Friday, June 29