Bet on Baseball with Detroit Tigers at Tampa Bay Rays

The Detroit Tigers were outslugged in their last series but after that they look to get the upper hand when they open a four-game series against the host Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. The Tigers reflected a season high with 17 hits on Wednesday, but fell for the second time in three outings when they dropped a 13-9 decision to red-hot Texas.

Tampa Bay was finished by the heat – as well as a timely homer by Billy Butler – as Kansas City capped a surprising three-game sweep with a 5-4 victory on Wednesday.

Being accustomed to being at home should be something that Tampa Bay should work on – it will play 17 of its next 21 games in the Sunshine State. The Rays may also get a boost as designated hitter Luke Scott is “pretty certain” to be activated from the disabled list on Thursday, according to manager Joe Maddon. Scott has been sidelined for the last 2 1/2 weeks with back stiffness.

Detroit Tigers at Tampa Bay Rays
When: 7:10 PM ET, Thursday, June 28, 2012
Where: Tropicana Field, St Petersburg Florida

Tampa Bay opened as -135 favorites according to some sports betting sites online. Bet on baseball with the best and choose Sportsbook.com.

Pitching Match Up: Tigers RH Max Scherzer (6-5, 5.12 ERA) vs Rays RH James Shields (7-4, 3.99 ERA)
Scherzer is already pitching just two days after his brother’s death. He had fared well in his outing against Pittsburgh on Saturday. The 27-yearl-old allowed just three runs on as many hits in six innings, but suffered the loss, Scherzer has dropped both career decisions versus Tampa Bay.

Shields let five runs on seven hits in five innings but walked away with a no-decision against Philadelphia on Saturday. He has won all five career decisions versus Detroit – including an eight-inning outing on April 11. He allowed just two hits and scattered six hits in 4-2 win.

Bet on Baseball with these Tips:
• Detroit’s Brennan Boesch dropped from sixth to eighth in the batting order as he deals with a prolonged slump. Boesch, who was 3-for-33 in his previous 10 games, went 1-for-5 with an RBI single on Wednesday.
• Tampa Bay right-hander Kyle Farnsworth pitched well in his second rehabilitation outing for Triple-A Durham. He is expected to be activated this weekend.
• Detroit’s Alex Avila is not letting patellar tendinitis slow him down. Avila went 3-for4 with an RBI on Wednesday. He is just 3-for-11 in his career against Shields.