The Tigers finish out the season chasing a wild-card birth as they play the 3rd game against the Rays tonight.
Date: Thursday 09/26
Time: 1:10 PM ET
Location: Comerica Park, Detroit, MI
Game Time Weather:
Rays Preview
The Rays will end their season on a 6-game road trip and will be playing game 3 in Detroit tonight against the Tigers.
Tampa Bay is currently a disappointing 78 - 80 on the season and are officially eliminated from the playoffs. They are 5 - 5 in their last 10 games and are only 30 - 32 since the All-Star break. The Rays are 36 - 41 on the road and have a 59 - 62 record against right hand pitching.
The Rays are 27th in batting average (.230) and hits (1211), 29th in slugging percentage (.368) and 28th in OPS (.671). Tampa’s pitching wasn’t horrible this season as they are 9th in pitching ERA (3.81), 8th in OBA (.236), 11th in strikeouts (1368) and 5th in walks allowed (438).
Tampa will start Tyler Alexander today. The lefty is 6 - 5 in 22 appearances, primarily as a relief pitcher. He has a 5.35 ERA with 84 strikeouts and a 1.27 WHIP. Alexander has a 4.47 road ERA with 32 K’s and had a no-decision in his last appearance going 4.1 innings and giving up no runs on 2 hits with a walk and six strikeouts.
Some other trends:
They are 4 - 2 straight up in their last 6 games
They are 1 - 4 straight up in their last 5 games against Detroit
They are 1 - 4 straight up in their last 5 games against AL Central opponents
RANDOM: They are 11 - 2 in their last 13 games played on a Thursday
Tigers Preview
Detroit has played lights out in the last few weeks going 7 - 3 over their last 10 games including a sweep of the Kansas City Royals to catch them in the wild-card race.
The Tigers are 84 - 74 on the season and are tied for 2nd place in the AL Central with the Royals who are struggling to stay alive in the playoff race. Detroit is 37 - 24 since the All-Star break and have a 41 - 36 home record while compiling a 19 - 12 record against left hand pitching.
Detroit is 24th in batting average (.230) and hits (1248), 22nd in slugging percentage (.387) and OPS (.686). Their pitching has fared much better as they are 3rd in pitching ERA (3.60), 6th in OBA (.234), 20th in strikeouts (1328) and are 2nd in the league in walks allowed (409).
The Tigers will trot out right hander Reese Olson who is 4 - 8 on the season with a 3.49 ERA, 98 K’s and a 1.19 WHIP. Olson is 3 - 4 at home with a 3.47 home ERA and 41 K’s and had a no-decision against the Orioles last week where he went 3 innings giving up one earned run on one hit with three K’s and a walk.
Some other trends:
They are 8 - 1 straight up in their last 9 games
They are 11 - 2 straight up in their last 13 games at home against the Rays
They are 5 - 1 straight up in their last 6 games against the AL East
Final Thoughts
The Rays are out of the playoffs and, among other things, there is a hurricane coming through the Gulf that is going to impact the Tampa Bay area today and their minds may be on their family’s, so their focus may not entirely be on winning this game and, let’s face it, they are just trying to get through the season.
But Detroit is in the hunt and has had a massive run to catch the Royals and put themselves in position to grab a wild-card spot in the playoffs. Their focus will be clear and their purpose defined so I expect them to come out ready to play.
The money is heavy on Detroit with an 85% bet split and the line has some steam, opening at -162 (DK) and sitting currently at -170.
My Pick: Detroit Tigers ML -156
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