MLB Baseball
2012-04-11 - Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
United States: Major League Baseball
Wednesday 11 April 2012 - First Pitch 1:05pm ET
6:05pm (British Standard Time)
Preview
The Detroit Tigers (4-0) have made their best start in 6 years and they are looking to complete their second series win of the new season ast they entertain the Tampa Bay Rays (3-1) in Game 2 on Wednesday afternoon.
Prince Fielder continued his hot start for the Tigers since signing from the Milwaukee Brewers and he has been joined by a number of his team mates in the higher batting average category as Detroit have started up to the expectations of them.
A lot of people expected them to have one of the deeper batting line ups in the Major League and they have not disappointed by providing 31 runs in their first 4 victories this season.
They might not need to get up to that kind of speed as they hand the ball to Justin Verlander for the second time this season. Verlander did not get the decision in the first game he pitched against the Boston Red Sox as the bull pen blew a 2 run lead in the final innings, but he did not allow a run in that game.
Verlander has struggled in his career when pitching in April and it was actually the first time he had pitched in this month and NOT given up a run when lasting 7 innings. He brings in a 6-1 record against the Tampa Bay Rays, although he did allow 6 runs in a 7-6 home win last season, the worst performance of the entire 2011 season for the ace pitcher.
Tampa Bay have been pretty effective with their bats to open the season, but they were held to 2 runs yesterday after scoring 18 in their first 3 games against the New York Yankees. They will hand the ball to James Shields and hope he can bounce back from his first game this season.
Shields was tagged for 6 runs by the Yankees in just 5 innings pitched, but he will look at his career record in Detroit as a means to boost his confidence. The pitcher has a 2-0 record from 3 starts in this ball park and a 3.00 ERA.
He finished with a 16-12 record last season and a 2.82 ERA. This will be the first time Shields has pitched against Detroit since the 2010 season, and he has given up 12 earned runs from the last 20 innings he has faced the Tigers.
Head to Head
Detroit finished the 2011 season with a 6-1 record against the Tampa Bay Rays, and they have now won 8 of the last 9 games between the teams.
The Tigers have won their last 5 home games against the Rays since their last defeat in August 2010.
Other Interesting Trends
Detroit are 42-18 in their last 60 games when Justin Verlander pitches following a Quality Start.
They are 22-4 in their last 26 Game 2 appearances.
Tampa Bay are 1-4 in their last 5 games as the road underdog and James Shields on the mound.
Prediction
I am going to back the Detroit Tigers on the run line in this one for the following reasons:
First, the Tigers bats have started the season in very hot fashion and they could take advantage of James Shields if he struggles as he did against the Yankees.
Second, Justin Verlander has pitched well for the Tigers on opening day and he could be a tough task for the Rays. Verlander struggled in his home game with the Rays last season, but he did limit them to 1 earned run in his last time out against them.
Third, Detroit have dominated the recent series against Tampa Bay.
The Pick :
Detroit Tigers 5-2 Tampa Bay Rays
