The Rays look to snap a season-high losing streak and turn to their All-Star left-hander in hopes of doing so.
Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers
Tampa Bay was nearly no-hit in a 1-0 road loss to the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon and have managed to hit for a combined .149 average in dropping five straight games. This recent skid is the club’s longest losing streak of the season, after the team had gone 10-1 in their previous 11 games. “I was beginning to think no-hitters were commonplace,” said third baseman Evan Longoria. “It seems like we’ve been a part of and watched so many this year.” Rays outfielder Carl Crawford returned to the lineup yesterday after two days of rest, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Tampa is 7-3 in Monday games this season (+340) and 27-19 on this day the past three years (+620). The Rays are also a dominating 34-17 against teams with losing records in 2010 (+410).
Boston will try to salvage a split in this four-game series after dropping the last two contests, including a 7-2 defeat last night on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. “This was a huge opportunity for us, trying to gain ground on these guys and Tampa Bay,” said third baseman Adrian Beltre. “But unfortunately it didn’t work out the way we wanted.” The Red Sox are now seven games back of the Yankees and 4.5 away in the Wild Card race. The club is now an even 4-4 this month (-340) and 38-25 in August the last three years (+780). Boston has also slipped up against divisional foes in 2010, posting a 21-22 record (-530), with the total being 24-17 O/U in those games. The banged up ball club did receive some encouraging news over the weekend, as second baseman Dustin Pedroia (left foot) has plans of returning to the lineup on August 17
Boston suffered a 5-2 loss to the Yankees in the second game of this four-game showdown at Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox have still won eight of their last 12 games and 10 of their last 16 overall. The team has had its trouble against tonight’s opponent recently, dropping 10 of the last 14 meetings since August 23, 2009 and are 5-15 versus the Yankees since August 6, 2009. Since 2003, the Red Sox trail 80-74 in the series, but have outscored the Bronx Bombers by a 859-828 margin. Boston is 52-32 in night games this season (+870) and the total is 45-35 O/U in those contests. Third baseman Adrian Beltre will likely lead the offensive charge, coming into tonight’s contest with a 13-game hitting streak. The team is hoping outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury can get things going in front of a national audience, as he’s hitless in 12 at-bats since returning from the disabled list.
Tampa Bay has lost a season-worst four games in a row and is facing being swept for the first time since May 24-26. The Rays fell 17-11 in Saturday’s defeat, but manager Joe Maddon found some positive things to take away from the loss. “I really love the way we stayed with it all the way through,” he said. “I really appreciated our guys’ effort today.” Despite dropping the first two games of this series, the club still has 33-20 record on the road (+960), which is the best mark in baseball. Tampa is also a solid 21-12 during the day (+600) and the total is 14-18 O/U in those contests. The Rays are 6-5 on the season against the Blue Jays and 2-3 at the Rogers Centre.
Cincinnati has turned the tide against the Cubs this season, blanking them 3-0 at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon. The Reds are now 8-3 against them this season, after tallying a disappointing 5-10 mark in 2009. At 62-48, the club is a season-high 14 games over .500 after winning five of their past six games, including a 4-1 mark on this road trip. The team must remain focused over the next two games and not look ahead to a three-game series against the Cardinals starting Monday. “I can’t put too much importance on St. Louis because they’re not here yet,” manager Dusty Baker said. “You have to win games now before we get there.” The pitching staff has posted a 3.01 ERA since June 17, which is the second-best mark in the majors over that span, behind only the White Sox (2.87). Cincinnati is 20-18 in day games this season (-50) and the total is 11-22 O/U in those contests. The Reds are also 3-4 this season (-170) and 11-14 the last three years after shutting out an opponent (-140).
Washington took two of three games against the Dodgers in a three-game series in the nation’s capital back in April 23-25, limiting them to five runs over that span. The Nationals suffered a 8-4 defeat to the Diamondbacks last night, as they commited three fielding errors that led to four runs. “Obviously, we played sloppy,” said third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. “We need to clean that up.” With 109 games in the books, the team’s 48 wins to date easily surpasses the 36 victories they earned at this point last season. Washington has struggled on the road as of late, posting a 10-31 mark outside of the DC area since May 13. The Nationals are 20-38 overall on the road (-790) and the total is 25-29 O/U in those games. Don’t forget to bet this team during August, going 31-33 over the last three years for a surprisingly healthy profit (+1,140).
San Francisco entered this four-game series winning 21 of their last 27 games since July 4, but fell 3-2 in defeat in the opener at Turner Field. The Giants have now dropped back-to-back games for the first time since July 1-2. “We’ve won these kind of games. Look at the Dodgers series,” manager Bruce Bochy said after the game. The club has a good chance of bouncing back over the weekend, given its 6-0-2 series record in their last eight sets. San Francisco is 37-33 this season against teams with a record above .500, while going 25-14 versus losing teams. The Giants are 29-28 on the road this season (+120) and the total is 31-25 O/U in those contests. The team is 46-35 when facing right-handed starters in 2010 (+780) and a solid 166-147 in this situation over the last three seasons (+2,580). San Francisco hasn’t dropped three in a row since a season-high, seven-game skid from June 26-July 2.
Boston picked up a 6-2 victory in the final game of a four-game series against the Cleveland Indians and now will head off for a 10-day, 10-game road trip to New York, Toronto and Texas. We’re probably going on as it looks right now the most important road trip of the season, most important 10 games of the season,” said second baseman Bill Hall. The Red Sox are in third place in the AL East division and sit 5.5 games back of tonight’s opponent. In losing first baseman Kevin Youkilis for the year, the club will be leaning on All-Star third baseman Adrian Beltre more than ever. He is hitting .336 with 20 home runs and 75 RBIs. The Red Sox are 20-21 against the division this year (-570) and 106-86 versus the AL East over the last three years (+230). Boston brings a 3-1 record into this contest as a road underdog of +125 to +150 this season (+320).
Cincinnati has won six of its last eight games and moved its record to 10-1-1 in its last 12 series. The Reds will now face off with a team that they’ve beaten five of six times this year, outscoring the Cubs by a 49-13 margin. “Yeah, we’ve got to keep winning series and hopefully you throw a sweep or two in there somewhere,” manager Dusty Baker said. The club is just a game over .500 with a 19-18 record this season (-150) and the total is 11-21 O/U in those contests. Cincinnati is averaging 4.1 runs per game and hitting for a combined .259 average during the day, which is almost a full run lower (4.9) than its average for the year. Playing divisional opponents has provided a boost to the team’s record all season, coming into this three-game series with a 31-18 record against NL Central opponents (+1,340).
