Tuesday night in Major League Baseball features a full slate of games with all 30 teams in action. One of the more exciting games will be between the Detroit Tigers and the Tampa Bay Rays. It is the second of a four-game series between two teams who are three games out of first place in their respective divisions.
On Monday, the Tampa Bay Rays (60-38, 27-20 home) won in a historic way. Matt Garza pitched a no-hitter in defeating the Tigers 5-0 to become the first Rays pitcher in franchise history to toss a no-hitter. It was a nice break for a franchise that has often been on the wrong end of such pitching performances. They have been held hitless four times in their 13-year history – three times in the past year. Of those three in the past year, two were perfect games.
The Rays have been the best road team in the majors, but they are currently in the midst of an eleven game home stand. After Detroit, they will face two other AL contenders in the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins.
The Detroit Tigers (51-47, 16-30 road) has struggled since the second half of the season began. They lost their first six coming out of the All-Star Break and are 3-9 overall in that timeframe.
Detroit’s Tuesday night starter, Justin Verlander (12-5, 3.76 ERA) has pitched a no-hitter of his own in his career and is coming off of a solid outing in which he gave up two earned runs in eight innings of Thursday’s 5-2 victory over Toronto. He is 4-0 with a 3.24 ERA in his last five starts.
Tampa Bay will start James Shields (8-9, 4.90 ERA). The Rays’ opening day starter has struggled as of late, posting a 7.25 ERA in his last ten starts after posting a 2.99 ERA in his first ten. He has lost his last five home starts – the longest home losing streak of his career. In those five losses, he had an 8.10 ERA.
