Tigs Continue West
The Detroit Tigers know they’ll need to keep playing as well as they have recently to continue to climb up the AL standings. More games against NL teams would certainly help.
The Tigers open a three-game road series against the slumping San Diego Padres on Friday night, looking to continue one of their best stretches of the season.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made San Diego -115 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 8.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 76% of bets for this game have been placed on Detroit +105 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
After a disappointing start left Detroit (34-38) in last place in the AL Central standings as recently as May 23, the Tigers have moved into third place – eight games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox – following a 10-2 stretch since June 7.
Five of those wins have come in interleague play against the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco. Detroit enters this series after winning two of three against the Giants, including Wednesday’s 7-2 victory.
"We’re big boys," manager Jim Leyland said. "We know we put ourselves in a hole. We’re just playing the kind of baseball the fans expect from us. Expectations were high. We’ve never given up on anything. Just keep playing and whatever happens, happens. You can’t make it up in one day."
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The Tigers have averaged 5.7 runs during the last 12 games and 6.7 runs in their last two interleague series. They had 10 hits on Wednesday, including four from red-hot Placido Polanco, who doubled and drove in two runs. Polanco is hitting .469 (23-for-49) with eight runs scored and eight RBIs in his last 11 games.
Detroit faces San Diego’s Greg Maddux (3-5, 3.31 ERA) in the series opener. Maddux is still looking for his first win since career victory No. 350 on May 10. He is 0-2 in his last seven starts since then despite posting a 2.95 ERA during that stretch.
Maddux pitched six innings against Cleveland on Sunday, allowing five runs – two earned – and eight hits in a 7-3 loss. He has lost five straight decisions against the AL since beating the White Sox in 2005.
Maddux is 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in two career starts against the Tigers, last facing them in 2002.
The right-hander takes the mound looking to help San Diego (31-43) snap a four-game losing streak. The Padres were swept in a three-game series by the Yankees, losing Thursday’s finale 2-1.
San Diego has scored only nine runs during its four-game skid, which followed an 8-2 stretch.
"I think they’re battling," hitting coach Wally Joyner told the Padres’ official Web site. "I think they’re frustrated. … They want to do well, to contribute."
Thursday’s loss dropped the Padres to 2-7 in interleague play with all of those games on the road. San Diego was 2-7 at home against the AL last season.
Taking the mound for the Tigers will be rookie Eddie Bonine (1-0, 10.13), who makes his second major league start. The 27-year-old right-hander, called up to from the minors to take the place of struggling Dontrelle Willis, pitched 5 1-3 innings against the Dodgers on Saturday, allowing six runs and nine hits in the Tigers’ 12-7 victory.
Detroit is 5-1 against the Padres in interleague play, the only loss coming in San Diego on June 5, 2003.
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