Streaking Ahead
A recent stretch of strong hitting has helped the Detroit Tigers inch closer to matching their longest winning streak of the year.
The Tigers look to continue their resurgence at the plate and pick up a season high-tying fourth straight victory as they host the struggling Minnesota Twins on Friday in the opener of a three-game series.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Detroit -147 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 9.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 89% of bets for this game have been placed on Detroit -147 (View MLB Bet Percentages). Bet this game.
Detroit (20-27) is among the AL leaders with a .265 batting average, but the club managed just 12 runs and went 4-for-40 with runners in scoring position during a 1-5 road swing.
But in winning the first three games of their current six-game homestand, the Tigers totaled 30 runs and went 16-for-33 (.485) in scoring situations. They capped this productive stretch with a 9-2 victory over Seattle on Thursday.
Brandon Inge hit a three-run homer, and Matt Joyce went deep for the fifth time in nine games for the Tigers, who completed their first three-game home sweep of the Mariners since 1995.
"This is the type of thing that will remind us that we are a good team," Inge said. "We just need to relax and play."
Jeremy Bonderman won for the first time in four starts, while Freddy Dolsi tossed three shutout innings to earn his first major league save for Detroit, which last won four in a row April 21-24.
While the Tigers appear to be finding success, manager Jim Leyland is cautious as his team has been in this position before.
"We’ve gotten some pitching, we’ve scored some runs and we’ve won some games, so everyone feels better about themselves," said Leyland, whose club is last in the AL Central.
"We’ve gotten excited before, though, and then we went back into the poor habits that surprised me, so we have to see if we can keep this going."
The Tigers will try to further their momentum behind Armando Galarraga (3-1, 3.06 ERA), who has helped his team win five of his six starts.
In a 3-2 triumph at Arizona on Saturday, he walked a career-high five, but limited the Diamondbacks to just two runs and one hit in six innings.
Galarraga, who has faced the Twins twice in his career, suffered his lone loss of the year in Minnesota (23-24) on May 2. The right-hander allowed four runs and six hits in six innings of an 11-1 defeat.
The Twins lost their first two games against the Tigers this season before completing a three-game home sweep earlier this month. They hope to win four straight against them for the first time since a five-game run Sept. 8, 2006-April 28, 2007.
To do that, they must win at Comerica Park, where they have dropped four in a row – their longest winless stretch there since an eight-game skid Sept. 14, 2005-Aug. 7, 2006.
Minnesota begins a six-game road trip after losing seven of its last 10 games, most recently an 8-7, 10-inning defeat to Texas on Thursday.
"One more big hit and we would’ve had it," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "They’re up there trying. Guys are getting after it and rooting for each other."
Carlos Gomez homered and drove in three runs for the Twins, who hope to avoid their fifth three-game losing streak of the season with Kevin Slowey (0-4, 5.49) on the mound.
In his last outing, the right-hander gave up three runs and seven hits over 5 2-3 innings in a 6-2 defeat at Colorado on Sunday.
Slowey was tagged for four runs and nine hits over six innings in an 8-5 win in Detroit on June 30.
Twins shortstop Adam Everett was placed on the 15-day DL Thursday with a strained right shoulder – an injury separate from the one that sidelined him earlier this season. Bet this game.
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