Tampa Bay hosts Detroit following Morton's strong showing
Detroit Tigers (37-82, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (71-52, second in the AL East)
St. Petersburg, Florida; Saturday, 6 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Tigers: Jordan Zimmermann (1-8, 7.13 ERA) Rays: Ryan Yarbrough (11-3, 3.56 ERA)
LINE: Rays favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
Tampa Bay heads into the matchup after a strong showing by Charlie Morton. Morton threw seven innings, surrendering zero runs while striking out 10.
The Rays are 31-29 on their home turf. The Tampa Bay offense has compiled a .255 batting average as a team this season, Eric Sogard leads the team with a mark of .306.
The Tigers are 20-39 on the road. Detroit's team on-base percentage of .293 is last in the MLB. Miguel Cabrera leads the club with an OBP of .338. The Tigers won the last meeting 2-0. Drew VerHagen earned his third victory and Travis Demeritte went 2-for-3 with a double for Detroit. Charlie Morton registered his fifth loss for Tampa Bay.
TOP PERFORMERS: Austin Meadows leads the Rays with 45 extra base hits and is slugging .522. Avisail Garcia is 8-for-30 with a double, three home runs and six RBIs over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
Cabrera leads the Tigers with 48 RBIs and is batting .281. Jordy Mercer is 11-for-29 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Detroit.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rays: 6-4, .239 batting average, 3.10 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs
Tigers: 5-5, .276 batting average, 5.70 ERA, outscored by 20 runs
Rays Injuries: Blake Snell: (elbow), Tyler Glasnow: (forearm), Yonny Chirinos: (finger), Anthony Banda: (elbow), Tommy Pham: (hand), Avisail Garcia: (right oblique), Joey Wendle: (wrist), Brandon Lowe: (leg), Yandy Diaz: (foot).
Tigers Injuries: Jordan Zimmermann: (neck), Tyson Ross: (nerve), Matt Moore: (knee), Blaine Hardy: (elbow), Michael Fulmer: (elbow), Christin Stewart: (concussion), JaCoby Jones: (wrist), Jeimer Candelario: (thumb), Grayson Greiner: (back).
