Detroit at Texas
Monday, June 6th, 8:05 PM
(matchup)
Josh Hamilton is back and now so too are the Texas Rangers, owners of Major League Baseball’s longest active win streak entering Monday. Sparked by Hamilton’s 12 RBI’s in 12 games, the Rangers are coming off a four-game sweep of Cleveland and have won their last five overall. They are 9-3 since Hamilton returned and tonight will be a -140 favorite at home over the Detroit Tigers. First pitch is 8:05 ET.
Although Hamilton’s return has coincided with the Rangers’ resurgence, it is actually the pitching that has been the true catalyst. For the third time this season, the defending American League champs are coming off back to back shutout victories. They shut Cleveland out on the road in both games over the weekend, winning 4-0 and 2-0 as they remained unbeaten for the month.
The Rangers’ run differential this month is an outstanding 27-6 thanks in large part to a trio of shutout performances. The first came from Monday’s starter Colby Lewis, who allowed only four hits and struck out eight in a 3-0 win over Tampa Bay last Wednesday.
However, bettors might still be weary of Lewis thanks to his 0-5 team start record as a favorite this season. He was a +130 underdog when he beat David Price and Tampa Bay last week.
While Lewis may have struggled this year in the favorite role, his team has certainly proven to be a solid
MLB pick the last two seasons as a home favorite of -125 to -175. The Rangers are 42-18 in that betting scenario.
Opposing Lewis will be the Tigers’ Max Scherzer, who has not been pitching well of late. He’s allowed seven runs in back to back starts, and after starting the year 6-0 hasn’t won a decision in four straight outings. When Detroit took two of three from Texas earlier in the year at Comerica Park, Scherzer was on the hill for one of the wins, although he did not pick up the victory. He did pitch well, however, allowing only two runs over six innings.
Detroit has also been a good
MLB pick of late. They’ve won six of seven – including Sunday’s 7-3 win over the White Sox – to pull within 2.5 games of first place Cleveland.
Totals players know that the Tigers have been a strong Over team this season, going 19-9 Over on the road, including 13-5 vs. righties. However, here, they’ll have to deal with Lewis, who is 22-10 Under in night games.
