Posted on 4/24/2008 12:48:49 PM

MLB Baseball Betting – Struggling Rangers Face AL Foe Tigers

By Eric Williams

The Texas Rangers, (7-14, 10-10-1 O/U) have struggled mightily to find Major League-quality pitchers the last several years and have hired former star and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan to help get the team back on track after multiple years of failures that have been caused primarily by their lack of quality pitchers.

Maybe the Rangers should have hired Ryan to pitch as the team has been getting some absolutely atrocious performances from their entire pitching staff.

After calling Wednesday’s game correctly in the BetUS Sportsbook, the Rangers have now lost five consecutive games and eight of their last ten, including Wednesday’s whopping 19-6 loss to the Detroit Tigers, (8-13, 11-10 O/U) as starting center fielder Curtis Granderson made his return to the Detroit lineup after missing the season’s 21 games because of a broken finger on his right hand.

The Rangers will get another dose of bad news as the Tigers will get another starter back in the lineup for tonight’s contest in second baseman Placido Polanco as they try to complete a sweep of their three-game series.

The Rangers, who have allowed a whopping 29 runs in two games against the Tigers, will send Triple-A hurler Scott Feldman (0-0, 4.50 ERA) to the mound to make his second career start after allowing three runs on eight hits in six innings in his first major league start on April 13, a 5-4 loss to Toronto

The right-hander made 55 appearances as a reliever for the Rangers over the last two seasons.

Detroit right-handed starter Jeremy Bonderman (1-2, 4.37 ERA), had a solid performance in his last outing despite picking up a 3-2 loss, limiting the Toronto Blue Jays to three runs on five hits and six walks in five innings.

The Rangers have lost 11 of their last 13, fueling speculation that manager Ron Washington's job may not be safe much longer.

"Any time a team is in a losing streak, the manager's job is on the line," Washington said. "It falls on me when the team isn't playing well. I'm the manager ... that's the way it goes."

Granderson had an historic season for the Tigers in 2007, becoming just the fourth player in major league history to record 20 home runs, 20 doubles, 20 triples and 20 stolen bases.

"It's coming along good. Very positive for us," Detroit catcher Ivan Rodriguez said. "It's a lineup, from 1-9, we can hit."

Here is a look at tonight’s key trends, followed by my MLB Betting Picks.

The Rangers are 0-4 in their last 4 games vs. a right-handed starter.

The Rangers are 0-6 in their last 6 vs. American League Central.

The Tigers are 4-1 in their last 5 games on grass.

The Tigers are 5-2 in their last 7 vs. American League West.

The Over is 6-0 in Rangers last 6 games with the total set at 9.0-10.5.

The Over is 4-0 in Tigers last 4 games as a home favorite.

The Over is 5-0 in Bonderman’s last 5 starts vs. Rangers.

The Rangers are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings in Detroit.

The Rangers are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings.

Analysis: The Texas Rangers and Scott Feldman are in for serious trouble tonight as the Tigers are getting their confidence up – along with their respective batting averages. Take the Tigers to rock and troll tonight. MLB bettors.

MLB Free Picks: Tigers 10 Rangers 3

01:05 PM EST MLB Odds

Texas Rangers

Scott Feldman - R +1½ -130

Detroit Tigers

Jeremy Bonderman - R -1½ +110

Over 10 -110

Under 10 -110

American League

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