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Tigers-Rays Preview

Jul 26, 2010 - 4:15 AM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Detroit (50-45) at Tampa Bay (58-38), 7:10 p.m. EDT

Owners of the best road record in the majors, the Tampa Bay Rays have played much better at Tropicana Field lately.

Hoping to continue that trend, the Rays open a season-high 11-game homestand Monday night when they face an injury-depleted Detroit Tigers team that hasn't won a road series since May.

Tampa Bay (59-38), which trails the AL East-leading New York Yankees by three games, returns home following a 5-4 trip that ended with Sunday's 4-2 win over Cleveland. The Rays improved to a major league-best 33-18 on the road and now face Detroit, the Yankees and Minnesota in the club's longest homestand since a 13-game stretch from Aug. 15-28, 2005.

Since dropping 12 of 19 at Tropicana Field from May 24-June 27, Tampa Bay is 6-1 at home.

Matt Garza (10-5, 4.36 ERA), who is 3-0 in his last four starts at Tropicana Field, gets the ball in the opener hoping to rebound from a terrible outing. Making his first start in 10 days due to the All-Star break, the right-hander was tagged for a season high-tying seven runs and 10 hits in Tuesday's 11-10, 13-inning loss at Baltimore. Garza also served up a career high-tying four homers - one off the club record.

"Every time I saw a replay, it seemed like (Garza) was missing his spots," manager Joe Maddon told the Rays' official website. "He was trying to go down here and it was up here, an up-and-in thing. I don't think he was getting the ball where he wanted to."

Garza is 0-4 with a 5.85 ERA in six career starts versus the Tigers.

Trailing the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox by two games, Detroit (51-46) is looking to move past its worst two-week stretch of the season. The Tigers have lost nine of 12 and will be without Brandon Inge (broken hand), Magglio Ordonez (fractured right ankle) and Carlos Guillen (strained right calf) on this seven-game trip after all three were placed on the 15-day disabled list within the last six days.

Playing for the first time since Ordonez and Guillen were injured Saturday, the Tigers split a day-night doubleheader with the Blue Jays on Sunday. Ryan Raburn's bases-clearing double in the nightcap sparked a four-run eighth inning and helped Detroit to a 6-5 win.

"That was impressive, losing both of those guys last night and coming back to get a split in the second game," manager Jim Leyland said.

Detroit, though, is 16-29 away from Comerica Park. The Tigers, who have averaged 2.2 runs and batted .221 while losing six straight on the road, have not won a series away from Detroit since sweeping a two-game set in Oakland from May 19-20.

Max Scherzer (7-7, 4.43) will try to help the Tigers avoid their first seven-game road losing streak since July 4-28, 2009. In Wednesday's 4-1 victory over Texas, the right-hander threw seven shutout innings to help Detroit snap a season-high seven-game slide.

"He pitched a great ballgame," Leyland said. "That's what it normally takes to break a string like this."

This will be Scherzer's first start versus Tampa Bay.

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria went 0 for 10 in the weekend series in Cleveland, but he is batting .345 at home. He is hitting .385 (10 for 26) with four homers and 10 RBIs in six career home games versus Detroit.

Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who is 14 for 28 during a seven-game hitting streak and leads the majors with 88 RBIs, has batted .250 with nine RBIs in 18 career games in St. Petersburg.