2*

Date/Time: Thursday June 4 / 1:05PM EST
Sport/Type: MLB / Side
Game: Boston Red Sox @ Detroit Tigers
Graded Selection: 2* Detroit Tigers +125

Detroit will look to rebound from a 2-0 deficit in this series versus the Red Sox who got a solid performance from Josh Beckett as he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning getting the 10 to 5 win on Wednesday night at Comerica Park. That came on the heels of Daisuke Matsuzaka’s first win of the season on Tuesday as the Sox defeated the Tigers 5 to 1. The Red Sox will send Tim Wakefield to the bump with a record of 6-3 W/L an ERA of 4.55 and a WHIP of 1.421. Wakefield has struggled on the highway with a record of 3-3 W/L an ERA of 5.70 and a WHIP of 1.596. Boston is 8-17 W/L their last 25 when Wakefield starts on the road, 3-7 W/L his last 10 when he is a road favorite, 6-17 W/L their last 23 when facing a team with a winning record and 8-20 W/L when he faces a winning team on the highway. The Tigers will hang their hopes of one win in this series on Dontrelle Willis who is 1-2 W/L on the year with an ERA of 5.56 and a WHIP of 1.588. Willis has pitched well when starting at home although he is only 1-1 W/L on the season but has an ERA of 2.08 and a WHIP of 1.077. In 13 innings of work at Comerica Park he has given up only 3 earned runs on eight hits. His most recent start came in a loss to Colorado where he pitched 6.7 innings giving up three earned runs on seven hits in a 3 to 1 loss. Willis’s only other home start came against Texas and he got the win pitching 6.3 innings giving up no runs on one hit in a 4 to 0 win back on May 19th. Our Pitcher Performance Index projects we will see that Dontrelle Willis in today’s game and that is one of the reasons we are backing the host in an afternoon start in the Motor City. Detroit is 14-4 W/L +9.4 units in day games this season. Boston is 30-42 (-15.0 Units) in road games vs. AL teams allowing 4.7 or less runs per game the last 2 seasons. The Red Sox are also active in a play against system that tells us to Play AGAINST MLB road teams averaging 3.5 or more extra base hits per game on the year versus an opponent whose starting pitcher is working on at least five days rest, 60-40 W/L the last three years for +15.6 units of profit when playing against these teams. We are backing the host as the Tigers steal one game in this series and cash the winning ticket for us on Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park.

Graded Selection: 2* Detroit Tigers 2 Boston Red Sox 1