Baseball Betting Rays at Rangers - Tampa Faces Red Hot Texas

Scott Kazmir and the Tampa Bay Rays (44-36) could have their work cut out for them on Friday at 8:05pm EST as they face a red-hot Texas Rangers (42-35) offense. The Rangers have scored 18 runs in their last two games, back-to-back wins over the Los Angeles Angels. Hank Blalock hit a two-run home run to give the Rangers a 9-7 win in baseball betting odds on Wednesday. "We won that game with heart, fight and desire," manager Ron Washington said. "You all had us in the grave, buried and with dirt on us. But we played good baseball tonight. ... The character of the clubhouse showed up tonight."

The Rangers face lefthander Scott Kazmir on Friday. Kazmir was on the disabled list for much of the early part of the season but he came back last weekend and allowed only two runs and four hits to Florida. "I wanted to go out there and prove something," said Kazmir, "I can definitely build off this start and hopefully get on a roll." Kazmir is 4-0 with a 2.09 ERA in seven career starts against Texas. Tampa Bay is coming off a 5-0 loss in baseball betting at Toronto where they got only four hits. The loss snapped the Rays season-high seven-game winning streak. "We had chances, we just didn't get it done," outfielder Pat Burrell said. The Rays will face Texas starter Tommy Hunter on Friday. Hunter is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA. Vegas baseball betting odds at the Hilton sportsbook have the Rays -140 favorites against the Rangers +130 with a betting total of 11 UNDER -120.

Rays at Rangers MLB Baseball Betting Odds and Stats

The Rays are 6-0 in their last 6 games vs. a right-handed starter. The Rays are 4-1 in their last 5 road games. The Rays are 18-6 in Kazmir’s last 24 starts vs. the American League West. The Rays are 7-0 in baseball betting for Kazmir’s last 7 starts vs. the Rangers. The Rangers are 9-3 in MLB betting for their last 12 home games vs. a left-handed starter. The Rangers are 2-5 in the last 7 meetings between the two teams. The Under is 5-0 in baseball betting for the Rays last 5 overall. The Under is 7-1 in the Rays last 8 road games vs. a right-handed starter. The Over is 4-0 in Kazmir’s last 4 road starts. The Under is 5-1 in the Rangers last 6 home games vs. a left-handed starter. The Under is 24-8-1 in the Rangers last 33 home games. The Under is 4-0 in baseball betting odds for Hunter’s last 4 starts overall. The Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Texas.