Tigers vs. Rays prediction and odds for Thursday, March 30 (Miggy's Victory Lap Begins)

Last season, the Tampa Bay Rays made it to the playoffs with 86 wins and finished third in the AL East. It wasn’t a great season, but it was a whole heck of a lot better than the one that the Detroit Tigers had. They finished with 66 wins, fourth in the AL Central, but the past is the past. 

It’s Opening Day, the slate has long been wiped clean and everyone in the MLB has one thing, hope. Though some more than others. There's a good chance by the time Spring turns to Summer that Detroit’s season is more about Miguel Cabrera’s victory lap than anything else. 

For Opening Day, we get to see Shane McClanahan on the mound in Tampa Bay against Eduardo Rodriguez. Let’s check out the odds for this matchup on Thursday. 

Tigers vs. Rays odds, run line and total

Run Line: 

• Tigers +1.5 (-125)
• Rays -1.5 (+115)

Moneyline:

• Tigers +190
• Rays -205

Total: 7 (Over -110/Under -110)

Tigers vs. Rays prediction and pick

You just know a team is bad when their opening day starter is a 29-year-old with a career ERA of 4.15. That’s the case with Eduardo Rodriguez and the Tigers. He did have one very strong year for Boston in 2019, but that's a long time ago now.

Last year he had a 4.05 ERA, but his expected ERA was in the 34th percentile of the league and he didn’t miss bats at all. He had a strikeout rate of 18.4% and a whiff rate that was in the fourth percentile of the MLB. 

The thing is, the Tigers need good pitching because last year, they were last in runs and home runs, hitting 17 less than the next closest team, and as a team their OPS was .632 which ranked 29th. 

That lineup might improve some this season with Spencer Torkleson developing after a disappointing rookie season and Riley Greene take a leap, or if Austin Meadows plays like the all-star he was in Tampa Bay and Javier Baez returns to vintage form, so therein lies the hope for this team, but it’s a longshot.

It certainly isn’t going to all come together against McClanahan

With a team this poor on offense, at least if they don’t improve greatly from last year, I’ll take the under on Opening Day because I see more value there than on either side. 

Pick: Under 7 (-110)

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change