Rays-Rangers Lines Preview

A winning streak will be on the line for the Texas Rangers on Friday when they battle the Tampa Bay Rays at Rangers Ballpark. Ace lefthander Scott Kazmir will take the mound for the Rays to start this game. Kazmir is 4-4 this season with a 7.28 ERA. It'll be Tommy Hunter toeing the rubber for the Rangers in this contest. Righthander Hunter is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA so far this season. Oddsmakers currently have the Rays listed as 140-moneyline favorites versus the Rangers, while the game's total has not yet been posted. The Rays were shut out 5-0 by the Blue Jays last time out, as -130 favorites. The team's played UNDER the posted over/under (8.5). James Shields surrendered seven hits and five runs over 7 1-3 innings in the loss. Hank Blalock hit a walk-off two-run homer as the Rangers got past the Angels 9-7 on Wednesday, as a -105 pick'em. Tht game's 16 runs sailed OVER the posted over/under (9.5). Blalock finished 3-for-5 at the plate with two home runs for three RBIs, while Frank Francisco earned the win in relief for a 2-1 overall record. Current streak: Texas has won 2 straight games. Team records: Tampa Bay: 44-36 SU Texas: 42-35 SU Tampa Bay most recently: When playing on Friday are 5-5 Before playing Texas are 7-3 After playing Toronto are 6-4 After a loss are 5-5 Texas most recently: When playing on Friday are 7-3 Before playing Tampa Bay are 4-6 After playing LA Angels are 5-5 After a win are 5-5 A few trends to consider: The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games Tampa Bay is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Tampa Bay's last 8 games on the road Tampa Bay is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Texas's last 16 games at home The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas's last 5 games when playing Tampa Bay The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas's last 5 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay The total has gone UNDER in 18 of Texas's last 24 games Next up: Texas home to Tampa Bay, Saturday, July 4