Gameday Preview (Saturday): Rays Look to Continue Mastery Over Tigers

TAMPA, Fla. — It's an early work day for the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. They'll take on the Detroit Tigers, the best team in baseball right now, in an early 12:10 p.m. ET start.

The Rays won the series opener 14-8 on Friday. So with a win on Saturday, the Rays would move to a season-high nine games above .500 and improve to 7-1-2 in their last 10 series, 9-2-2 in their last 13 and 12-4-2 in their last 18.

They would remain unbeaten in their last eight home sets, improving to 7-0-1, their longest stretch since May 2–June 25, 2023 (7-0-2). They've also been really good against the best teams in the game. A win Saturday would improve them to 4-2-0 vs. teams that entered the series leading their division, recording their fourth straight series win over such clubs (also: at San Diego, at the New York Yankees and at the New York Mets. They'd be 6-0-1 in their last seven sets vs. teams that entered with a .500 or better record.

Here are the details on the game:

How to watch Tigers-Rays

Who: Detroit Tigers (48-29) at Tampa Bay Rays (42-34)
When: Saturday, June 21 at 12:10 p.m. ET
Where: Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, Fla.
TV: FanDuel Sports Sun; MLB Network
Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM/620 AM, WQBN 106.7/1300 AM (Spanish)
Betting information: The Rays are favored on the money line at HardRockBet.com at minus-135, and the Tigers' money line odds are plus-115. On the run line, you can bet the Rays minus-1.5 at plus-140 odds, and the Tigers plus-1.5 runs at minus-185 odds. The over/under is 8.5 runs.

Here are the starting lineups for both teams:

Tigers batting order

Colt Keith 1B
Gleybar Torres 2B
Kerry Carpenter DH
Riley Greene LF
Wenceel Perez RF
Javier Baez SS
Zach McKinstrey 3B
Parker Meadows CF
Jake Rodgers C

Rays batting order

Yandy Diaz DH
Brandon Lowe 2B
Junior Caminero 3B
Jonathan Aranda 1B
Christopher Morel LF
Josh Lowe RF
Jose Caballero CF
Taylor Walls SS
Danny Jansen C

Pitching matchup

RYAN PEPIOT, Tampa Bay Rays: Ryan Pepiot is 4-6 with a 3.11 earned run average. ... The 27-year-old Indianapolis native is making his 16th start of the season and he has been terrific in his last five starts, dating back to May 25. He's 2-1, and has allowed only six runs in 33 1/3 innings, good for a 1.62 ERA. ... In his last start on Monday against Baltimore, he pitched a career-high eight innings in a 7-1 win, allowed just a run and four hits. He was efficient, too, getting those 24 outs on just 96 pitches.

SAWYER GIPSON-LONG, Detroit Tigers: Sawyer Gipson-Long, a 27-year-old from Lithia Springs, Ga., is making his fourth appearance of the season for Detroit. He's 0-0, with a 3.97 ERA. ... He's pitched 11 1/3 innings so far, and has 10 strikeouts and just two walks. ... He started four games for the Tigers in 2023, and pitched five innings in each game. He was 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA and the Tigers won three of his four starts.

Newsy Tigers-Rays nuggets

TOUGH MATCHUP FOR CARPENTER: Detroit slugger Kerry Carpenter won't like seeing Ryan Pepiot on the mound on Saturday. He's 0-for-9 against him all-time, with three strikeouts. Parker Meadows has struggled as well, going just 1-for-7. Riley Greene has had the best success], going 2-for-5 with a home run. ... No Rays hitters have ever faced Gipson-Long

STRANGE LOSS FOR TIGERS: The Detroit Tigers still have the best record in baseball, but they had a historic loss on Friday night, falling 14-8. It was the first time all year that they've scored eight runs or more in a game — and lost. They were 27-0 before Friday night. ... It was also strange that they lost a series opener. They were 20-4 before Friday night.