Rogers' *EARLY* Afternoon ASSAULT >> 17-7 This Week! 8-1 in MLB!
(MLB) Boston vs. Detroit,
Total: 8.50 | -105.00 Over
Result: Loss
The set-up: The Tigers were rained out twice this week at Chicago but the teams did manage to play two of the three games of the series (Tigers won 6-3 Tuesday but lost 11-2 on Thursday). The Red Sox opened their season with 5-3 and 3-0 (12 inn.) wins over the Pirates in Fenway but then got rained out yesterday, when the were trying to complete a three-game sweep. The postponement prompted a rotation reset. Eduardo Rodriguez, who was scheduled to start against the Pirates, will go Saturday in Detroit, keeping knuckleballer Steven Wright in line to make his season debut Friday. Boston also placed both shortstop Xander Bogaerts and reliever Matt Barnes on the bereavement list and put reliever Robbie Ross Jr. on the disabled list with a flu bug that kept right fielder Mookie Betts out of the lineup in Wednesday's 3-0 win over Pittsburgh.

The pitching matchup: Steven Wright (13-6 & 3.33 ERA in 2016) squares off against vs. Michael Fulmer (11-7 & 3.06 ERA). The Red Sox went 15-9 (plus-$339) in Wright's 24 starts last year. Wright is 0-1 with a 10.00 ERA in two starts against Detroit (team is 0-2). His worst start of the year came at home against Detroit on July 26, when he gave up eight runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings.Fulmer won the AL's rookie-of-the-year in 2016, as the Tigers were 19-7 in his 26 starts and his plus-$1292 moneyline mark ranked 6th-best among all MLB starters. He allowed three runs in 7 2/3 innings at Boston on July 27 before tying season highs by giving up six runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings in a rematch at Comerica Park nearly a month later (0-1, 6.07 ERA and team was 1-1).

The pick: Both of these guys have some ugly numbers (Wright vs. Detroit and Fulmer vs. Boston) but both are small sample sizes. Overall, Wright boasted a sparkling 2.09 ERA away from home in 2016 and allowed just one run in 13 1/3 innings during Grapefruit League play. Fulmer started slow start in 2016 (6.52 ERA through the first four) but over his his last 22, had a 2.58 ERA! The Under is an 8* play.