Ty Madden (0-0, 2.38) is back. The Tigers are activating the righty off the 15-day IL to start the opener after he took a line drive off the right forearm on May 15 and made one Triple-A rehab tune-up in Toledo. Opposite him, Griffin Jax (1-3, 3.60) gets the ball for Tampa, his last outing a 2-inning, 38-pitch cameo in Baltimore as Kevin Cash continues stretching him out into a real starter's workload.
The state of the Tigers' rotation is why Madden's even getting this start. Tarik Skubal is still throwing simulated games at Tropicana Field as he works back from the elbow. Casey Mize is waiting on MRI results on his groin. Reese Olson is done for the season after labral surgery. Justin Verlander is on the 60-day with a hip and just got to a bullpen. So a guy with a 2.38 ERA in basically a cup of coffee gets thrown into a Tropicana Field assignment because there's no one else.
- Day-To-DayDugan Darnell RP — The Tigers announced Sunday that Darnell (hip) has been playing catch five times a week and is also taking part in a running progression, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
- Day-To-DayJosue Briceno C — Briceno said Friday that he expects to be sidelined a few months after having surgery Wednesday to repair a tendon in his right wrist, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
- 10-Day-ILGleyber Torres 2B — Torres (oblique) will travel to Triple-A Toledo on Friday to begin a rehab assignment, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILJavier Baez SS — Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday that Baez is scheduled to meet with a specialist in the near future for further evaluation on his sprained right ankle, which hasn't healed as quickly as the team hoped, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILTy Madden SP — Madden (forearm) is expected be activated from the 15-day injured list and start Monday's contest on the mound versus the Rays, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
- 15-Day-ILCasey Mize SP — Mize (groin) played catch Thursday and is still waiting on the results of his MRI, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
- 15-Day-ILKenley Jansen RP — Jansen is awaiting results of an MRI on his right groin, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
- 15-Day-ILTarik Skubal SP — Skubal (elbow) will throw another simulated game Monday at Tropicana Field, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
- Day-To-DayAustin Vernon RP — The Rays have shut Vernon down from throwing due to right elbow soreness, per MLB.com.
- Day-To-DayTre' Morgan 1B — Triple-A Durham placed Morgan on the 7-day injured list with a quad injury, Sam Dykstra of MLB Pipeline reports.
- Day-To-DayAlfredo Zarraga RP — no
- 10-Day-ILJonny DeLuca RF — DeLuca is expected to miss 6-to-8 weeks after an MRI revealed a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.
- 10-Day-ILJake Fraley RF — Rays manager Kevin Cash said Monday that Fraley (hernia) will require surgery and will face a recovery timeline of 6-to-8 weeks, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
- 15-Day-ILCraig Kimbrel RP — The Rays placed Kimbrel on the 15-day injured list Sunday due to a right wrist strain.
- 15-Day-ILJesse Scholtens RP — Scholtens was charged with a blown save and dropped to 5-3 on the season in Monday's 9-7 loss to the Orioles in 13 innings after yielding five runs (three earned) on four hits across 1.1 frames. He struck out one batter.
- 60-Day-ILManuel Rodriguez RP — Rodriguez (elbow) has no timetable to progress to facing live hitters, MLB.com reports.
Tampa is 36-20 and gets to play a Tigers team that just got swept in 3 by the White Sox — yes, those White Sox — scoring a grand total of 5 runs in the series. Detroit's lineup is also missing Gleyber Torres (oblique, currently on a rehab assignment in Toledo), Javier Baez (ankle, no real timetable), and Parker Meadows (multiple months after wrist surgery). It's a skeleton crew showing up to face the AL East leader.
The Rays aren't perfectly healthy either. Craig Kimbrel just hit the 15-day IL with a wrist strain, which is a real bullpen hit at the back end, and Jonny DeLuca and Jake Fraley are both shelved for 6-to-8 weeks. But Tampa just took the rubber game from the Angels behind a 5-2 win on Sunday and the offense has shown plenty of pop at home when it gets the chance.
The market reflects all of this and then some — Tampa is a -172 home favorite with the total at 7.5. Hard to argue with the price given the Tigers' offense looks like it's running on fumes and Madden is making his first MLB start in weeks after a forearm injury. If you're betting it, the cleaner play is probably the under: Jax has only worked 2 innings in his last outing, but Tampa's bullpen behind him doesn't have to do much if Detroit keeps hitting like it has this past week.