Tigers, Scherzer set for Red Sox

The best starting pitcher no one knows about takes the mound on Thursday afternoon when the Detroit Tigers host the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a four-game series at Comerica Park (1:05 PM ET, MLBN).

The man we�re talking about is Tigers righthander Max Scherzer (6-1, 2.98 ERA), as he gets set to throw against one of baseball�s best offenses on Thursday.

Scherzer has allowed only five runs over his last four starts � a span of 25 2-3 innings �and the stellar performances have lowered his ERA below 3.00, while Detroit has improved to 7-3 against the moneyline in his 10 starts this season.

Scherzer has been especially dominant at home: The Tigers are 4-1 in his five outings at Comerica Park, during which he�s posted an 0.77 ERA.

The Red Sox took both games from the Tigers in the teams� two-game set at Fenway Park last week, winning 1-0 (-180) and 4-3 (-135). Boston had yet to announce its starter for Thursday as of press, but it was expected to go with reliever-turned-starter Alfredo Aceves (1-0, 2.42 ERA).

On Wednesday in the American League, the bolstered Texas Rangers finish off a three-gamer with the Chicago White Sox at Rangers Ballpark in a matinee affair.

The Rangers activated both Josh Hamilton (shoulder) and Nelson Cruz (quadriceps) for the opener on Monday, and that'll certainly add a boost to the offense, not that they�ll need it on Wednesday with ace C.J. Wilson (4-3, 3.42 ERA) taking the ball. That said, Wilson is 0-2 with a 4.74 ERA in his last three starts.

The White Sox haven�t yet set their starter for the finale, but they�re likely to turn to Gavin Floyd (5-3, 3.88 ERA).

Over in the National League, the surging San Francisco Giants take on the Florida Marlins at AT&T Park in the middle game of a three-game series on Wednesday night.

+500 underdogs to win the NL this season at oddsmaker.ag, the Giants had cashed five in a row and 12 of their last 15 games against the moneyline heading into Tuesday night�s series opener to sit in first place in the NL West at 27-19 SU (+6.43 units).

Madison Bumgarner (1-6, 3.71 ERA) toes the rubber for San Francisco on Wednesday, but don�t be deceived by his record. The young lefthander has given up only six runs over his last five outings (33 2-3 innings), although the Giants are only 2-3 in those five games because of their anemic offense.

Chris Volstad (2-3, 5.73 ERA) takes his turn in the rotation for the Marlins, who were 26-19 SU (+6.49 units) rolling into Tuesday.