Bodog Beat

The Tampa Bay Rays just won’t die. (AP Images)

After dropping into a tie with Boston in the American League East, they beat the Red Sox in back-to-back games to improve to 90-60 (26.97 units). There’s a new hero every day for the Rays; it was Dioner Navarro on Tuesday and Willy Aybar on Wednesday. We expect a check in the mail when “Willie Wednesdays” becomes the next hot promotion in Tampa.

The Twins? Ugh. They’ve dropped four in a row to fall to 82-70 (12.88 units) and 2.5 games behind the White Sox in the AL Central. This is their Waterloo. Tampa is a –160 favorite in Thursday’s series opener with Minnesota; James Shields (3.50 ERA, 4.05 xFIP) starts for the Rays against Glen Perkins (4.40 ERA, 5.02 xFIP). Perkins only has two quality starts in his last 10 outings, yet Minnesota is 6-4 during that span. Getting run support against Shields and the highly motivated Rays? I wouldn’t bet on it. Do you want to bet on it? Get your MLB odds in the Bodog Sportsbook today.