Tampa Bay (63-44) concluded a 4-3 road swing with a 3-2 victory at Toronto on Wednesday, increasing its AL East lead to three games over second-place Boston.

"At this time of the season, every win is an important one," starter Edwin Jackson said after earning the victory.

The Rays also won for the eighth time in 13 games overall since enduring a season-high seven-game losing streak before the All-Star break.

Victories, though, have come easier for Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field, where the club has won 13 of its last 14 series. The Rays are an AL-best 40-16 at home, and are one shy of matching the franchise record for home victories - a mark established in 2004 and equaled in 2006.

"Listen, to the fans, believe me, the more they show up the better we're going to play, I know that," Maddon told the Rays' official Web site. "It's been documented, and our guys are going to feed off that, and they have fed off that. It's great to go into our yard under those circumstances."

One of the biggest keys to the Rays' dominance at home is the pitching staff's AL-best 2.93 ERA there.

Similarly, Kazmir (8-5, 2.84 ERA) has had little trouble rolling through visiting teams. In eight home starts, the left-hander is 5-1 with a 1.68 ERA and a .168 opponent batting average. He is 18-13 in 55 lifetime starts at home - one away from tying Victor Zambrano's franchise record for home wins.

For Kazmir to equal that mark, he'll have to change his luck against Detroit (55-53). He's faced the Tigers twice at Tropicana Field and lost both times, allowing nine runs, nine hits and 10 walks in eight innings. He's 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA in six career games overall versus Detroit.

However, Kazmir beat the Tigers when he last faced them on Aug. 9, giving up three hits and striking out seven in six shutout innings of an 8-1 victory.

On Saturday, Kazmir left without a decision after allowing two runs and seven hits in five innings of a 5-3 rain-interrupted win at Kansas City.

Detroit - in the midst of a season-high 10-game road trip - earned a four-game split at Cleveland after falling 9-4 in Thursday's finale.

The Tigers finished 3-4 versus the Rays last season, but hope for a better start in this year's series behind Zach Miner (5-3, 3.65).

The right-hander has won back-to-back starts after coming out of the bullpen for his first 32 appearances of 2008. He limited the Chicago White Sox to two runs and five hits in six innings of a 6-4 home victory on Sunday.

"I was just going to try to go out there and throw strikes and be efficient," Miner told the Tigers' official Web site.

Miner aims to win three straight starts for the first time since reeling off six in a row June 10-July 8, 2006. He beat the Rays during that stretch, holding them to two runs and three hits over seven innings of a 6-2 home win on June 15, 2006.

He is 2-0 with a 2.60 ERA in six overall matchups - two starts - versus Tampa Bay.

On Thursday, the Tigers placed reliever Todd Jones on the 15-day disabled list due to shoulder inflammation. But the bullpen is expected to have Kyle Farnsworth available on Friday after the right-hander was acquired from the New York Yankees on Wednesday for All-Star catcher Ivan Rodriguez.