AL Central teams meet in the ALDS as the Detroit Tigers take on the Cleveland Guardians.
Cleveland earned a bye in the Wild Card round after finishing with the AL's second-best record. The Tigers had to face the Houston Astros in a best-of-three, and they won the first two games to advance.
Detroit starting pitcher and Cy Young Award favorite Tarik Skubal threw a six-inning gem in Game 1 in which he allowed four hits, struck out six batters and walked one en route to a 3-1 win. In Game 2, the Tigers used seven different pitchers and Andy Ibanez knocked in three runs for a 5-2 win.
The Guardians went 7-6 against the Tigers this season, which included a 3-3 record in Detroit and a 4-3 record in Cleveland.
One question heading into this series is how the Tigers cope when Skubal is not on the mound. The bullpen game in Game 2 of the Astros series indicates that manager AJ Hinch will rely on his relievers, especially since only one other Tigers starter - Reese Olson - had an ERA under 4.00 and a WHIP under 1.200 this season.
For the Guardians, the question is how quickly they can find their form after the week off. Cleveland certainly has the stronger roster as five hitters have an OPS above .750, but three of the four teams who earned Wild Card byes last season lost in the Divisional Series.
The Tigers and Guardians are the two lowest-scoring teams remaining in the playoffs. The average MLB team scored 711 runs this season - Cleveland scored 708 and Detroit scored 682. That said, both teams ranked in the top five teams in fewest runs allowed per game and fewest total runs allowed.
In what projects to be a series of fine margins between two relatively low-scoring teams, let's get into the odds for the Tigers-Guardians tilt in the ALDS.
DET Tigers | +110 |
CLE Guardians | -130 |
Series Score | Tigers to win | Guardians to win |
3-0 | +625 | +475 |
3-1 | +400 | +350 |
3-2 | +375 | +375 |
Total Games Line | Over | Under |
3.5 | -370 | +265 |
4.5 | -200 | +150 |
Road Wins Line | Over | Under |
0.5 | -2500 | +1000 |
1.5 | -125 | -115 |
2.5 | +215 | -310 |
3.5 | +1400 | -5000 |
4.5 | +1800 | -20000 |
Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.