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It is an AL Central battle in the AL Division Series as the Detroit Tigers visit the Cleveland Guardians. It's time to continue our ALDS odds series with a Tigers-Guardians prediction and pick.
Tigers-Guardians Game 1 Projected Starters
Tyler Holton vs. Tanner Bibee
Tyler Horton (7-2) with a 2.19 ERA and a .08 WHIP
Last Start: Horton went one inning against Houston in game two of the series. He struck out one and did not give up a base runner as the Tigers beat the Astros.
2024 Home Splits: Horton is 3-2 with five saves on the road this year. He has a 1.54 ERA and a .158 opponent batting average.
Tanner Bibee (12-8) with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP
Last Start: Bibee went seven innings giving up four hits and two walks. He would allow just one run in a win over the Reds.
2024 Home Splits: Bibee was 5-4 in 16 home starts with a 4.15 ERA.
Here are the ALDS Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
ALDS Odds: Tigers-Guardians Odds
Detroit Tigers: +1.5 (-182)
Moneyline: +124
Cleveland Guardians: -1.5 (+150)
Moneyline: -146
Over: 7 (-114)
Under: 7 (-106)
How to Watch Tigers vs. Guardians Game 1
Article Continues Below
Time: 1:08 PM ET/ 10:08 AM PT
TV: TBS/TruTV/MAX
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why The Tigers Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Tigers were 19th in the majors in runs scored in the regular season while sitting 24th in batting average, 29th in on-base percentage, and 22nd in slugging. Riley Green has led the way this year. He hit .262 in the regular season with a .348 on-base percentage. Green has 24 home runs, 74 RBIs, and 82 runs scored. Also entering the playoffs off a stellar year is Colt Keith. Keith has hit .260 this year with a .309 on-base percentage. He has 13 home runs, 61 RBIs and 54 runs scored. Rounding out the top bats this year is Matt Vierling. Vierling is hitting .257 this year with a .312 on-base percentage. He has 16 home runs, 57 RBIs, and 80 runs scored this year.
In the two-game series with the Astors, Andy Ibanez was solid. He hit .667 with three RBIs in the series. Further, Matt Vierling hit .250 in the series with an RBI and a run scored. Finally, Parker Meadows hit .222 in the Wild Card round with a home run, an RBI, and two runs scored. He also stole a base. The Tigers hit .246 against the Astros with a home run and eight runs scored in the two games with the Astros.
Current Tigers have 76 career at-bats against Tanner Bibee. They have hit .316 against Bibee. Matt Vierling is 3-9 with two home runs and four RBIs. Meanwhile, Kerry Carpenter is 2-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Finally, Colt Keith is 4-9 with a triple and three RBIs.
Why The Guardians Will Cover The Spread/Win
In the regular season, the Guardians are 14th in runs scored while sitting 22nd in batting average, 18th in on-base percentage, and 16th in slugging. Jose Ramirez has led the way this year. He is hitting .279 this year with a .335 on-base percentage. Ramirez has 39 home runs, 41 stolen bases, 118 RBIs, and 114 runs scored. Further, Josh Naylor has been solid as well. He is hitting .243 with a .320 on-base percentage. He has 31 home runs, 108 RBIS, and 84 runs scored. Rounding out the best bats this year was Steven Kwan. Kwan is hitting .292 on the year with a .368 on-base percentage. He has 14 home runs, 44 RBIs, and 82 runs scored.
In the finals game before the playoffs, Jose Ramirez was hot. He was hitting .500 with two home runs, six RBIs, and a stolen base. He also scored five times. Lane Thomas was also productive. He was hitting just .133 before the playoffs but has a home run, three RBIS, and two runs scored. Rounding out the best bats as of late is Josh Naylor. Naylor was hitting .385 with a .438 on-base percentage. He has three RBIs and two runs scored. The Guardians hit .238 with five home runs and 16 runs scored in the final four games before the playoff started.
Final Tigers-Guardians Prediction & Pick
Current odds for this game one of the ALDS between the Tigers and Guardians favor Cleveland. The Tigers will be sending Tyler Horton to the mound in this one. He should get the Tigers off to a solid start. He has given up just two earned runs in his last 18.1 innings of work. The Guardians will be sending Tanner Bibee to the mound. Bibee was great down the stretch. In September he allowed just nine runs over five starts and 30.2 innings of work. That was good for a 2.64 ERA and the Guardians going 3-2. Bibee has faced the Tigers four times this year, giving up 11 runs in 24 innings. Still, the Guardians went 3-1 in those four games. Still, the Tigers are the hottest team in baseball right now. The Tigers have hit well against Bibee overall though. The Tigers have been able to pitch well with bullpen games at the end of the year, and still pitching well even when Tarik Skubal is not on the mound. Take the Tigers to win game one.
Final Tigers-Guardians Prediction & Pick: Tigers ML (+124)
