Cleveland Guardians vs. Detroit Tigers July 4 Betting Preview

As the United States celebrates its Independence Day on Monday, there are sure to be fireworks as two AL Central rivals square off when the Cleveland Guardians (40-36) take on the Detroit Tigers (30-47) in a doubleheader. The first game is scheduled for 1:10 pm ET from Comerica Park.

The Guardians come in having lost two of three to the Yankees over the weekend, but they did salvage the finale with a 2-0 win on Sunday. In the win, Triston McKenzie was fantastic, allowing just one hit and one walk in seven innings while striking out seven. The one hit was the only one allowed all game as the bullpen threw two scoreless innings.

Offensively, Franmil Reyes hit his sixth home run of the season as part of a two for four night. He also added two runs batted in. Steven Kwan was the only other Guardian with multiple hits as he was two for four.

The Tigers also dropped their series over the weekend to the Kansas City Royals. They lost on Sunday 7-4. In the loss, Tarik Skubal lasted just 4.2 innings, giving up five runs on five hits and three walks.

The Tigers’ offense hit two home runs including Spencer Torkelson’s fifth of the year, but it wasn’t enough to cover up their pitching shortfalls.

Betting Odds

The Guardians are the favorites in the first game despite playing on the road. They are -142 to win while the Tigers’ moneyline sits at +120. The runline features the Tigers +1.5 (-144), and the over/under for total runs is 8.5.

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Pitching Matchup

In the first game of the doubleheader, the Guardians will be sending righty Zach Plesac to the mound. In 14 games, Plesac is 2-5 with a 3.86 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and has 57 strikeouts in 79.1 innings pitched. In his last three starts, he has given up just two earned runs on 11 hits in his last 18 innings combined.

The Tigers will counter in the first game with 26-year-old Garrett Hill. This will be Hill’s professional debut, although he was 4-2 with a 3.23 ERA in the minors this year.

For the second game, the Guardians will send Konnor Pilkington to the mound. The Tigers will send righty Alex Faedo (1-4, 4.84 ERA) to the mound for the nightcap.

Guardians Welcome Break In Tough Schedule

For the first time in the last 17 games, the Guardians will finally be facing a team with a sub-.500 record. While the Guardians will welcome the drop in talent, they can’t let their guard down as they look to chip away at their two game divisional deficit.

Jose Ramirez continues to amaze for the Guardians this season. In 277 at bats, he is hitting .292/.377/.588 with a team-leading 16 home runs, 63 runs batted in, 46 runs scored, and 12 stolen bases.

Josh Naylor has also performed well. In just 194 at bats, he is hitting .273/.327/.495 with 10 home runs, 42 runs batted in, and 23 runs. Against the Tigers’ Alex Faedo, Naylor is two for four with a home run and two runs batted in.

Tigers Trying To Improve At Home

At 30-47, the Tigers currently sit fourth in the AL Central, 12.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins. If they want to hold off the Royals, who sit in last just a game behind them in the standings, they will have to improve at home, where they are just 19-24 this season.

While their home record is bad, it isn’t as bad as their road record, which sits at 11-23. Still, they have lost six of their last 10 and will look to get back on track Monday.

Leading the Tigers’ offense is shortstop Javier Baez. Despite hitting .212/.249/.364, he leads the team in home runs (seven), runs batted in (26), and runs scored (22).

The Tigers, as a whole, struggle to score. Coming into play, they rank dead last in the majors in scoring, averaging just 2.99 runs per game.

Guardians Have Great Opportunity To Sweep The Day

Especially coming off of a big win over the Yankees on Sunday, Cleveland would love nothing more than to sweep two games on Monday from the Detroit Tigers.

Luckily for Cleveland, there are some trends going their way. While Cleveland is just 4-8 in their last 12 games total, they are 8-2 in their last 10 road games. Furthermore, they are 8-3 in their last 11 against divisional opponents.

For Detroit, they have struggled going just 6-13 in their last 19 games overall, and they are just 3-8 in their last 11 home games.

As always, it will be on the Guardians’ pitchers to hold down a struggling Tigers’ offense, but if they can do so, the Guardians should be in good shape to take two wins on Monday.