Cleveland Guardians vs. Detroit Tigers April 17 Betting Preview

Scheduled to face their AL Central rivals on Monday, the Cleveland Guardians (9-7) will visit the Detroit Tigers (5-9) at 6:00 p.m at Comerica Park. Cleveland took two of three against the Nationals in their last series, while Detroit swept the Giants in a two game series. 

The Guardians are (-120) favorites despite playing on the road, while the Tigers will be +110 home underdogs. The total for this matchup is currently at eight runs (-110). 

Guardians Look To Steal Win With Pesky Offense

The Guardians are coming off a disappointing one run loss against the Nationals, giving up the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. Be that as it may, they were still able to win the series and will look to build that momentum when they head to Detroit. 

Cleveland will look to right-hander Hunter Gaddis (0-1, 8.53 ERA) who will be making his fourth appearance of the year. Gaddis was roughed up in his last outing against the Yankees, giving up eight earned runs in just three innings. Gaddis hasn’t surpassed three innings of work in two of his three appearances, so the Guardians’ bullpen will need to step up in this matchup. 

On the offensive side of the ball, Cleveland has been mediocre at the plate thus far ranking 27th in slugging and 18th in team batting average. Despite this, the unit has been pesky at the plate with a 7.3 strikeout rate, placing them fourth in the MLB. Additionally, Cleveland has thrived on the base paths stealing 25, the most in the league.  

Detroit Looks To Push Winning Streak To Four

The Tigers defeated the Giants Monday, 7-6 pushing their winning streak to three games after a 2-9 start to the season. The offense exploded with seven runs in each of their last two games, while the pitching limited their opponents to just four runs a game over their last three contests. 

Eduardo Rodriguez (0-2, 4.50 ERA) will get the ball for the Tigers in game one of the series. The lefty made an excellent start in his last appearance Wednesday against the Blue Jays in Toronto, throwing six innings and allowing only one run. Detroit will need another solid start from Rodriguez as the pitching staff ranks second to last in team ERA (5.87). 

The Tigers’ offense hasn’t been very exciting either with a .208 batting average (30th) and. 327 OBP (30th in MLB) and 10 home runs (28th in MLB). Detroit has also scored the second lowest number of runs in baseball averaging just 3.6 per game.

What To Expect In This Matchup

Despite playing on the road, Cleveland should have the advantage in this one as they have batted better against left-handed pitching than right-handed this season, hitting .265 BA, .356 OBP, and .757 OPS against left-handers. The Guardians have also wreaked havoc on the bases which should present excellent opportunities for the Cleveland lineup to see more fastballs.

The Tigers on the other hand have struggled against both lefties and righties this season, and they rank near the bottom in almost every offensive category. A major problem for Detroit is that they are striking out at the second highest clip in the MLB.