Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians May 26 Betting Preview

Thursday starts a four-game battle between AL Central rivals as the Cleveland Guardians (18-22) take on the Detroit Tigers (15-28). Detroit will host this one at Comerica Park with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

Coming into this series, the Guardians have lost two in a row as they dropped their series with the Houston Astros to start the week. The Astros won Wednesday’s finale 2-1.

Cal Quantrill picked up the loss despite going six innings, allowing just two runs. He allowed six hits and walked four.

Offensively, the Guardians were only able to muster four hits with Josh Naylor scoring the lone run of the game.

Detroit also dropped their last series against the Twins, but they were able to salvage the finale on Wednesday, winning 4-2. Alex Lange picked up the win in relief.

Betting Odds

The Tigers are the favorite Thursday playing at home. They are -142 to win while the Guardians moneyline sits at +120. The runline features Cleveland +1.5, and the over/under for total runs is 7.5.

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Pitching Matchup

Thursday will feature a battle of the southpaws. For Cleveland, they will send Konnor Pilkington to the mound for the opener. This season, he is 0-0 with a 2.08 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and has 11 strikeouts in 8.2 innings of work.

Detroit will counter with Tarik Skubal. The 25-year-old is 3-2 in eight games with a 2.22 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and has 50 strikeouts in 44.2 innings.

By The Numbers

Cleveland has the advantage offensively thus far this season. They rank eighth in scoring averaging 4.62 runs per game. The Tigers rank dead last averaging 2.71 runs (3.32 at home).

Defensively, it is Detroit with the edge. They rank 12th in scoring defense allowing an average of 3.90 runs per game to opponents. The Guardians rank 23rd allowing 4.46 runs.

Guardians Trying To Avoid Slipping Out Of Contention

At 18-22 overall and 3-7 in their last 10 games, the Cleveland Guardians have seen their deficit in the AL Central grow. Now seven games behind the first-place Twins, Cleveland would love to get back on track and battle back into contention in the division.

Leading the offense is third baseman Jose Ramirez. Entering play Thursday, he is hitting .293/.389/.627 with a team-leading 11 home runs, 43 runs batted in, 24 runs scored, and four stolen bases.

He has also had success in his career against Skubal. In 11 at bats, Ramirez is hitting .455.

Ramirez has also been red hot as of late. In fact, in the last week, he leads the team with three home runs and 10 runs batted in.

Tigers Look To Improve At Home

After showing signs of promise last season, the Detroit Tigers may be one of the most disappointing teams in the first quarter of the season. At 15-28, they have struggled all year, regardless of whether they are home (9-13) or on the road (6-15). On Thursday, they will try to get back on track at Comerica Park.

Unfortunately for A.J. Hinch’s group, the offense just continues to sputter. Jamier Candelario, Jonathan Schoop, and Spencer Torkelson all lead the team with four home runs apiece, but each of the three of them is hitting under .200.

Miguel Cabrera has arguably been their best hitter to date. He is hitting .287/.331/.397 with three home runs and 16 runs batted in.

Good Opportunity For Guardians To Get Back On Track

With how badly the Tigers have struggled this season, these are the types of series that the Guardians need to win if they want to get back into contention.

While the offense has struggled, the Tigers pitching has some quality and Thursday’s starter is no exception. Tarik Skubal has been a bright spot on a struggling team.

Despite how good Skubal has been, if Konnor Pilkington can at least contain the Tigers bats, Cleveland should have a good chance of stealing the first game despite being underdogs.