The Detroit Tigers' Justin Verlander is 8-6 with a 2.48 ERA over his 15 career starts against the Oakland Athletics as those teams meet in Game 2 of their ALDS on Saturday night.
Verlander last faced the A's back on August 27 at home, allowing five runs (three earned) on four hits over five innings of work in that losing cause. Detroit topped Oakland 3-2 in Game 1 of the best-of-five ALDS on Friday night.
Oakland sends Sonny Gray out against Verlander for the Tigers in this game; Gray was 5-3 with a 2.67 ERA on the season.
View Detroit Tigers vs Oakland Athletics Odds and Stats.
The Tigers were listed as -126 favorites on the baseball moneyline at many online sportsbooks, including Sportsbook. The total was set at 7 before betting started earlier on Saturday over at Sportsbook.
The Athletics sit at No. 3 in the current MLB power poll here at Odds Shark, while the Tigers sit at No. 16 on the same chart.
Last time out for Detroit, they were a 3-2 Sportsbook as they battled the Athletics on the road. Moneyline bettors who got the Tigers at -118 were rewarded, while the 5 combined runs moved the game UNDER for totals bettors. Max Scherzer fanned 11 Oakland batters in the team's last outing, leading the Tigers to a 3-2 victory over the Athletics at O.co Coliseum.
How They Match Up:
At the plate, Oakland owns the No. 14 ranking for hits at 8.63 per game. By contrast, the Tigers are rated No. 1 in the same category at 10.03 per game.
Pitching and defensive stats are important baseball handicapping factors and Oakland has the No. 8-ranked defense. In the other dugout, the Tigers own the No. 7 mark in runs allowed.
A few Tigers at Athletics trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Detroit's last 7 games when playing Oakland
Oakland is 16-7 SU in its last 23 games
Oakland is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Oakland's last 12 games
Oakland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
Next up:
Detroit at Oakland, Monday, October 7th
