The Detroit Tigers are expected to send ace starter Justin Verlander to the mound on Wednesday night as they close out a quick two-game road series against the Cleveland Indians.
Verlander was tagged with a loss by the Indians back on May 11, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits in five innings of work in a 7-6 Detroit defeat. The righthander is 14-14 in 31 career starts against the Indians, posting an ERA of 4.57.
For the Indians, Ubaldo Jimenez gets the ball, charged with keeping the Tigers hitters off the base paths.
View Detroit vs Cleveland Odds and Stats.
Betting Line:
The Indians were listed as +148 moneyline underdogs earlier in the day at Sportsbook, while oddsmakers set the Sportsbook total around 8 earlier at Sportsbook.
Power Rankings:
The Odds Shark MLB Power Rankings have the Indians at No. 7 in the American League and the Tigers at No. 1 in the American League heading into this contest.
How They Match Up:
The game also pits Cleveland's No. 2-rated American League offense, averaging 5 runs per game, against a Tigers defense that ranks No. 6 in the American League at 4.1 in runs allowed per game. The Indians have averaged 9 hits per game so far, less than Tigers batters have averaged on the year (10.2 hits per game).
Defensively, Detroit features the American League's No. 7-rated defense on the road, allowing 4.1 runs per game. Cleveland, meanwhile, comes in at No. 6 in the American League at home, scoring 4.7 runs per game.
The Tigers were a 5-1 Sportsbook in their most recent outing on the road against the Indians. That made Sportsbooks of bettors who got Detroit at -142 on the moneyline, while the total score (6) was good news for UNDER bettors. The Tigers enjoyed a 5-1 victory at the expense of the Indians on Tuesday, with Max Scherzer throwing 8 innings of 2-hit ball at Progressive Field.
Detroit Tigers Trends:
When playing on Wednesday are 6-4
Before playing Minnesota are 7-3
After playing Cleveland are 4-6
After a win are 5-5
Cleveland Indians Trends:
When playing on Wednesday are 4-6
Before playing Boston are 4-6
After playing Detroit are 6-4
After a loss are 5-5
A few Tigers at Indians trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Detroit's last 10 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
Detroit is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
Detroit is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
Detroit is 8-17 SU in its last 25 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
Cleveland is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Cleveland is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Cleveland's last 10 games when playing at home against Detroit
Cleveland is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games when playing at home against Detroit
Next up:
Detroit home to Minnesota, Thursday, May 23
Cleveland at Boston, Thursday, May 23
