The Detroit Tigers hit the road for Game 2 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians on Monday at 4:08 p.m. ET at Progressive Field. The Guardians have a 1-0 series lead.
The Guardians are an underdog at home (+109) against the Tigers (-129). The probable starters are Tarik Skubal (18-4, 2.39 ERA) for the Tigers against Matthew Boyd (2-2, 2.72 ERA) for the Guardians.
Saturday, the Guardians picked up a 7-0 win over the Tigers, with Cade Smith (1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 4 K) earning the win for the Guardians. David Fry finished 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI to lead the offensive attack. Tyler Holton (0.0 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 0 K) picked up the loss for the Tigers.
Here’s what you need to prepare for this playoff contest between the Tigers and Guardians, including viewing options.
Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians odds and betting lines
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Sunday at 3:17 a.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
- Favorite: Tigers (-129, bet $129 to win $100)
- Underdog: Guardians (+109, bet $100 to win $109)
- Over/under: 6.5
Tigers stats and trends
Tigers betting records
- This season, the Tigers have been favored 67 times and won 39, or 58.2%, of those games.
- Detroit has a record of 29-14, a 67.4% win rate, when favored by -129 or more by sportsbooks this season.
- The implied probability of a win from the Tigers, based on the moneyline, is 56.3%.
- So far this season, Detroit and its opponents have hit the over in 79 of 164 games with a total.
- The Tigers have an ATS record of 89-74-0 in 163 games with a spread this season.
Tarik Skubal (Tigers probable starter)
- Skubal makes the start for the Tigers, his 32nd of the season. He is 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts in 192 2/3 innings pitched.
- In his most recent time out on Tuesday, the left-hander threw six scoreless innings against the Houston Astros while surrendering four hits.
- In 31 games this season, the 27-year-old has amassed an ERA of 2.39, with 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings. Opponents are hitting .201 against him.
- Skubal is looking to claim his third straight quality start in this matchup.
- Skubal will look to continue an 18-game streak of lasting five or more innings (he’s averaging 6.2 innings per appearance).
- He is looking to have his third straight outing with no earned runs given up.
- He will face a Guardians offense that ranks 25th in MLB with 1263 total hits (on a .238 batting average). The squad also slugs a collective .395 (16th in MLB) with 185 total home runs (12th in MLB).
- In seven innings over one appearance against the Guardians this season, Skubal has a 1.29 ERA and a 1.571 WHIP while his opponents are hitting .333.
- The 27-year-old’s 2.39 ERA ranks second, .922 WHIP ranks second, and 10.7 K/9 ranks fifth among qualifying pitchers this season.
Tigers batting stats
- The Tigers rank 24th in Major League Baseball with 162 home runs.
- Fueled by 453 extra-base hits, Detroit ranks 22nd in MLB with a .385 slugging percentage this season.
- The Tigers rank 23rd in MLB with a .234 team batting average.
- Detroit has scored 682 runs (4.2 per game) this season, which ranks 19th in MLB.
- The Tigers have an OBP of just .300 this season, which ranks 28th in MLB.
- Detroit ranks 23rd in MLB in strikeouts per game with an average of 9.0 whiffs per contest.
Guardians stats and trends
Guardians betting records
- The Guardians have been underdogs in 58 games this season and have come away with the win 27 times (46.6%) in those contests.
- Cleveland has a mark of 11-20 in contests where sportsbooks favor it by +109 or worse on the moneyline.
- The moneyline set for this matchup implies the Guardians have a 47.8% chance of coming away with a victory in the contest.
- Contests with Cleveland has gone over the total set by bookmakers in 70 of 162 chances this season.
- The Guardians are 84-77-0 against the spread in their 161 games that had a posted line this season.
Matthew Boyd (Guardians probable starter)
- Boyd (2-2 with a 2.72 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings pitched) makes the start for the Guardians, his ninth of the season.
- In his most recent time out on Saturday, Sept. 21, the lefty threw four innings against the St. Louis Cardinals, allowing two earned runs while surrendering four hits.
- During eight games this season, the 33-year-old has a 2.72 ERA and 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings, while giving up a batting average of .213 to opposing hitters.
- Boyd is trying to secure his fourth quality start of the year.
- Boyd will try to pick up his sixth game of five or more innings pitched this season. He’s averaging 4.9 innings per appearance.
- He allowed one or more earned runs in each of his appearances in 2024.
- The opposing Tigers offense has a collective .234 batting average, and is 23rd in the league with 1273 total hits and 19th in MLB play with 682 runs scored. They have the 22nd-ranked slugging percentage (.385) and are 24th in all of MLB with 162 home runs.
Guardians batting stats
- The Guardians average 1.1 home runs per game to rank 12th in MLB action with 185 total home runs.
- So far this year, Cleveland is 16th in baseball with a .395 slugging percentage.
- The Guardians rank 21st in the majors with a .238 batting average.
- The offense for Cleveland is the No. 14 offense in baseball, scoring 4.4 runs per game (708 total runs).
- The Guardians rank 18th in baseball with an on-base percentage of .307.