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Detroit Tigers vs Cleveland Guardians: ALDS – Game 5

The Detroit Tigers are visiting the Cleveland Guardians today at Progressive Field in the deciscive game of the ALDS.

The Tigers missed a golden opportunity

The Detroit Tigers finished the regular season third in the AL Central with an 86-76 record, including 43-38 on the road. In the wild card series, they swept the Houston Astros 2-0 on the road. The Tigers have a 3.65 ERA, a .232 batting average, a .294 on-base percentage, and 1.17 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Matt Vierling is the best player on the team with 133 hits, and 80 runs, while Riley Greene leads the team with 24 home runs.

Is this the season for the Guardians?

The Cleveland Guardians finished the regular season on top of the AL Central with an 92-69 record, including 50-30 at home. They finished the season losing 4 of the last 6 games. The Guardians have a 3.71 ERA, a .229 batting average, a .300 on-base percentage, and 1.20 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Jose Ramirez is the best player on the team with 173 hits, 114 runs and 39 home runs.

Betting Trends

The Tigers are 14-5 SU in their last 19 games overall, 3-6 SU in their last 9 games against Cleveland, 5-1 SU in their last 6 games on the road and 10-4 SU in their last 14 games against teams from the AL Central. Detroit has played under the total point line in 7 of their last 10 games overall, 10 of the last 15 games when visiting Cleveland and 9 of their last 13 games against teams from the AL. The Guardians are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games overall, 11-4 SU in their last 15 games against teams from the AL Central and 2-5 SU in their last 7 games played in October. Cleveland has played under the total run line in 7 of their last 9 games overall and 6 of their last 7 home games.

Prediction and Conclusion

Two AL Central rivals will go to the decisive Game 5 in the division series, hoping to make it to the next round. The Detroit Tigers were the underdogs in the series and missed a golden opportunity, losing 5-4 in Game 4. Now the Tigers are turning back to their best pitcher, and by many the best in the league. Tarik Skubal is 18-4 for the season with a 2.38 ERA, 228 K, 192 IP, and 0.92 WHIP. The Guardians will go with Matthew Boyd, who is 2-2 for the season with a 2.72 ERA, 46 K, 39.2 IP, and 1.13 WHIP. Given the stakes and the pitchers, this will be a game in which every run will be mountain high. Therefore the total run line is set at only 5.5, but we still go with the under.