Detroit Tigers Vs. Cleveland Guardians (7/14/22) Starting Lineup, Betting Odds, Prediction

This season, the Detroit Tigers are 37-51 through 88 games, fourth place in the American League Central Division.  They have .1% of making the postseason this year; Detroit’s last playoff appearance was 2014, losing in the Division Series to the Baltimore Orioles and the franchise’s last title was in 1984. 

The Guardians are 43-43 in their first 86 games of 2022, second place in the American League Central.  They’re +475 to win the division; they last won the division in 2018.  Cleveland has made the playoffs five times since 2012.  The Guardians are +11000 to win the World Series; the last championship the franchise won was in 1948. 

Detroit Tigers Vs. Cleveland Guardians Betting Odds

Thoughts on the odds, how you see the game playing out, etc

Detroit Tigers Starting Lineup

E. Rodriguez R
0-2 11.51 ERA

CF R. Greene L
SS J. Baez R
LF R. Grossman S
DH M. Cabrera R
2B J. Schoop R
3B J. Candelario S
1B S. Torkelson R
C T. Barnhart S
RF V. Reyes S

Detroit Tigers Vs. Triston McKenzie (R)

Miguel Cabrera one of the best right-handed hitters of all-time was named to the American League All-Star in what could be his last season of illustrious career.  He reached the magical number of 3,000 hits earlier this season; he currently has over 3,065 career hits as we reach the All-Star break.  The 39-year-old is a lifetime .310 hitter with 505 home runs, 1,838 runs batted in and a .915 OPS.  This season, he leads the team with a .287 batting average.  Cabrera has hit three home runs, driven in 34 runs, accumulating 96 total bases with a slugging percentage of .349 with an OPS of .675 in 2022. 

In his first season as a Tiger, Javier Baez has struggled at the plate hitting .214 through his 290 at-bats of 2022.  The 29-year-old leads the club in home runs (nine), runs batted in (34) and total bases (110). 

Jonathan Schoop in his third season with Detroit has 14 doubles, a triple, six home run, 23 runs batted in with 102 total bases on the year.  In his 10-year career, Schoop has hit 169 home runs and knocked in 522 runs.  Jeimer Candelario has seven doubles, two triples, six home runs, 23 runs batted in, 26 runs scored and 74 total bases in 2022.  First baseman Spencer Torkelson the first pick in the 2020 MLB draft has hit 11 doubles, five home runs and accumulated 77 total bases in his first season in the big leagues.  

Robbie Grossman is a .248 lifetime hitter with 75 home runs and 339 runs batted in.  This season he has scored 21 runs, hit two home runs, knocked in 19 runs with 66 total bases.

Triston McKenzie is 6-6 in 16 games (15 starts) with an ERA of 3.47 for the Guardians in 2022. The 6’5” right-hander has tossed 93 1/3 innings, striking out 84 while allowing 36 runs with a 1.007 WHIP this year. 

Cleveland Guardians Starting Lineup

T. McKenzie R
6-6 3.47 ERA

LF S. Kwan L
SS A. Rosario R
3B J. Ramirez S
1B J. Naylor L
DH F. Reyes R
2B A. Gimenez L
RF N. Jones L
C A. Hedges R
CF M. Straw R

Cleveland Guardians Vs. Elvin Rodriguez (R)

A four-time All-Star, Jose Ramirez is +2800 to win the American League MVP as he’s Cleveland’s biggest offensive threat in their lineup.  The third baseman is hitting .289 with 30 doubles, four triples, 17 home runs and 68 runs driven in, which leads the American League.  Ramirez has 180 total bases, a .571 slugging percentage, and an OPS of .942 in 2022. 

Josh Naylor is batting .279 with 11 home runs: second on the team this season.  The first baseman also has 13 doubles, 43 runs driven in: second on the club while accumulating 104 total bases.  

Andres Gimenez leads the Guardians in hitting with a .291 batting average in 2022.  He’s hit 11 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and knocked in 40 runs this season.  He has 113 total bases with an OPS of .813 while slugging .463 in 2022.  Amed Rosario is hitting .283 this season for the Guardians.  The former New York Met prospect has 14 doubles, five triples, four home runs, 27 runs batted in with 127 total bases this year (second on the club).

Outfielder Steven Kwan has been a surprise for Cleveland this season, batting .285 in over 255 at-bats.  The 24-year-old has hit 11 doubles, three triples, a home run, 23 runs driven in with 94 total bases in 2022.

Elvin Rodriguez is 0-2 in five games (four starts) with an ERA of 11.51 for Detroit this campaign.   The 24-year-old rookie has thrown 20 1/3 innings, striking out 16 while allowing 26 runs with a 1.820 WHIP in 2022. 

Detroit Tigers Vs. Cleveland Guardians Picks & Prediction

Offensively, Detroit is averaging 3.29 runs per nine innings, 30^th in Major League Baseball. They have a team batting average of .230, 27^th in the league, and their OPS is .623, 29^th in all of MLB.  The Tigers’ pitching staff is allowing 4.39 runs per nine innings, 18^th in the league with opponents’ batting .242 against the team, 16^th in MLB. 

Cleveland is averaging 4.37 runs per nine innings, 17^th in Major League Baseball. They have a team batting average of .247, 11^th in the league, and their OPS is .692, 18^th in all of MLB.  The Guardians’ pitching staff is allowing 4.48 runs per nine innings, 19^th in the league with opponents’ batting .242 against the team, 15^th in MLB.  I’m taking Cleveland in this game; easily covering the 1.5 run spread due to their superior offense compared with anemic offense of Detroit.