Al Demarco
The Pick: 30 Dime play on Cleveland
The Line: The Guardians are -130 at 6:35 am Pacific
Today's Analysis
Cleveland trailed Detroit by 15 1/2 games in the A.L. Central standings on July 8; by 9 1/2 games on September 10. But an 11-1 roll that included a three-game road sweep of the Tigers last week, and last night's series-opening 5-2 victory over reigning A.L. Cy Young Award-winner Tarik Skubal, has propelled baseball's hottest team into a first-place tie with five games remaining in the season.
The slumping Tigers, losers of seven straight and 10 of 11, a stretch where they've scored only 27 runs, had another feeble night at the plate on Tuesday as they fanned 19 times and went
1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
Tanner Bibee, who won in Detroit last Thursday to improve to 2-O in as many starts against the Tigers this season with a 0.69 ERA, is on the hill for Cleveland. The 26-year-old right-hander sports a 1.25 ERA in his first three starts this month.
Jack Flaherty, who lost last Wednesday's start at home versus the Guardians, goes for the Tigers, who have lost 13 of his last 17 starts, a span where his ERA is 5.59. Inside that stretch they are 1-6 in his seven road outings with the right-hander's ERA 6.67 on the highway.
With all the numbers quoted above, it's astonishing to me that Cleveland is so cheap (-130) on the money line as I release this.
