Tigers at Indians Preview: The Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers will begin a weekend series on Friday night at Progressive Field. These two teams began the 2021 season with a three-game set in Detroit, and it was the Tigers that won two of those meetings.
Detroit has been better than expected to begin the 2021 season, but there is still a long season ahead of them. The Tigers bring a 3-3 record into this game, but they had a bit of trouble against the Minnesota Twins earlier this week.
Cleveland is still trying to figure some things out, and this is expected to be a bit of a rebuild for the Indians team. The Tribe are just 2-3 on the year, but they could be a team that eventually joins the playoff race in the American League.
The Cleveland Indians are the betting favorites at -190 against the Detroit Tigers in the season opener.
Tigers at Indians Preview and Pick: Baddoo Making Believers in Detroit
If you follow Major League Baseball at all then you know that the Detroit Tigers have a potential superstar on their hands. Akil Baddoo has burst onto the scenes for Detroit, and he had three of the best first days in a big-league uniform in history.
The outfield has seven runs batted in on the season, and that includes a grand slam, and a walk-off single in the first week of the season. The trick for Baddoo is to continue hitting the ball well throughout the season, but he has made a name for himself in Detroit.
Julio Teheran will make this start for the Detroit Tigers and he was sharp against Cleveland in his first outing of the season. Detroit does not have a very good pitching staff, and they need their started to go deep in this one.
Detroit has a team ERA of 5.4, and they did allow nine runs to the Cleveland Indians in their most recent meeting. The Tigers don’t have a type of offense that is going to put up a ton of runs each night.
Tigers at Indians Preview and Pick: Indians Looking For Offense
Cleveland is playing with Francisco Lindor this season after the New York Mets acquired the superstar shortstop in a trade. This leaves a massive hole in the middle of the lineup, and Eddie Rosario and Jose Ramirez will attempt to fill it.
Ramirez leads the team with a .350 batting average and a pair of home runs, and he provides plenty of power. Rosario has driven in a team-high four runs, and he can also get hot and carry a team for a few weeks.
Zach Plesac will make his second start of the season for the Tribe, and he is looking for a better outing against the Detroit Tigers. The Indians do have a number of decent arms in the pen, but Plesac will control this game with his start.
Tigers at Indians Preview and Pick: Tribe Touches Up Teheran
The Cleveland Indians have really struggled at the plate to begin the 2021 season, but that trend is not going to last forever. Cleveland still has some talented pieces in that lineup, even without the services of Francisco Lindor.
Don’t expect Cleveland to put 10 runs on the board, but they Tribe will find enough offense to win this game. The Indians have started to figure things out after a slow start, and they owe the Tigers some games.
Detroit has been riding the Baddoo train over the last few games, but that magic is going to run out eventually. The Tigers are expected to be a bad team in 2021, and betting on them to win many games just isn’t a smart decision.
Bet the Cleveland Indians -190 over the Detroit Tigers in a close game on Friday night.
Final Score:
Indians 5
Tigers 4
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