- The Chicago Cubs are -120 road favorites over the Detroit Tigers in their inter-league game slated for Tuesday, August 22
- Detroit is 23-25 ATS as the home underdog this season
- Chicago outscored Detroit 7-6 in Monday’s opener of this three-game series
In recent years, a lot of MLB teams have enjoyed their road trips to face the Detroit Tigers (57-67, 26-33 home) but the Chicago Cubs (64-59, 29-29 away) weren’t among them.
That situation, though, appears to be changing. As the Cubs and Tigers clash Tuesday in the second game of a three-game set, Chicago has won two in a row and three of four at Detroit. The Cubbies are also 5-3 in the past eight in Motown and 6-4 through the last 10 games there.
Prior to that, they’d lost five in a row, seven of nine and eight of 11 games.
Coming off a 7-6 win in Monday’s season opener, Chicago is going into the middle game of the series as the -120 road favorites. The Cubs are 11-11 against the spread this season as the away chalk.
Cubs vs Tigers Odds
| Team | Run Line | Total | Moneyline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs | -1.5 (+134) | O 8.5 (-122) | -160 |
| Detroit Tigers | +1.5 (-162) | U 8.5 (-102) | +126 |
First pitch on Tuesday, August 22 at Comerica Park is set for 6:40pm ET. Detroit is 4-2 SU in the club’s last six games.
In the MLB public betting trends the Cubs are also getting the love from the people. Chicago is drawing 78% of handle and 51% of bets in the spread splits. The Cubs are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games. Moneyline splits are backing the Cubs at 77% of handle and 75% of bets. Chicago is 10-4 straight up in the club’s past 14 road games.
As far as the total of 8.5 runs, the public is going with the under. It’s garnering 80% of handle and 52% of bets. The total has gone under in nine of Detroit’s last 11 games.
Odds as of August 22 at FanDuel Sportsbook. Claim the FanDuel promo code to get a great bonus on Wednesday’s Tigers vs Twins game. Bettors in KY can also check out FanDuel Sportsbook Kentucky.
Smyly In Familiar Surroundings
The Cubs will send veteran Drew Smyly to the bump and he should feel right at home. The 34-year-old southpaw launched his big-league career in Detroit, making his first 107 MLB appearances for the Tigers from 2012-14. He was 6-0 in 2013.
Smyly’s return to Cubs rotation planned for Tuesday: The Cubs are planning to return veteran left-hander Drew Smyly to the starting rotation on Tuesday in Detroit. Smyly went to the bullpen following an Aug. 7 start… #SarahSellsHomes #Edgebrook #Dreamtown https://t.co/U5oFJkDJzT pic.twitter.com/YexzQz7xGx
— Sarah Melaniphy (@sarahmelaniphy) August 20, 2023
Smyly is 7-8 with two saves and a 3.64 ERA in 53 appearances in Detroit. However, he’s 0-2 with a 5.50 ERA in three career starts against the Tigers.
The lefty has won two of his last three decisions, but those are his only wins since June 19. He’s 5-5 with a 3.94 ERA in 13 road appearances this season.
Smyly vs Olson
| 9-8 | Record | 2-5 |
| 4.92 | ERA | 4.83 |
| 4.15 | xERA | 4.92 |
| 1.37 | WHIP | 1.23 |
| 2.80 | SO/W | 3.59 |
As they face Tigers rookie right-hander Reese Olson, the best thing the Cubs have going for them is that they’re not the Minnesota Twins. Both of Olson’s MLB victories and three of the five games Olson has started that Detroit won came against Minnesota.
Johnny Kane tells us about how some of the young Tigers like Zack Short, Tyler Holton, Reese Olson and Jake Rogers got a chance to sign their names inside the Green Monster.#RepDetroit pic.twitter.com/vXnobpQIa3
— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) August 12, 2023
Olson has allowed 17 earned runs over his last 24.2 innings of work for an ERA of 6.20 over that span. His xwOBAcon of .418 is among the highest percentile of MLB pitchers.
He’s 2-3 with a 4.78 ERA in eight home appearances. Olson will be facing the Cubs for the first time in his career.
Cubs Are A Scoring Machine
The Cubs are averaging 5.76 runs per game in August. That’s fourth-best in all of MLB. Meanwhile, the Tigers have accounted for at least four runs in five of their past six games.
Cubs vs Tigers Recent Results
| Date | Home-Away | Moneyline | Run Line | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08/21/2023 | DET 6 CHC 7 | CHC | DET | Over |
| 05/16/2021 | DET 1 CHC 5 | CHC | CHC | Under |
| 05/15/2021 | DET 9 CHC 8 | DET | DET | Over |
| 05/14/2021 | DET 2 CHC 4 | CHC | CHC | Under |
| 08/26/2020 | DET 7 CHC 6 | DET | DET | Over |
| 08/25/2020 | DET 7 CHC 1 | DET | DET | Under |
| 08/24/2020 | DET 3 CHC 9 | CHC | CHC | Over |
| 08/22/2018 | DET 2 CHC 8 | CHC | CHC | Over |
| 08/21/2018 | DET 2 CHC 1 | CHC | DET | Under |
| 07/04/2023 | CHC 5 DET 2 | CHC | CHC | Under |
Smyly is returning to the Cubs rotation to fill in for injured starter Marcus Stroman. Over Smyly’s last six starts the average runs scored per game was 12.
The total runs scored in three of Olson’s last five starts exceeded the total for this game of 8.5 runs. And in one of the two that it didn’t, the Tigers lost 8-0.
What we’re trying to say here is play the over.
Cubs vs Tigers Pick: Over 8.5 runs (-122).
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The post Cubs vs Tigers Predictions, Odds & Starting Pitchers (Aug 22) appeared first on Sports Betting Dime.
