• The Detroit Tigers look to even their best-of-five ALDS with the Cleveland Guardians on Monday afternoon
• Detroit turns back to ace Tarik Skubal, who pitched six scoreless against Houston in the Wild Card round
• See the Tigers vs Guardians predictions, picks, and best available odds for Game 2

The storybook season for the Detroit Tigers (86-76, 43-38 away) hit a speedbump on Saturday when they dropped Game 1 of the ALDS to the Cleveland Guardians (92-69, 50-30 away), failing to score a single run in a 7-0 shutout.

Game 2 brings a chance to even the best-of-five series, and Monday’s MLB odds give Detroit a good chance to do so with soon-to-be AL Cy Young-winner Tarik Skubal on the hill. Skubal is coming off a brilliant performance in the Wild Card round against Houston (6.0 IP, 4H, 6K, 1BB, 0ER).

Skubal will be opposed by longtime Tiger Matthew Boyd, who’s in in first season with the Guardians. Coming back from Tommy John surgery, Boyd only made eight starts in an injury-shortened season and hasn’t been on the mound since Sep. 21.

Considering how thin Detroit’s injury-riddled pitching staff is after Skubal, Monday is a de facto must-win for the Tigers.

Tigers vs Guardians Game 2 Predictions & Picks

• First 5 innings: under 2.5 runs (+142) at FanDuel
• Tarik Skubal over 17.5 outs recorded (-178) at FanDuel
• Tarik Skubal under 1.5 earned runs allowed (-120) at ESPN Bet

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My bets for Mondays’ matinee all run in a similar vein: I expect solid performances from both starters, in particular Skubal. Cleveland absolutely smashed opener Tyler Holton in Game 1 on Saturday, tagging him for three runs on four hits before the 28-year-old could record  a single out.

But in their last 13 innings against Skubal (one game this year and one last year), the Guardians have only managed two runs on 13 hits with 13 Ks. After his shutout performance against Houston last Tuesday (a , Skubal has now gone 17 straight innings without conceding a run, and four straight starts without allowing more than one earned run.

Cleveland won the Central on the strength of its pitching. Their 621 runs allowed was third-fewest in the MLB, while they were basically league average in runs produced (708, 14th). Their seven-run output on Saturday was their biggest in 23 games.

I was leaning towards betting the Tigers to win, but can’t stomach the odds (-125 at best). Matthew Boyd has been very good in his return to big-league action (2-2, 2.72 ERA, 1.13 WHIP in 39.2 innings). As a longtime Tiger, there is basically no history between Boyd and the Detroit hitters, which statistically plays to a pitcher’s advantage.

Pitching Matchup: Tarik Skubal vs Matthew Boyd

Best Tigers vs Guardians Odds for Game 2

There isn’t much variation in the Tigers vs Guardians odds across North American sportsbooks. Almost all the books have the moneyline at -130/+110 in Detroit’s favor. The one outlier is BetMGM, which has a Tiger victory priced at a long -125 (and Cleveland win at a shorter +105).

Not coincidentally, BetMGM also has the best price on the Detroit runline at -1.5 (+150). Bet365 and Caesars currently have the best odds on Cleveland +1.5, both offering the Guardians at -170.

When it comes to the game total, most sportsbooks list it at 6.0 with -110 both ways. ESPN Bet has it at 5.5 with the over favored at -125 while BetMGM has a slightly better price than most books on under 6.0 (-105).

The updated World Series odds list Cleveland fifth among the eight remaining teams at +750. Detroit is the second-biggest longshot on the board at +1800, only ahead of the Royals (+2000) who are in a 1-0 hole of their own against the New York Yankees.

The post Tigers vs Guardians Game 2 Predictions, Picks & Best Odds (Oct. 7) appeared first on Sports Betting Dime.