Cubs vs. Tigers prediction and odds for Tuesday, Aug. 22 (Detroit undervalued)

The Detroit Tigers came up short in the series opener against the Chicago Cubs, but the rebuilding home team is in good shape to even the series on Tuesday night.

The Cubs will start left hander Drew Smyly on Tuesday night, who has been so ineffective that he has been in and out of the bullpen of late. While the Tigers offense has struggled against left handers, can the team get back on track against a poor pitcher?

Here are the odds:

Cubs vs. Tigers odds, run line and total

Cubs vs Tigers prediction and pick

The Tigers have been a poor hitting team against lefties this season, 27th in batting average against southpaws with a putrid .234 mark. However, the team is in good form at the dish this month, hitting .255 as a group in August, the 12th best mark in baseball.

That can mainly be attributed to the rise of Spencer Torkelson. Arugably the team's most coveted prosepct is starting to play like it, hitting .265 since the All-Star break with 11 home runs and OPS of .921. Those numbers are up even more in August, hitting .294 with eight homer runs and OPS of 1.113.

The Tigers will face the soft tossing Smyly, who has a home run to fly ball rate nearing 15% on the year and a Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) of 5.03, slightly above his ERA of 4.92.

Yes, the Tigers offense has not fared well against lefties, but I believe that is over-adjusting this line, and I like grabbing the home underdogs given the team's recent play at the plate.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.