Tigers vs. Guardians prediction and odds for Thursday, Aug. 17  (Side with Skubal)

You might not have expected this to happen, but get ready: The Tigers enter today’s game at Cleveland as the favorites to win! 

Detroit has taken a solid step forward this season while the Guardians have been ravaged by injuries to their starting pitchers. 

That puts Detroit in a position of strength today, with Tarik Skubal taking the mound against Cleveland’s Xzavion Curry, a reliever who’s been stretched out into a starter out of necessity. 

Let’s figure out the best way to bet on this game. 

Tigers vs. Guardians Odds, Spread and Total

Tigers vs. Guardians Prediction and Pick

Skubal has been mostly impressive since returning from injury this season, posting scoreless outings in four of seven starts with more than one strikeout per inning. 

Today he’ll face a Guardians lineup that lacks a lot of punch. After Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez, Cleveland doesn’t have a single batter with an OPS at .710 or above! 

And even though the Guardians have the fewest strikeouts per game in MLB this season, that hasn’t been the case of late. Several new hitters, including Ramon Laureano, Bo Naylor and Bryan Rocchio have been striking out at higher than a 20% clip. 

That puts Skubal and Detroit in a strong spot to win, but that gets even better when you consider Curry’s recent struggles. 

Since transitioning to a starting pitcher in early August, Curry has allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits and two walks in 10 innings. His longest outing of the season has been just 70 pitches, which means Cleveland will likely have to turn to the bullpen early, even if Curry doesn’t pitch effectively. 

Detroit, meanwhile, has been hot at the plate with multiple runs in an 11-game stretch that has fans excited for the future.

Consider taking a same-game parlay of Skubal to strike out over 4.5 batters (-150) and Detroit to win on the moneyline (-140) for a combined price of +150 odds. 

If you want to take up to 10 chances on winning betting on Tigers bets like this, sign up with PointsBet Sportsbook with this link and deposit $10 or more. 

Once that’s done, your first bet for FIVE straight days will be backed by PointsBet for up to $100 each day!

Pick: +150 Same-Game Parlay – Tigers ML (-140) + Skubal Over 4.5 Ks (-150)

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.