Cody Anderson (3-3, 3.72 ERA) and the Cleveland Indians (69-70) go up against Justin Verlander (3-7, 3.43 ERA) and the Detroit Tigers (64-76) in the second of a three-game division series at Progressive Field. The Indians won the last game 7-5 and Cleveland leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 1:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sep. 13 and will air on STOh and FSDT.
In his most recent outing, Anderson pitched 7.0 innings, allowing zero runs, striking out three and walking two in a 4-0 victory over the Tigers. Michael Brantley (.319, 65 Rs, 15 HRs, 81 RBIs, 14 SBs) continued his strong season Thursday, going 2 for 5 with two runs, two home runs, and three RBIs. The Tigers were unsuccessful to the Indians 4-0 the last time Verlander pitched. He went 7.0 innings, allowing three runs, striking out four and walking two. J.D. Martinez (.280, 81 Rs, 36 HRs, 91 RBIs, 3 SBs) went 1 for 4 Thursday with one run.
Cleveland is a heavy -200 favorite at home and the Over/Under (O/U) for this matchup is set at eight runs. The Indians are 46-42 as the favorite and have an overall money line of -1,183. They have disappointing records of 14-24 as the favorite and 23-33 SU within their division. The Indians rank fourth in the AL in hits at home with 9.2 per game. They have been very patient at the plate, ranking second in the AL with an average of 3.4 walks per game. Whenever an AL Central opponent shows up on the calendar, the Indians seem to struggle with pitching. They allow an average of 4.1 runs per game, but allow 4.6 against teams from their own division. The Indians don’t allow many hitters to get on base, ranking third in the league with a 1.19 WHIP. The have been extremely effective at striking opposing batters out, leading the AL with 8.8 strikeouts per game.
On the other side, the Tigers have a subpar record of 30-47 when they are the underdog and are -1,151 overall with the money line. Against divisional foes, they are 32-25 SU, but have a 12-17 record when they were an underdog to win. The Tigers rank third in the AL in road scoring, averaging four runs per game. Detroit is the top road hitting team in the AL with an average of 9.4 hits per contest. The last 10 games have really brought the worst out of the Detroit pitchers. They allowed 7.0 runs per game during that span, which is higher than their season average of 5.1.
The Tigers have mostly come out on top against the Indians in their previous 16 games this season, earning a 10-6 record.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cle, O/U – Over
Notes
Cleveland 10-1-2 SU in its last 13 games at home.
Cleveland is 6-14-2 SU in its last 22 games, when playing Detroit.
Cleveland is 3-11-2 SU in its last 16 games, when playing at home against Detroit.
Detroit 11-3-2 SU in its last 16 games when playing on the road against Cleveland.
When leading after 7 innings, Cleveland is 21-23, while Detroit is 29-34.
The Tigers managed to give up four walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Indians who are heading in with a 33-22 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they are outhit, the Tigers are 8-53. The Indians have a 10-52 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 23rd in home runs, Cleveland has hit 120 this season. Detroit ranks 16th with 140 home runs.
Ranking first in hits, Detroit has earned 9.42 per game this season. Cleveland ranks eighth with 8.65 hits.
Ranking 16th, Cleveland is in the bottom half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.724). Detroit ranks in the top five at fourth with an OPS of .755.
The Tigers are 31-60 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Indians are 40-57 when they allow at least one homer.
