Game 3 Cleveland Guardians vs. Detroit Tigers Prediction:
The Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians split the first two games of their best-of-five American League Divisional Series. Detroit looks to piecemeal together a win in Game Three.
As of Tuesday evening, the Tigers had yet to announce a starter, which should lead to Brant Hurter. Hurter last pitched against the Houston Astros on Wednesday, October 2, getting significant action along with a host of others.
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From August 1 until the end of the regular season, the Tigers had the best bullpen ERA in the American League with a 2.71 ERA. They have continued that into the postseason with a 2.57 bullpen ERA in their four postseason games, but they have a 3.55 fielding independent in the playoffs.
Between the regular season and playoffs, Hurter has a 2.49 ERA, but during the regular season, he was fortunate on balls put in play with a .238 opponents batting average. Between the regular season and playoffs, he gets fewer than 7.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
The Cleveland Guardians are setting up to use their bullpen heavily on Wednesday as well, with Alex Cobb getting the start. While his 2.76 ERA is low, it has come in a sample size of three starts and 16 1/3 innings.
Additionally, this is Cobb’s first start start since September 1, but he’s backed by a Guardians bullpen that between the regular season and playoffs leads the league with a 2.58 ERA, which is more than a half point better than any other team in the league.
While the Cleveland Guardians failed to score in Game 2, they were tasked with facing the American League Cy Young Award winner. They have just as much firepower at the plate, with the Tigers averaging just 4.1 runs per game, which ranks 23rd in the league, while Cleveland is 23rd in runs per game on the road with 4.1 runs per game.
The Tigers do not have a single player on their roster with at least 25 home runs this season, while Josh Naylor and Jose Ramirez combined for 70 home runs during the regular season for Cleveland. With how effective and deep both bullpens are, that is a big x-factor for the Cleveland Guardians bouncing back from Monday’s loss and regaining home-field advantage in this series.
MLB Pick: Cleveland Guardians -105
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