Cleveland vs Tigers Picks and Odds

• Cleveland (0-1) are -170 road favorites over the Detroit Tigers (1-0) on Saturday afternoon (April 3, 1:10 pm EST)
• Julio Teheran will make his Detroit debut, while Zach Plesac begins his third year Cleveland as its No. 2 starter
• Read below for a preview and betting prediction for the game

Cleveland will try to bounce back from a 3-2 season-opening loss in Motown as it faces the Detroit Tigers in the second game of a three-game series Saturday. Future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera had the highlight of Opening Day with his two-run home run — in the middle of a snowstorm — that put the Tigers on the board in the first inning off reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber. Cleveland got a two-run dinger of its own in the eighth by Roberto Perez, But JaCoby Jones’ RBI double in the second proved to be the difference as the Tigers prevailed.

First pitch is slated for 1:10 pm ET at Comerica Park.

Cleveland vs Tigers Odds

Odds as of April 2nd

Cleveland has dominated the Tigers for the better part of the last two seasons, posting a 20-game winning streak against Detroit from April 11, 2019 to August 21, 2020, Since the streak was snapped, Terry Francona’s club has gone 4-3 against Detroit (including Thursday’s Opening Day defeat). Now, Zach Plesac will try to lead the way with his team entering as -170 favorites.

Teheran Makes Tigers Debut

Detroit starter Julio Teheran missed out on a seventh career Opening Day start with his new club, but he came close. The 30-year-old two-time All-Star looked sharp in Grapefruit League play, with his velocity back up to 92 mph and a sharp slider as part of his arsenal.

Teheran was roughed up in his only career start against Cleveland, going 4.2 innings and allowing seven hits, five earned runs and four walks, while throwing in six strikeouts in an 8-4 Braves loss on April 20, 2019.

Cleveland’s Career Stats vs Teheran

No player in the Cleveland lineup had more than one hit Thursday. Detroit starter Matthew Boyd issued three of those over 5.2 innings, while also walking four and striking out a pair. After a disastrous 2020 season, in which he posted a 6.71 ERA over 12 starts, Boyd’s outing was encouraging for a young Tigers staff.

As for facing Teheran, the two players to keep an eye on are Cesar Hernandez — who saw plenty of the former Brave while playing in a Phillies uniform — and Franmil Reyes. Hernandez has taken Teheran deep four times in 42 career at-bats against him, while Reyes has two long balls in nine ABs. The 25-year-old designated hitter was one of the best hitters in baseball last summer.

Since August 11, Franmil Reyes is third in MLB in batting average (.408), sixth in OPS (1.195), and tied with Manny Machado for second most hits (31). pic.twitter.com/OGZh4GZv7B

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) September 3, 2020

Jose Ramirez is the best player on Cleveland. He’s only faced Teheran twice, but he’s coming off a fairly warm spring.

Cleveland Eyes Payback

After the Tigers beat Bieber in Game 1 of the 2021 campaign, rest assured Ramirez and Co. will be hungry to even the team’s record Saturday.

Tigers’ Career Stats vs Plesac

The 26-year-old Plesac is coming off a 4-2 sophomore campaign that saw him go 55.1 innings while picking up 57 strikeouts and finishing with a 2.28 ERA over eight starts.

After the first two innings Thursday, Bieber settled down to end up with a quality start and 12 strikeouts. Now, Plesac hopes to avoid the unsettled start against a Tiger lineup that was mostly neutralized in the first game of this series.

Of course, Cabrera is always dangerous. His 350th home run in a Detroit uniform was a memorable one.

The other player to watch is Jones, who has two hits in three career at-bats against Plesac including a home run. Thursday’s hero could very well end up with two straight big games and has been impressive for some time now.

JaCoby Jones, with a 1.349 OPS, has been one of the most impressive hitters across @MLB early this season. Great points about his growth just now by @ShepMatt and @CMo_27 on @FOXSportsDet. Thursday was the 5th anniversary of his arrival to @Tigers in the Soria trade.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) August 1, 2020

While Teheran has been one of the more underrated pitchers in baseball over the last decade, I like the Indians in this spot because of Hernandez and Reyes’ familiarity with him and Plesac’s stuff.

Pick: Cleveland Moneyline (-170)

This article contains links to external sports betting services. SBD may receive advertising revenue from these links, however editorial has hand-picked each individual link based on relevance to the article, without influence on the coverage.