Guardians vs Tigers Odds, Predictions, & Starting Pitchers (April 18)

• After a rainout, the Tigers host the Guardians in a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 18th
• In the first half of the twin bill, the visiting Guardians are -115 moneyline favorites
• Read on below for all the Game 1 Guardians vs Tigers odds, plus our best bet and pick

After the first scheduled game of the Guardians (9-7, 7-3 away) and Tigers (5-9, 2-3 home) series was washed away by rain Monday evening, the teams reconvene for a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 18th. In this preview, we’ll focus on the first of those matchups, with first pitch scheduled at 1:10 pm ET.

Although they own an unflattering 5-9 mark so far this season, the Tigers have actually won three straight. Fans can watch them try and run that win streak to four on Bally Sports Detroit against a Guardians team that just took two of three in Washington.

Below, you can find the Guardians vs Tigers odds for Game 1 on Tuesday, as we also offer up our best bet and prediction for the first of a three game set between the squads.

Guardians vs Tigers Odds

Sportsbooks have this one set as a virtual pick’em although the Guardians are the smallest of favorites at -115 on the moneyline. The over/under total is set at nine runs. Although Detroit has one of the worst offenses in the league, they’ve seven runs in back-to-back victories.

Conditions won’t be the greatest in Detroit with the forecast calling for temperatures of 43 degrees, but at least there is only a 2% chance of rain. Moderate 17 mile per hour wind gusts will be expected throughout the contest.

DRAFTKINGS
SPORTSBOOK

Bet $5 & Get $200 in Bonus Bets Instantly + a No Sweat NBA SGP Every Day!

LOCK IN PROMO

SIGNUP PROMO

BET $5
GET $200

+ A NO SWEAT NBA SGP

GET PROMO

Odds as of April 17th at DraftKings Sportsbook. 

Cleveland vs Detroit Starting Pitchers

With their pitching depth already challenged just a few weeks into the season, the Guardians are hoping Hunter Gaddis can show them he belongs with the big club. It hasn’t been exactly been a banner start to the career of the burly 260 pound righthander.

In five career starts spanning this season and last, Gaddis has a 12.15 ERA and allowed eight long balls in just 20 innings pitched. He got rocked for eight runs in his last outing against the Yankees.

Gaddis vs Rodriguez Stats

Limited to just 17 starts in 2022 due to injuries and personal issues, Eduardo Rodriguez looked excellent in spring training, earning opening day honors for the Tigers. He didn’t start the regular season the way he wanted, but his last start against the Blue Jays was his best of the year.

The southpaw went six innings against a Toronto team that ranks top 10 in almost every offensive category in the majors and allowed just one earned run. His strikeout to walk ratio is currently way below his career average, but with only three starts so far under his belt, there’s hope his velocity picks up as the season rolls along.

Baez Benching Sparks Tigers

After signing a six-year, $140 million dollar contract in the before the 2022 season, Javier Baez has left a lot to be desired for Motown. He is their second highest paid player next to the legendary Miguel Cabrera, but not only has he not performed up to expectations, his effort on the field has come into question.

Against the Blue Jays last week, the Tigers’ infielder lost track of the outs while on base, getting doubled off easily. It was his second unacceptable baserunning blunder in as many nights.

Cue Detroit manager A.J. Hinch who had the guts to hold one of his key players accountable by pulling him from the game and benching him. Since then the Tigers have been on a moneyline roll in the MLB odds, winning three consecutive games for the first time all year.

Javy Báez is 4-for-8 with two walks, two 2B and four RBI since his benching in Toronto.

His 12-pitch battle was the biggest AB in the Tigers’ win Saturday.

“I think that at-bat changed the whole game,” Miguel Cabrera said. “He’s the MVP of the game.”https://t.co/mc6zUZXiYk

— Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) April 15, 2023

It appears Baez has responded as well. Prior to the benching, he had only five hits in 41 at-bats this season and just one for extra bases. Since returning to the lineup, the veteran is 4-for-8 with two extra base hits and four RBI’s. Needless to say, it looks like that was a wake up call he needed.

Guardians vs Tigers Prediction

This recent run of victories has to feel good for Hinch and a Tigers team that is expected to be bottom of the food chain in their division this season. Only three teams have longer odds to win the World Series than Detroit this campaign.

Where they’ve struggled the most this year is on offense. As a team, they are hitting just .208 this season, the worst mark in all of baseball and only the Marlins have scored less runs. However during this three game run, the Tigers have somewhat turned things around, scoring 17 runs over that span.

Will the Detroit Tigers extend their win streak tomorrow? 🔥 #ReDetroit pic.twitter.com/i2pq0PpvYk

— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) April 18, 2023

With their offense slowly comings around, they face a pitcher in Gaddis who has allowed at least four runs in all but one start in his career. Good times likely won’t last long for this Tigers squad, but our prediction is to roll with them in a matchup that should play in their favor.

Pick: Detroit Tigers Moneyline (-105)