Detroit Tigers vs Cleveland Guardians Odds, Picks & Player Props to Target (Game 2)

• The Cleveland Guardians face elimination when they host the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of their AL Wild Card series
• The pitching matchup features Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee against Detroit’s Casey Mize
• See the my favorite Tigers vs Guardians picks plus the latest DET/CLE odds and betting lines

The Detroit Tigers (87-75, 42-40 away) visit Cleveland Guardians (88-75, 45-37 home) in Game 2 of their best-of-three Wild Card series at Progressive Field on Wednesday October 1 (1:08 pm ET). On the brink of elimination, the Guardians turn to 26-year-old righty Tanner Bibee (12-11, 4.24, 1.23 WHIP) while the Tigers give 28-year-old righty Casey Mize (14-6, 3.87 ERA, 1.27 WHIP) his first taste of postseason action.

The key storyline revolves around whether Cleveland’s contact-oriented offense can solve Mize, or if Detroit’s pitching will once again dominate in a hostile environment. Below, I have set out my favorite Tigers vs Guardians Game 2 picks, plus the main player props on offer, and up-to-the-minute DET/CLE odds for October 1st.

Go to: DET vs CLE Picks || DET vs CLE Player Props || DET vs CLE Game 2 Odds

Tigers vs Guardians Picks & Prediction for Game 2

• Cleveland Guardians moneyline (-130) at BetMGM
• Under 6.5 Runs (-105) at BetMGM

The Guardians, despite their Game 1 loss, present strong moneyline value as slight home favorites. Backed by significant sharp money (85.5% of the handle in the latest MLB public betting splits), they boast an impressive 7-2 record at home as favorites in their last nine games and are 4-1 at home following a loss, demonstrating a strong bounce-back ability. This contrasts sharply with the Tigers’ 1-9 record in their last ten games after a win, making Cleveland an appealing play to even the series.

The total has seen significant sharp-money movement, too, dropping from an opening line of 7.0 to 6.5 despite the public heavily favoring the over. This indicates respected money is on another low-scoring affair. Both Tanner Bibee and Casey Mize are talented pitchers who can keep keep runs at a premium when their stuff is sharp. The under has hit in each of the last five Tigers games and in five of the last six head-to-head matchups between these two teams, reinforcing the expectation of a pitcher’s duel in the favorable environment of Progressive Field

DET Tigers vs CLE Guardians Player Props (Game 2)

MLB player props as of October 1 at FanDuel.

Bo Naylor presents intriguing value. He has historically crushed Casey Mize, going 3-for-8 with two doubles and a home run. His hits prop at O 0.5 (-130) is appealing given this history, and can be found at -125 at Fanatics. Jose Ramirez has also massacred mize, batting .500 with two homers in just ten at-bats.

Tanner Bibee’s strikeout line is set at a low 4.5, but the over is heavily juiced at -174. While the Tigers make a lot of contact, Bibee has the stuff to miss bats, making the over a possibility despite the price. Casey Mize’s earned runs line is set at 1.5, with the over favored at -121. Facing a Guardians team desperate for offense, and with Naylor’s history against him, the over on his earned runs is a solid look.

Player Prop Picks:

• Naylor over 0.5 hits (-125) at Fanatics
• Jose Ramirez over 1.5 total bases (+115) at Fanatics

Mize vs Bibbee: Starting Pitcher-vs-Batter History

Both starters have plenty of history against the opposing hitters they’ll face today, but that’s especially true of Tanner Bibbee against the Detroit lineup (159 at-bats).

Detroit Tigers Career Statistics vs Tanner Bibee

The Tigers have made plenty of contact against Bibbee, generating a .258 average in a massive 159-at-bat sample size, but the Cleveland starter has been good at limiting the damage and inducing soft contact. He’s allowed just two home runs in those 159 at-bats along with 12 doubles, which has kept Detroit to a subpar .679 OPS. Kerry Carpenter and Zach McKinstry have the two homers.

Gleyber Torres has the strongest overall history against Bibbee, going 6-for-15 (.400 average) with two doubles, a .971 OPS, and just one strikeout.

Cleveland Guardians Career Statistics vs Casey Mize

It’s a much smaller sample size (57 at-bats) but the Guardians have generated better contact and more power against Mize than the Tigers have against Bibbee. They have crushed four home runs and three doubles in those 57 at-bats, generating a solid .281 batting average and well-above-average .861 OPS.

The bulk of the damage has been done by Jose Ramirez (5-for-10 with two home runs) and Bo Naylor (3-for-8 with a home run and two doubles).

Cleveland Guardians vs Detroit Tigers Odds (Game 2)

The odds position the Guardians as slight home favorites (-130 or shorter) with the Tigers plus-money underdogs (+115 or shorter). The vig-free moneyline gives Cleveland a 53.7% implied win probability against 46.3% for Detroit.

The total is sitting at 6.5 runs across the board, indicating that oddsmakers anticipate another pitcher’s duel, similar to the 2-1 result in Game 1.

DET vs CLE Odds Movement

The betting market has shown notable movement since the lines opened. The Guardians’ moneyline has shifted from -118 to -130, suggesting that early money, including sharp action, is backing the home team to bounce back.

The most significant move has been on the total, which opened at 7.0 runs and has since dropped to 6.5. This half-run adjustment is a strong indicator that the market expects a low-scoring game, influenced by the Game 1 result and the quality of both the starting pitchers and bullpens.