Friday, October 3, 2014

Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

On Friday, right-hander Justin Verlander will be on the mound for the Detroit Tigers when they go up against Wei-Yin Chen and the Baltimore Orioles in Game 2 of the American League Division Series.

Justin Verlander ended up with a 15-12 record this year, but it was his worst season since way back in 2008. In 32 starts for the Tigers, he had a 4.54 ERA with a 1.398 WHIP and he only struck out 6.9 batters per nine innings. He was 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA in his final three starts, so he has a bit of coming into the playoffs.

Verlander made two starts against the Orioles this year and was 1-1 against them with a 4.05 ERA. Outfielder Alejandro De Aza has hit two home runs off of Verlander in his career, but he has just a .226 batting average overall against him in 31 at-bats.

In his third year in the majors, Wei-Yin Chen continued to improve and he finished the year with a 16-6 record with a 3.54 ERA. In 185.2 innings of work, he gave up 193 hits, struck out 136 batters and only walked 35. He was 2-2 in his five September starts with a solid 2.05 ERA.

Chen did not get a chance to face the Tigers during the regular season this year. Second baseman Ian Kinsler has three hits in his 10 at-bats against Chen with a walk and two doubles.

Detroit Tigers Betting Trends

Detroit Tigers are 83-72-7 against the Over/Under

Run Differential for Detroit Tigers is 0.3

Baltimore Orioles Betting Trends

Baltimore Orioles are 69-89-4 against the Over/Under

Run differential for Baltimore Orioles is 0.7

Injuries to Watch

Detroit Tigers

09/29/14 CF Rajai Davis Abdominal "?" Thursday vs. Baltimore Orioles
09/02/14 P Drew VerHagen Back 60-day DL (7/15)
06/25/14 P Luke Putkonen Elbow 60-day DL (4/19)
05/02/14 P Joel Hanrahan Elbow 60-day DL (5/2)
03/28/14 LF Andy Dirks Back 60-day DL (3/29)
03/28/14 P Bruce Rondon Elbow 60-day DL (3/29), out for season
03/27/14 SS Jose Iglesias Stress Fracture 60-day DL (3/29); out for season

Baltimore Orioles

09/12/14 3B Chris Davis Suspension expected to miss 25 games
08/22/14 3B Manny Machado Knee 60-day DL (8/12); out for season
06/17/14 C Matt Wieters Elbow 60-day DL (5/11), out for season
06/03/14 P Johan Santana Shoulder 60-day DL (6/2), out for season
04/03/14 P Edgmer Escalo Shoulder 60-day DL (3/30)
03/31/14 LF Francisco Peguero Wrist 15-day DL (3/21)

Josh's Pick: Take Baltimore

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