Detroit Tigers vs Cleveland Indians Prediction, 8/21/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Detroit Tigers vs Cleveland Indians

Date: Friday, August 21, 2020

Location: Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH

TV: FSDT/STOh

Odds/Point Spread: Tigers (+170) Indians (-185)

Jeimer Candelario and the Detroit Tigers (9-13, 4th in AL Central) are headed to Progressive Field on Friday where they'll take on the Cleveland Indians (15-9, 2nd in AL Central). The Indians open this game at -185 while the Tigers are coming in at +170. The over/under opens at 9. The pitchers who are expected to start are Michael Fulmer and Adam Plutko.

Key Detroit Tigers Injuries

8/19/2020 Harold Castro 3B Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 29
8/19/2020 C.J 1B Knee Out for the season
8/19/2020 Dario Agrazal SP Forearm Out for the season
8/15/2020 Ivan Nova SP Triceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
8/7/2020 Troy Stokes LF Hand Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
7/18/2020 Jordan Zimmermann SP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 4

Key Cleveland Indians Injuries

No key injuries to report

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Tigers have a 9-13 overall record this season. Fulmer (24-31 career win-loss mark) has earned a FIP of 4.12 while he has faced 1,922 batters in the majors. His ERA is 3.88 (200 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.204. He has conceded 427 hits (8.3 hits per 9 innings) and has had 132 free passes. Fulmer has taken the hill for 464 innings and has accumulated 362 strikeouts in his career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.32 and they have given up 84 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .198 against the bullpen and they've struck out 84 hitters and walked 28 batters. As a team, Detroit allows 9.3 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.6 batters per nine innings. They are 29th in the league in team earned run average at 5.86. The Tigers pitchers collectively have given up 198 base hits and 125 earned runs. They have allowed 38 home runs this season, ranking them 4th in the league. Detroit as a pitching staff has walked 70 batters and struck out 162. They have walked 3.3 men per 9 innings while striking out 7.6 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.40 and their FIP as a unit is 5.31.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Detroit is hitting .231, good for 21st in the league. The Tigers hold a .416 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .294, which is good for 29th in baseball. They rank 21st in MLB with 7.6 hits per game. Jeimer Candelario is hitting .257 with an on-base percentage of .297. He has 18 hits this season in 70 at bats with 8 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .486 and an OPS+ of 109. Niko Goodrum is hitting .205 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .253. He has totaled 16 hits and he has driven in 14 men in 78 at bats. His OPS+ is 80 while his slugging percentage is at .423. The Tigers have 167 hits, including 34 doubles and 30 home runs. Detroit has walked 57 times so far this season and they have struck out 220 times as a unit. They have left 121 men on base and have a team OPS of .710. They score 4.64 runs per contest and have scored a total of 102 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

So far in his career, Plutko has surrendered 214 hits while he has totaled 149 strikeouts in 203 frames. He has conceded a total of 113 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.310 and a FIP of 5.5. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.87 and he has gone up against 861 opposing batters in his career. Plutko (12-11 career record) has a 5.01 earned run average and has conceded 9.5 hits per nine innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 2.63 and they have given up 47 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .170 against the Indians bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 83 batters and walked 21 opposing hitters. As a team, Cleveland allows 6.6 hits per nine innings while striking out 10.5 batters per nine innings. They are 1st in the league in team earned run average at 2.61. The Indians pitchers as a team have surrendered 156 base knocks and 62 earned runs this season. They have given up 24 home runs this year, which ranks 27th in Major League Baseball. Cleveland as a staff has walked 57 hitters and struck out 250 batters. They give up a walk 2.4 times per 9 innings while they strike out 10.5 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.00 while their FIP as a staff is 3.23.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .200, good for 30th in the league. The Indians hold a .329 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .312, which is good for 21st in baseball. They rank 30th in MLB with 6.4 hits per contest. Jose Ramirez comes into this matchup batting .256 with an OBP of .364. He has 23 hits this year along with 18 RBI in 90 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .500 with an OPS+ of 132. Carlos Santana is hitting .197 this season and he has an OBP of .408. He has collected 15 hits in 76 at bats while driving in 12 runs. He has an OPS+ of 108 and a slugging percentage of .342. The Indians as a unit have 153 base hits, including 28 doubles and 22 homers. Cleveland has walked 109 times this year and they have struck out on 212 occasions. They have had 160 men left on base and have an OPS of .640. They have scored 3.96 runs per game and totaled 95 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Tigers/Indians MLB game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Tigers (+170)

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