Defending American League Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber has not had his good stuff, for the most part, this season, but he’ll try to right the ship when he and the Cleveland Indians close out their series with Detroit Tigers.
The Tigers will try to earn a split in the series when they hand the ball to Matthew Boyd for this matinee matchup. Check out our MLB free picks and predictions for Indians vs. Tigers on Wednesday, April 27, with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 p.m. ET.
Indians vs Tigers game info
• Location: Comerica Park, Detroit, MI
• Date: Thursday, May 27, 2021
• Time: 1:10 p.m. ET
• TV: BS-GL, BS-Det
Indians vs Tigers odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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Indians vs Tigers betting preview
Starting pitchers
Shane Bieber (4-3, 3.32 ERA): Bieber hasn’t been as dominant as we have been used to over the last couple of seasons. The defending American League Cy Young award winner appears to be having some trouble locating his fastball and curveball, and as a result, his walks are way up and he is getting hit hard when he finds too much of the zone to overcompensate.
Matthew Boyd (2-5, 3.08 ERA): Boyd has hit a rough patch after a very strong start to the season. After pitching to a 1.94 ERA over his first seven starts of the season, the Tigers’ lefty has been roughed up for nine earned runs on 14 hits in 11 innings pitched over his last two starts.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Indians: Robert Perez C (Out), Cam Hill RP (Out).
Tigers: Erasmo Ramirez RP (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Over is 5-2 in Cleveland's last seven games as a favorite and 5-2 in Detroit's last seven vs. a team with a winning record. Find more MLB betting trends for Indians vs. Tigers.
Moneyline pick
Cleveland comes into this game at 26-21 and a game and a half behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central standings thanks to their pitching staff, but the lack of consistent hitting continues to hold them back, as evidenced by Wednesday night's 1-0 loss to the Tigers.
In fact, Cleveland is one of the worst hitting teams in the majors, ranking 22nd in scoring, 28th in batting average, and 24th in OPS. And while Boyd is in a bit of a slump, he should be able to bounce back against this sub-par lineup, and prior to this mini two-game slump, Boyd had limited opponents to a .203 batting average. That includes 5 2-3 innings of three-hit, shutout ball against Cleveland back on April 1.
Detroit’s lineup isn’t much, if any, better than Cleveland’s, but Bieber is in a weird place right now. Usually, this would be an automatic play on Cleveland but Bieber’s issues make it hard to pay the high price with the favorite.
Bieber has looked mortal recently, pitching to a 3.92 ERA with a 1.44 WHIP and is allowing opponents to hit .276 off him over his last seven starts. Bieber also allowed three runs on five hits and three walks in six innings in his lone start against the Tigers this season.
As we said, the combination of Biber's struggles and Cleveland's hitting woes make it worth taking a stab with the Tigers at this price.
PREDICTION: Tigers (+155)
Over/Under pick
The total for the matchup is a nice-and-low 7.0, which is to be expected when you consider the combination of starters and the, um, not-so-great lineups. And even though there have been just six total runs scored in the last two games of this series there is value in the Over here.
We’ve spoken about Bieber’s struggles, and he has allowed three earned runs five times in his last seven starts. And while we like Boyd to bounce back, he has had his issues with Cleveland in the past, allowing five earned runs in three of his last five starts against them.
Even if Boyd pitches well, he will eventually have to hand the ball off to a bullpen that is one of the worst in baseball. All those things considered, this number is low enough to bet the Over.
PREDICTION: Over 7 (-110)
Indians vs Tigers betting card
- Tigers (+155)
- Over 7 (-110)
Picks made on 5/26/2021 at 11:15 p.m. ET
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