By David Troy
Tigers vs. Guardians, 1:40 ET There are few pitchers in the game today that are can’t miss pitchers. I would be willing to be on about five guys in general that I would go out of my way to get tickets for a game or make sure I am home to watch them perform. Some people are generational talents like Shohei Ohtani, and others are on their way out the door like Clayton Kershaw (who is also a guy who isn’t quite what you think he is). I’m sure there are going to be a lot of people out there saying there are more than that. I probably did miss a bunch, but the reason I thought about this in general is that Tarik Skubal of the Tigers is taking on the Guardians. The Tigers are one of the best teams in baseball, and they seem like one of the few in the game that have been consistent over the entire year. They have built a big lead in the division, and could potentially run the table. This was supposed to be one of the more competitive divisions in baseball, but to this point in the season, the Tigers have made it look like light work. The hitting has been reliable and surprisingly effective. The pitching has been some of the best in the league. I suppose that second part isn’t that hard to do considering they have Skubal taking the ball every five days. Coming into today, Skubal has a 10-2 record with a 2.15 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP. Maybe the most impressive thing to me about his season is that he has 138 strikeouts and just 14 walks. That means he has almost a 10:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. For a guy that is ridiculously hard to hit anyway, that’s insane. He did face the Guardians once this season, and it was his best start of the year. He threw 94 pitches, resulting in a two-hit complete game shutout. He also struck out 13 hitters in that game. Overall, the Guardians aren’t that bad. They have a .235 batting average overall, with, of course, Jose Ramirez being the best. The Guardians are having a bit of a down year and are under .500. They probably will be fine by the end of the season, but it is unlikely, in my opinion, that they make the playoffs. The team is one of the worst hitting in the league. They also have one of the lowest run scoring lineups in baseball. They are averaging around 3.6 runs per game this year. The Tigers have over 100 more runs scored this season than the Guardians, just as a reference point. The pitching has remained very positive. Today they send out Gavin Williams to the mound. He is 5-4 with a 3.86 ERA for the year and has a 1.46 WHIP. There are a lot of things to like about Williams. He has been better at home than he has on the road. He improved his ERA in each month, putting up a 2.57 ERA in June. However, July started a little rough as he allowed four earned runs in 5.2 innings against the Cubs in his first outing. Williams hasn’t faced the Tigers this year, but has held the Tigers to just a .193 batting average over 57 at-bats in his career. I will not bet against Skubal any time soon. The Tigers are probably going to win this game. In his starts this season, the Tigers are 13-4 in his games and have covered the -1.5 run line in 10 of those 17 games. I do lean toward the run line victory here, but I’m going to take the under. I think both teams are going to struggle against the opposing pitcher. Take the under here. For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024