Cleveland Guardians vs Detroit Tigers Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 9/30/25, 9:27 AM  by Lou Aguila | Modified on 9/30/25 at 3:45 PM in MLB Picks

The Cleveland Guardians and the Detroit Tigers open their American League wild card series on Tuesday at Progressive Field.

The Guardians, who clinched the AL Central title on the final day of the regular-season, are +138 home underdogs in this series opener or potential profit of $138 for every $100 bet.

Current Form:

The Guardians will try to draw first blood at home against none other than the very team they defeated for the AL Central title. Cleveland finished the season with a .226/.296/.373 split, which are among the worst batting numbers in the MLB. However, the Guardians earned a bulk of their 88 wins this season with their elite pitching, posting the fourth-best ERA in the regular-season at 3.70.

The Tigers get an opportunity to get back at the Guardians after a September meltdown almost cost them a postseason spot. Detroit thought it had their AL Central title in the bag after building a double-digit game lead on the Guardians in August. However, the Tigers experienced an unbelievable meltdown in the final month of the regular-season, where they went 7-17. The Tigers managed to steal a game in the final series against the Red Sox to secure the last wild card spot despite finishing with a similar 87-75 record as the Houston Astros. Detroit won their series against the Astros 4-2 to earn the tiebreaker.

Starting Pitchers Matchup:

Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal (13-6, 2.21 ERA) vs. Guardians RHP Gavin Williams (12-5, 3.06 ERA).