Both ALDS series move forward with Game 2s on Monday.
The pregame narrative: The Detroit Tigers will turn to ace Tarik Subal and I like their chances of evening up the series. In the later game, I’m backing the under as the Kansas City Royals try to tie the series with the New York Yankees.
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Best bet: Tigers moneyline (-130)
In his one appearance against the Cleveland Guardians this season, Skubal worked seven innings, giving up 10 hits but limiting the damage to just one run.
The Tigers won the contest 8-2. And to no one’s surprise, Detroit holds the pitching advantage on Monday with Cleveland turning to Matthew Boyd.
Boyd was effective when called on this season (2-2, 2.72 ERA) but only started eight games equating to 39.2 innings. He also struggled in his final three starts of the season, giving up five earned runs over 11 IP (4.09 ERA).
The former Tiger has his work cut out for him. Detroit was the hottest team coming into the playoffs, going on a 31-13 run to end the season.
Skubal is the lone man I can trust in the Tigers’ rotation and I have confidence they can tie the series behind a strong performance.
Key stat: Detroit is 22-10 in Skubal’s starts this year.
Quick pick
Royals/Yankees under 7.5 runs (-110): Cole Ragans is starting for the Royals and he’s been a consistent stud.
Over his last five starts, he’s given up three runs in 31 innings of work. That includes six innings of shutout ball against Baltimore in the wild-card series.
Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are a combined 1-for-5 off Ragans while complimentary pieces Jazz Chisholm, Gleyber Torres and Giancarlo Stanton are all hitless.
Yankees starter Carlos Rodon has been effective in his own right against his opposition. He’s held the Royals’ offence to 29 hits in 123 at-bats (.235).
I also can’t ignore that Kansas City averaged 3.6 runs per game over its final 13 regular season contests.
Picks made at 3:26 p.m. ET on 10/06/2024.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.