Cleveland Guardians vs. Detroit Tigers Picks and Prediction - September 18, 2025
It’s getaway day for a key American League series and we’ll make sure you’re prepared for the first pitch with our Guardians vs. Tigers predictions for Thursday. Cleveland (79-71, 2nd in A.L. Central) closes the series with RHP Tanner Bibee (10-11, 4.44 ERA) as their starting pitcher. Detroit (85-66, 1st in A.L. Central) has lined up LHP Tarik Skubal (13-5, 2.26 ERA) to take the hill. First pitch from Comerica Park is scheduled for 1:10 EST and with much more action on the docket, be sure to check out our Free MLB Picks.
(This game was published prior to the conclusion of Wednesday’s games.)
Guardians make much-needed surge
The Guardians are creeping up in the Central, where they now sit 5.5 games back with five more games still to play against the Tigers, while also sitting 2.5 back of the final Wild Card spot. With their win in the series opener on Tuesday, they found themselves with a five-game winning streak. The offense hit just .226 in the winning streak but scored 20 runs. Through 150 games, they ranked dead last in the American League with a .226 team batting average, and their 587 runs were second second-fewest. Cleveland’s power produced 155 dingers, 13th in the league but they were also sixth in the league with 115 stolen bases. Guardians’ hitters drew 453 walks while striking out 1,239 times.
Pitching has been solid over the past week for Cleveland, with a league-best 1.76 ERA in the last seven days, a span covering their five-game winning streak. This season, the staff has a 3.79 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and .242 opponents’ batting average. Starters were 45-48 with a 3.94 ERA and relievers, 34-23 with and A.L.-best 45 saves. Tanner Bibee goes for the 30th time this season. He is coming off of his best outing of the season, a complete game shutout versus the White Sox in which he struck out 10 and allowed only two hits and a hit batter. Opponents are hitting .248 against the Cleveland starter, with 27 home runs and 50 walks. Bibee is 2-3 with a 4.30 ERA in seven career starts versus Detroit.
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Quick hits
- Jose Ramirez had two hits in Tuesday’s win, raising his average to .282, 11th best in the A.L.
- With two hits on Tuesday, Steven Kwan had seven multi-hit efforts in September.
- Kyle Manzardo has hit safely in 10 of 13 games in September and he is second on the club with 67 RBIs this season.
- Carlos Santana has gone nine games without a walk but is still tied for second on the club with 52 free passes.
Tigers look to avoid the banana peel
The Tigers' stranglehold on the American League slipped from their grips. Now they try to hold a 5.5 game lead in the Central, but a 1-4 stretch has not helped their cause. The bats were held to a .200 average and 16 runs in their last five games. The team is hitting .249 through 151 games, with 734 runs scored, fourth most in the American League. They have the fifth most home runs (190) and their 35 triples are 12 more than the next closest team. Detroit hitters are fifth in the league in both strikeouts (1332) and walks (476).
Detroit’s pitching struggled to a 5.56 ERA over the past week, a stretch of five games. This season, the staff had a 3.92 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and teams were hitting .241 against them through 151 games. Tigers’ starters were 54-43 with a 3.86 ERA and their relievers had 38 saves with a 4.06 ERA. No worse for wear from the left side tightness that limited his last start, Tarik Skubal makes his 30th start of the season. He was pulled after 3.1 innings in Miami on Friday due to an injury and allowed four runs and four hits, two of them home runs. The southpaw is first in the American League with a 2.26 ERA and 0.86 WHIP and his 224 strikeouts are second most in the league. Opponents are hitting just .197 against Skubal, with 17 home runs and 28 walks. The Tigers’ hurler is 3-2 with a 2.50 ERA in 10 career starts versus Cleveland.
Quick hits
- Riley Greene is fourth in the A.L. with 34 home runs and tied for second with 108 RBIs.
- Kerry Carpenter hit a two-out, pinch hit, solo home run on Tuesday in the ninth innings, his 29th home run of the season.
- Spencer Torkelson had four hits in Tuesday’s loss, including his first home run in 19 games
- Dillon Dingler hit safely in six straight games and in 11 of his last 14 games.
Guardians vs. Tigers Pick
Spread Pick for Guardians vs. Tigers
- Tigers -1.5 (+112) (5 units)
Through the first eight games of the season series, each team had four wins. The Tigers are trying to ensure that next week’s rematch against Cleveland is not with the division on the line and they can start by closing things out with a win. Lucky for them, they have their ace on the hill. Skubal has faced the Guardians twice already this season, striking out 23 while not allowing a run in 16 innings. Plain and simple, he has dominated this lineup. Yes, Cleveland has been hitting well over the past week, but the Tigers’ hurler seems to be their kryptonite. On the other hand, it seems as if Detroit might be a bit of kryptonite for Bibee, who has a 4.30 ERA in his career against them. The Guardians’ starter also has a 5.47 ERA and has allowed 19 home runs in 16 starts on the road this season. In the two games Skubal started against Cleveland this year, Detroit won by five runs both times.
Take the Tigers with the run line.
Over/Under for Guardians vs. Tigers
- Under 7.5 (5 units)
These teams went blow-for-blow on Tuesday night, scoring a combined total of 12 runs. This time around, things should be very different. This is an excellent matchup of starting pitchers, with Cy Young front-runner Skubal looking to add to his resume for the season. In three of his last four home starts, he did not yield a run. Bibee is coming off of his best start of the season and he’s gotten better over the past month, pitching at least six innings in each of his last four starts. The Tigers bats have been pretty dormant over the past few weeks, scoring three runs or less in three of their last five games. Cleveland’s offense has been better over the past week, but it still possesses the lowest batting average of any American League team, and they didn’t add anything to that overnight. The under is 5-3 when these two teams have met this season.
Take the under.
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