Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians Picks and Prediction for Wednesday, October 1, 2025

In Game 1 of the AL Wild Card, the Detroit Tigers are taking on the Cleveland Guardians inside Progressive Field on Tuesday afternoon in our Tigers vs. Guardians prediction. The Tigers ended the regular season with a 4-3 road loss against the Boston Red Sox while the Guardians won in 10 innings over the Texas Rangers 9-8. The Tigers finished as the third AL Wild Card team with an 87-75 record and are sending left-hander Tarik Skubal to the mound. The Guardians won the AL Central with an 88-74 record and have young righty Gavin Williams getting the ball. Dial in your read with MLB picks for Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians before first pitch.

Tigers Looking to Finish Off a Sweep

The Detroit Tigers are looking to finish off the AL Wild Card Round after recording a 2-1 road win in Game 1 on Tuesday over the Cleveland Guardians. The lineup was limited to just 5-for-30 with two walks and 13 strikeouts on the day as a team. The Tigers finished 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded six men on base. Starter Tarik Skubal dominated in the win as he pitched 7.2 innings of one-run ball, striking out 14, and Will Vest closed it out with 1.1 innings and one hit allowed.

The Tigers are sending right-hander Casey Mize to pitch and he pitched well in the regular season as in 28 starts, he was 14-6 in 149.0 innings with a 3.87 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He has been able to limit the amount of free passes as he has 36 walks (one intentional) to 149 strikeouts. Mize faced the Guardians three times this season and was 1-0 in 17.1 innings and he gave up five runs (four earned) on 15 hits with four walks (one intentional) and 18 strikeouts.

Injury Report for Detroit

• Second baseman Colt Keith: Rib Cage (OUT)
• Pitcher Sawyer Gipson-Long: Neck (OUT)
• Pitcher Beau Brieske: Forearm (OUT)
• Center fielder Matt Vierling: Oblique (OUT)
• Pitcher Reese Olson: Shoulder (OUT)
• Pitcher Sean Guenther: Hip (OUT)
• Pitcher Jackson Jobe: Flexor (OUT)
• Pitcher Jason Foley: Shoulder (OUT)
• Pitcher Alex Cobb: Hip (OUT)
• Pitcher Ty Madden: Shoulder (OUT)

Guardians Looking to Keep Their Season Alive

The Cleveland Guardians are looking to recover after losing Game 1 to the Detroit Tigers 2-1 on Tuesday. The Guardians were held in check as they were 4-for-30 with three walks and 15 strikeouts at the plate as the lineup failed to record an extra-base hit throughout the nine innings. Cleveland finished 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position while leaving five men on base. Gavin Williams pitched well, despite recording the loss, as he allowed a pair of unearned runs over six innings on the mound. An error in the first inning by RF Johnathan Rodriguez proved costly as the Tigers were able to gain a 1-0 lead and the momentum.

Young right-hander Tanner Bibee is going to be taking the mound for the Cleveland Guardians in this game and held his own in the regular season as he went 12-11 with a 4.24 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in 182.1 innings over 31 starts. He has struggled a bit with the long ball as he allowed a career-high 27 home runs this season. Bibee faced the Tigers three times during the season and was 3-0 in 19.0 innings and allowed two runs on 12 hits with five walks and 21 strikeouts.

Injury Report for Cleveland

• First baseman David Fry: Nose (OUT)
• Right fielder Nolan Jones: Oblique (OUT)
• Pitcher Nic Enright: Elbow (OUT)
• Center fielder Lane Thomas: Foot (OUT)
• Right fielder Will Brennan: Forearm (OUT)
• Pitcher Andrew Walters: Lat (OUT)
• Pitcher Ben Lively: Forearm (OUT)
• Pitcher John Means: Elbow (OUT)
• Pitcher Sam Hentges: Shoulder (OUT)

Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians Pick

Money Line Wild Card Pick for Tigers vs. Guardians

• Detroit Tigers -105 (5 units)

The Detroit Tigers are in the driver’s seat as they are up 1-0 in the best-of-three AL Wild Card Round. The Guardians are going to be having everyone available out of the bullpen as the first sign of trouble for Tanner Bibee will have manager Stephen Vogt out of the dugout and calling to the bullpen. Detroit has a rested bullpen of its own as only closer Will Vest was used in Game 1, but they don’t have that sense of urgency. Cleveland showed in Game 1 that they can struggle late, as they had the tying run on third base with nobody out and were unable to score in the ninth inning. Casey Mize faced some tough lineups in September and pitched to a 3.49 ERA and a .245 batting average against in 28.1 innings over five starts. Go with the Detroit Tigers to maintain momentum and sweep the series to advance to the ALDS against the Seattle Mariners.

Over/Under Pick for Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians

• Under (4 units)

These teams are not doing too well offensively and Game 2 of this series will continue that trend. In Game 1, these teams scored three runs and were a combined 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position. The bullpens also did not allow any runs or hits (one walk) in the game over 4.1 innings. Even when there is trouble, these pitchers limit threats as during the regular season, they did not allow much when pitching against runners in scoring position. The Tigers were tied with the New York Mets for 14th with a .248 batting average against with runners in scoring position while the Guardians were tied with the Cincinnati Reds for sixth with a .239 opposing batting average in those situations. All in all, go with the under in this game.