Cleveland Indians vs Detroit Tigers Prediction, 4/4/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Cleveland Indians vs Detroit Tigers

Date: Sunday, April 4, 2021

Location: Comerica Park in Detroit, MI

TV: Bally Sports Detroit

Odds/Point Spread: Cleveland (-156) Detroit (+105)

Aaron Civale and the Cleveland Indians (35-25, 3rd in AL Central last year) head to Comerica Park on Sunday where they'll take on the Detroit Tigers (23-35, 5th in AL Central last season). The Indians open this game at -156 while the Tigers are priced at +105. The total has been set at 9. The starting pitchers will be Aaron Civale and Tarik Skubal.

The Indians accumulated 96 two-baggers as a squad and knocked 59 balls out of the park last year. Cleveland was slugging .372 and were rung up 517 times, while being walked on 239 occasions. As a team, the Cleveland Indians put up 4.1 runs per game, which put them at 25th in the league. They had 234 runs batted in as well as 446 hits over the course of the prior season, while their average at the plate came in at .228. They accumulated 248 runs scored and held an on-base percentage of .317.

Indians pitchers conceded 68 home runs and 209 runs in total (30th in MLB). They walked 157 players from the other team and their FIP came in at 3.55 as a unit over the course of the prior season. They earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.96 and their pitching staff held a collective WHIP of 1.11. The Indians had an ERA of 3.29 in the previous season (2nd in the league), and their staff struck out 621 hitters. The Indians bullpen accumulated a save percentage of 71.4% and came into the game in 63 save situations. The relievers inherited 60 runners last year with 26.7% of those runners crossed the plate. Indians relief pitchers came into the game with players on base in 38 contests and also 72 outings with high leverage. The Indians sent 181 relievers to the mound last season. The bullpen had 35 holds in the prior season (8th in baseball). They earned 20 saves for the prior year and did not convert 8 out of their 28 save chances.

Civale was the owner of a FIP of 4.03 and his ERA+ was 97. He allowed 39 ER's over the course of last year and had a K/BB ratio of 4.3. He allowed 10 H/9 and his WHIP was at 1.324. His ERA was at 4.74 and he punched out 69 hitters. Aaron Civale surrendered 82 base knocks in 74 innings he pitched over the course of last season. Civale has pitched in 131 innings and has tallied 115 strikeouts so far in his career. His earned run average is 3.69 (54 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.200. He has conceded 126 hits (8.6 hits per nine innings) and has had 32 walks. Civale (7-10 career record) sits with a FIP of 3.76 and he has faced 539 batters in the majors.

The Detroit Tigers had a team OBP of .303 in addition to a team batting average of .245 last season. They were rung up on 567 instances (6th in baseball) and notched a total of 463 hits. Detroit knocked in 62 home runs over the course of the prior season to go along with 242 runs batted in. The Tigers had a slugging percentage of .397 and they averaged 4.29 runs per contest (22nd in MLB). They hit 78 doubles, while getting a free base 147 times as well as recording 249 runs.

The Detroit pitching staff surrendered 318 runs in the previous season while holding a team ERA of 5.63 (308 earned runs relinquished). They allowed 91 long balls and they conceded 5.82 runs per 9 innings (28th in MLB). The Tigers finished with a team WHIP of 1.429 in addition to having a FIP of 5.17 as a team over the course of last year. They earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.31 (444 strikeouts against 192 walks). They were sitting at 6th in the league as a staff in total hits given up with 511. Ending the season with 19 chances for a save, the Tigers accumulated 27 holds in addition to 8 blown saves. Detroit called on bullpen pitchers to enter the contest in 46 save situations and they earned 11 saves. Their relievers came into 58 games with high leverage and 55 outings with runners on. Detroit relievers held an inherited score rate of 29.0% out of their 91 inherited runners. They were ranked 19th in the league with a save rate of 57.9%, and they dispatched 218 relievers onto the diamond last year.

Skubal gave up 28 total base hits while surrendering 20 earned runs (5.63 ERA). His WHIP was at 1.22 and he earned a FIP of 5.75 over the course of last season. He pitched in 32.0 innings last year while allowing 7.9 H/9 (hits per 9 innings). Skubal earned a K/BB ratio of 3.4 with 37 total strikeouts and an ERA+ of 83. 

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Detroit (+105)

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