Cleveland Guardians vs Detroit Tigers Prediction, 5/18/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Cleveland Guardians vs Detroit Tigers

Date: Monday, May 18, 2026

Location: Comerica Park in Detroit, MI

TV: Detroit SportsNet

Odds/Point Spread: Cleveland (+162) Detroit (-196)

The Cleveland Guardians (25-22) are traveling to Comerica Park on Monday where they will try to defeat the Detroit Tigers (20-26). The moneyline on this game has Cleveland at +162 and Detroit is priced at -196. The over/under is set at 8. The pitchers taking the mound are Slade Cecconi and Framber Valdez.

Cleveland has a slugging rate of .366 and have struck out 342 times, while being walked on 198 occasions. They have recorded 185 runs batted in in addition to 343 hits so far this season, and their team batting average sits at .229. The Guardians have accumulated 73 doubles as a unit and have smacked 43 balls out of the stadium. They have accumulated 193 runs and hold an OBP of .323. As a squad, the Cleveland Guardians are knocking in 4.2 runs per outing, which is 17th in baseball.

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They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.72 and their pitching staff has recorded a WHIP of 1.28. Guardians pitchers have surrendered 54 long balls in addition to 190 total runs (12th in baseball). Cleveland has yielded 363 base hits (8.0 per 9 innings) as well as 175 earned runs. The Guardians have an earned run average of 3.88 this year (12th in the league), and they have struck out 424 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 156 opposing players and their FIP is 4.00 as a unit for the season.

The Guardians relievers have a save percentage of 78.9% and have come into the game in 57 save situations. They have recorded 15 saves over the course of the season and have blown 4 of their 19 save opportunities. The relief pitchers have inherited 73 runners this year and 26.0% of them ended up scoring. Guardians relief pitchers have entered the contest with runners on base 45 times and also have had 52 appearances in high leverage situations. The Guardians have dispatched 150 relief pitchers to the hill on the year. The bullpen have notched 37 holds for the year (2nd in MLB).

The Cleveland Guardians have earned a total of 1,219 putouts for the season, as well as 350 assists and 18 errors. Their fielding percentage is currently at .989 which is 8th in baseball, and have 35 double plays. The Guardians have converted 70.0% of balls in play into outs out of their 3,657 innings on the field, ranking them 17th in MLB.

Cecconi (11-19 career win-loss record) sits with a FIP of 5.08 and he has gone up against 1,199 batters in the major leagues. He has allowed 298 hits (9.5 hits per nine innings) with 70 walks. His ERA is 5.16 (161 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.310. Cecconi has taken the ball for 281 frames and is sitting with 231 punch outs in his pro baseball career.

The Tigers have a team slugging percentage of .387 and they earn 4.13 runs per game (23rd in the league). They have hit 83 doubles, while walking 173 times as well as scoring 186 runs. Detroit has a total of 40 home runs so far this season to go along with 176 runs batted in. They have struck out on 380 instances (13th in the league) and have 361 hits. The Detroit Tigers have accumulated a team OBP of .325 in addition to a team batting average of .242 on the year.

The Detroit pitching staff have yielded 195 runs on the season while holding a team ERA of 4.02 (174 earned runs conceded). They have surrendered 39 long balls and they yield 4.51 runs per 9 innings (15th in the league). The Tigers are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.321 in addition to having a FIP of 3.82 as a team over the course of the season. They currently have a K/BB ratio of 8.60 (370 strikeouts vs 156 walks). They rank 16th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 358.

They rank 26th in the league with a save percentage of 50.0%, and they have sent 140 bullpen pitchers to the mound on the season. Their bullpen pitchers have taken the field 37 times in high leverage situations and on 57 occasions with base runners. Sitting with 36 save situations, the Tigers have 17 holds and 9 blown saves. Detroit has called on bullpen pitchers to take the mound in 18 save opportunities and they have come away with 9 saves. Detroit bullpen pitchers have an inherited score rate of 33.0% out of 91 inherited base runners.

The Detroit Tigers have gotten 40 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .983 (25th in MLB). The Tigers have racked up 380 assists, 26 errors and have amassed 1,168 putouts for the year. In 3,504 innings played, the Tigers have earned a defensive efficiency of 69.1% (24th in MLB).

Valdez (83-54 career mark) has a 3.41 earned run average while surrendering 7.7 hits per nine innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.70 and he has faced 4,706 batters thus far in his career. He has given up a total of 428 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.211 and a FIP of 3.4. So far in his career, Valdez has conceded 963 hits while he has totaled 1,095 strikeouts in 1,130 innings pitched.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Cleveland (+162)

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