2020-08-14 19:10:00 EDT
The Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers meet Friday in MLB action from Comerica Park.
The Indians are coming out of a two-game set versus the Cubs. The Indians lost both those games, falling by a combined score of 14-3. As for the Tigers, they just finished up against the White Sox, winning on Monday but falling in the Tuesday and Wednesday games. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place.
Cleveland hasn’t exactly broken out offensively lately, but there are a few players performing pretty well at the plate so far. Franmil Reyes holds a .292 average with 19 hits, five runs and 10 RBI to his credit. Jose Ramirez has played pretty well also with 19 hits, 12 runs, four homers and 13 RBI. Cesar Hernandez carries a .279 average with 19 hits and 10 runs as well.
For the Friday start, the Indians will send out Aaron Civale. In three starts so far this season, Civale is 1-2 with a 2.84 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 19.0 innings. Over his career, Civale has a 4-6 record with a 2.47 ERA and 69 Ks in 76.2 innings overall.
Over on the Tigers’ side, they haven’t been able to find a consistent offense yet this year either, but do have a couple of standouts. Jonathan Schoop leads the team on 16 hits with 11 runs, four homers and nine RBI with a .254 batting average. JaCoby Jones is also hitting well with a .304 BA, 10 runs five homers and 12 RBI for his troubles.
Detroit will be going with Ivan Nova for the Friday start. Nova is 1-0 this season over his three starts, carrying a 5.74 ERA and eight strikeouts in 15.2 innings of work. Across his career, Nova is 90-76 with a 4.34 ERA and 962 Ks in 1344.1 innings overall.
The Indians are 4-1 in their last five games after an off day and 25-9 in their last 34 games as a road favorite. Cleveland is 52-23 in their last 72 games as a favorite and 4-10 in their last 14 road games.
Meanwhile, the Tigers are 38-101 in their last 139 overall and 13-44 in their last 57 versus the American League Central. Detroit is 17-58 in their last 75 home games and 12-54 in their last 66 games as a home underdog.
Pick: I’m sticking with the Indians. This one could end up being pretty close, though. Considering Civale is coming off a nice start versus the White Sox (seven innings, one run, five hits), I like him to get off to a good pace here. As for Nova, he’s been just okay versus Cleveland over his career, going 3-3 with a 4.22 ERA in seven starts. Cleveland just feels a little safer here.
