Tigers vs. Yankees: Odds, picks and predictions 8/29/23

The New York Yankees used their only reliable weapon, the home run, to defeat the Detroit Tigers on Monday, 4-1. The two longtime American League rivals play again tonight at Comerica Park in the second game of a four-game series. Detroit will be slight favorites with Tarik Skubal on the mound.

DraftKings Sportsbook, one of the Best MLB Betting Sites for Michigan baseball bettors, prices the Tigers at -125 for Tuesday’s game against the Yankees. You’ll need to wager $125 to win $100 if you think Detroit will bounce back to take game two.

Including the Tuesday night game at Comerica Park, fans have only 15 more chances to see the Tigers in Detroit this season.

Game details

• Who: Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees
• When: Tuesday, August 29
• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where: Comerica Park (Detroit, MI)

MLB odds:

• Moneyline: Tigers -125, Yankees +105
• Runline: Tigers -1.5 (+164), Yankees +1.5 (-198)
• Total: Over/Under 8.5 Runs (+100, -120)

The odds here are from DraftKings, where oddsmakers have the Tigers as favorites at home. You’ll need to give away 1.5 runs to get +164 odds on Detroit on the runline against the Yankees. We expect another low-scoring game on Tuesday between two teams that have many swing-and-miss hitters in the lineup.

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Tarik Skubal (3-2, 4.06 ERA, 50 K in 44.1 IP) vs. Michael King (3-5, 3.13 ERA, 82 K in 69 IP)

Skubal is showing why he is expected to be an innings-eater for the Tigers for years to come. The tall, strong-legged lefty has pitched into the sixth inning in each of his last four starts. He’s also posted a 23-to-5 strikeout to walk ratio in those assignments. The southpaw still struggles to be consistent with his command, but when he’s on, he’s a tough opponent for batters.

The Yankees struck out 16 times against Tigers pitchers on Monday. That’s what they do: flail and fail way too often. But, as Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres showed, they can make contact and turn the baseball into a souvenir. Skubal will need to have movement on his pitches, and if so, he might tally a lot of K’s himself.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone is sending an opener to the hill: Michael King is a relief pitcher who made a pair of emergency starts for the Bombers. He’ll likely only pitch two or maybe three innings. He throws hard and fans a lot of hitters, but the Tigers can wait him out and face lesser relievers after going through the lineup once.

Yankee slugger Aaron Judge hits homers in bunches. He pulled his hands in and swatted a Beau Brieske pitch into the left field seats in Detroit on Monday night. We wouldn’t be shocked if he turned on a pitch from Skubal, who should try to stay away from the middle or inside of the dish against the reigning MVP… Riley Greene has been hitting the baseball hard, which he’s known for, but not many have been falling in. He’s only 5-for-39 in his last 11 games… Akil Baddoo has nine homers, four of them this month. He may be playing his final games as a Tiger. His future in the Detroit outfield is very uncertain with all the young prospects waiting in the wings.

Tarik Skubal Over 6.5 Strikeouts (+125 from DraftKings)

This is a great wager given the way the Yankees swing and miss at so many pitches. On Monday, Reese Olson struck out 10 Yankees in less than five innings. Skubal could even challenge his career high in K’s, which is 11. If you can find alternate O/U odds on Skubal K’s, we’d even consider going as high as Over 8.5 with favorable odds.