This article is part of our MLB Picks series.
MLB Picks & Predictions for Detroit Tigers vs Cleveland Guardians, Aug. 17
When we last chatted on Monday, we were a Ryan Mountcastle hit or walk away from a 3-0 day. As it was, the Orioles came through with a ML win at +120 and kept it under 8.5 at +120 for a nice little 2-1/+1.4-unit day! Today, I'm back with another game focus that looks into an AL Central clash between the Tigers and Guardians.
Detroit Tigers at 
Cleveland Guardians
At +116, Cleveland is my moneyline pick for today. Guardians starter Xzavion Curry has been solid enough to give his squad a chance in his few starts this year, and with Jose Ramirez off his suspension they will have their full lineup intact. Both teams are nearly even over their last 10 games, which is almost always a tip to the dog for me, particularly at home. I'll take the home dog with value in this one.
MLB Best Bet: Guardians ML (+116) @ FanDuel
While Tarik Skubal is one of Detroit's best starters, a deeper look into his short season shows a relative inability to go deep into games and a distinct home/road split. Skubal's best starts are in Detroit while he has struggled in all three of his road starts this season. Additionally, four of Cleveland's last five games have gone over the total set for today's game. All of that points me to the over, and with the value also on that side of the total, it is an easy advisement for today.
MLB Best Bet: DET/CLE OVER 8.5 (+110) @ DraftKings
My player prop will center around red-hot Detroit outfielder Kerry Carpenter. The difficulty is choosing which bet to go with. Carpenter is on a 12-game hit streak and has two or more hits in SEVEN of those games. He also has two or more bases in TEN of those 12 games and five homers during that stretch. The boy is on fire. His 2+ hit prop is at +240, his 1+ HR prop sits at +400, and the over on his 1.5 total bases prop is at +110. I'm tempted to pull the trigger on one of the bigger numbers (and encourage you to do so if you are feeling it), but I'm finding the best value (compared to his teammates) is on the total bases prop, so that's my choice for this space.
MLB Best Bet: Kerry Carpenter Total Bases OVER 1.5 (+110) at DraftKings
Thursday MLB Game Focus on Tigers @ Guardians:
Here's a recap of my Game Focus best bets for Thursday, Aug. 17:
- Guardians ML (+116) @ FanDuel
- Tigers/Guardians OVER 8.5 (+110) @ DraftKings
- K. Carpenter Total Bases OVER 1.5 (+110) @ DraftKings
For up-to-date information on the latest college basketball odds and props from multiple sportsbooks, check out the MLB odds page on RotoWire.
