Cleveland Guardians vs Detroit Tigers Pick – 9/17/2025
The Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers will meet on Wednesday with playoff stakes for both teams. The Tigers remain on track to wrap up the AL Central and are playing for postseason seeding down the stretch. The Guardians have surged back into the Wild Card hunt and need to keep winning to give themselves a chance at the playoffs. Here, you can find my breakdown of this game, including my Guardians vs Tigers prediction for Wednesday.
Our Guardians vs Tigers Pick
- Pick: Over 8.5
- Confidence: 3/5
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Game Snapshot
| Teams | Cleveland Guardians vs Detroit Tigers |
| Date & Time | Wednesday, September 17, 6:40 PM ET |
| Starting Pitchers | Logan Allen vs Jack Flaherty |
| Stadium | Comerica Park, Detroit, MI |
| Broadcast | FS1 |
Key Storylines
- The Guardians have stacked wins in September and have moved to within 5.5 games of the Tigers in the AL Central standings. They are also 2.5 games back of the final AL Wild Card spot.
- Detroit still drives the division race. The Tigers sit in command of the AL Central and they have the second-best record among American League teams this year. Continuing to grab wins would do wonders for their playoff positioning.
Pitching breakdown
Logan Allen will get the start for Cleveland in this game. Allen is 7-11 and has a 4.36 ERA on the year for the Guardians. He has given up just over a hit per inning so far this year and his ability to locate pitches will be called into question against this dangerous Detroit lineup.
Jack Flaherty has been uneven overall for the Tigers in 2025. But he punched out seven across five scoreless in his most recent start and historically has shown swing-and-miss generation against Cleveland. Expect Detroit to have a quick hook for Flaherty with leverage relievers behind him if his pitch count climbs.
Recent team streaks
- Cleveland has won five games in a row and will look to continue that streak here.
- The Tigers lost their most recent outing and have dropped three games out of four.
Best Player Props
| Player | Prop Type | Pick |
|---|---|---|
| José Ramírez | Total Bases | Over 1.5 |
| Riley Greene | Home Run | Over 0.5 |
| Logan Allen | Strikeouts | Over 5.5 |
| Jack Flaherty | Strikeouts | Over 5.5 |
| Steven Kwan | Total Bases | Over 1.5 |
Betting Trends & H2H
- The season series between these teams is tied 4-4.
- Cleveland’s win on Tuesday ended a four-game winning streak for the Tigers over the Guardians.
Guardians vs Tigers Model Projection
Score Projection: Guardians 5, Tigers 6
Win Probability: Guardians 43%, Tigers 57%
Final Thoughts
We should see a relatively high-scoring game from Detroit on Wednesday evening. Both of the offenses in this matchup are capable of putting runs on the board. Against mediocre starting pitching, we should see both offenses do just that in this contest. I recommend taking the over in this game between these AL Central rivals.
