Tigers vs Astros Game 1 Odds and Best Bet – 10/1/2024

On Tuesday afternoon, the MLB postseason will officially begin with Tigers vs Astros Game 1 in the AL Wild Card round. The Tigers were one of the best stories in baseball this season, but they will face an Astros team that has them beat in the experience department in the playoffs. Here, we break down Tigers vs Astros Game 1 in what should be a great game to start off the playoffs on the diamond.

Detroit Leaning On Its Ace In Game 1

The Detroit Tigers finished with the third Wild Card spot in the American League, going 86-76 in the regular season. But compared to their low expectations to start the year, the Tigers will be thrilled just to have taken such a huge leap forward in 2024. Now Detroit will look to prove that it is not satisfied with just making the playoffs, as they look to the presumptive AL Cy Young award winner to set the tone in this matchup from Houston.

Tarik Skubal will take the mound for the Tigers in this postseason opener from Texas. Skubal is 18-4 with an ERA of 2.39 on the season, while leading the league in strikeouts with 228. The question now will be whether Skubal can deliver in the playoffs, which are an entirely different animal than games in the regular season. In a hostile environment, Skubal will have to be great to keep his team on the right track in what could be an unsettling situation.

Astros Relying On Postseason Experience

The Houston Astros won the AL West this season, going 88-73 for the year. They recovered from a slow start to the season, one in which they fell way behind the Seattle Mariners in the standings. But Houston recovered nicely from that slow start to leapfrog the Mariners and make their way into the playoffs. Today, the Astros will look to neutralize Tarik Skubal to set the tone in this Wild Card series against their opponents from the AL Central.

It will be Framber Valdez taking the mound for the Astros to open this series at home. Valdez is 15-7 on the season with an ERA of 2.91. Valdez does have a win over the Tigers already this season, as he threw seven innings against them and gave up just two earned runs in a 5-2 Astros win back in mid-May. If he can perform similarly well today, the Astros could come out of this contest with a 1-0 series lead and move to within one game of advancing to the ALDS.

Tigers vs Astros Game 1 Best Bet

This is a tough game to call, as Tigers vs Astros Game 1 features arguably the best pitcher in baseball this year taking on a much more experienced opponent. But we will roll with Skubal to get the job done for the Tigers in this matchup, backing the Tigers to win on the moneyline at around +130.