MLB picks: Tigers vs. Indians, Padres vs. Rangers

The betting public is presented with some intriguing MLB options to wager on this Friday night. We took a deep dive and came up with our two best bets for the evening.

First, we’ll preview an AL Central clash between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians. Then we’ll segue to an interleague battle between the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers.

Detroit Tigers (3-3) at Cleveland Indians (2-3), 7:10 p.m. ET

Bettors should expect few runs to cross the plate at Progressive Field on Friday night as the Indians host the Tigers.

Julio Teheran gets the nod for Detroit, and his initial start of 2021 went a long way in proving that his disastrous 2020 campaign (10.05 ERA in 31 1/3 innings) was a fluke. He fired five strong innings against Cleveland last Saturday, allowing only one earned run on four hits and three walks in a 5-2 win.

Zach Plesac counters for the Tribe, and he picked up where he left off in 2020 (2.28 ERA in 55 1/3 innings) by pitching six innings of two-run baseball against the Tigers last Saturday.

Offense has been hard to come by for both clubs, with Detroit ranking 20th in runs per game (3.83), while Cleveland is 23rd (3.40). Akil Baddoo has seven RBI in only 11 at-bats for the Tigers thus far, but no one else on his team has more than three. Jose Ramirez is batting .350 with a pair of homers for the Indians, but no one with more than 10 at-bats is hitting better than him, and no one else has multiple home runs.

MLB pick: Under

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San Diego Padres (4-3) at Texas Rangers (3-3), 8:05 p.m. ET

There’s an upset case to be made at Globe Life Field as the Rangers host the Padres on Friday night.

Joe Musgrove starts for San Diego, and while his six shutout innings at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks last Saturday were encouraging, bettors should note that his road splits in 2020 were subpar. Musgrove produced a 5.41 road ERA last season, compared to a 2.41 mark at home.

He’ll have to watch out for Nate Lowe, who leads the majors in RBI (14) at this point in the campaign.

Kohei Arihara responds for Texas following a solid MLB debut last Saturday against the Kansas City Royals. He surrendered three earned runs in five innings of work. The Padres’ offense has begun slowly, scoring only 3.86 runs per game (18th), and they’re still missing Fernando Tatis Jr.

The Friars have a massive bullpen advantage heading into this one, as they’re tops in the majors in ERA (0.91) while the Rangers are 28th (6.92). But that doesn’t mean Texas won’t build an early lead in this one.

MLB pick: Rangers +138 (first five innings)