DETROIT TIGERS @ CLEVELAND INDIANS
Baseball : North America : MLB
Wednesday, September 7th, 2011, 12:05PM US
(5:05PM GMT)

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PREVIEW

Detroit have gone on a tear recently, winning their last 5 games in brutal fashion. Doug Fister and Rick Porcello did the business for the visiting Tigers in games 1 and 2, and now Verlander will try to get Detroit the sweep, just after they did the same to Chicago on the weekend, finishing off with an 18-2 mauling!

The Cleveland Indians will go with Justin Masterson, who is 11-8 with a 2.92ERA. Masterson is the Indians ace pitcher and comes into this after a win against Kansas City on Friday, where he managed to pitch excellently for 7 innings, giving up just 1 homer, only the 7th he's conceded all season.

Masterson does not own a good record against Detroit. In his 6 starts and 3 relief appearances he has gone 0-3 with a 5.00ERA.

The Detroit Tigers send out possibly Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander. The right-handed ace is 21-5 for the season, with a 2.34ERA! Verlander has won his last 9 starts, and comes into this having pitched over 7 innings of brilliance, allowing just 1 run to the Chicago White Sox. Verlander is the current leader in wins, strikeouts and innings pitched, as well as topping the AL with the best ERA.

Verlander has a 12-11 record against the Cleveland Indians, with a 4.77ERA n 26 starts but has been excellent against them this season. So far, he has already shut them out twice, and will likely cause them tremendous trouble yet again.

Cleveland have lost 2 on the trot to Detroit and their heads have clearly dropped after giving up that 3 run homer in Game 1 to lose 4-2. The next game, yesterday, saw them lose 10-1 and I feel there is good reason to expect the sweep.

TEAM STATS

Detroit Tigers
Overall 80-62, Streak W5

Cleveland Indians
Overall 70-69, Streak L2

BETTING VERDICT

Cleveland have a 2-4 record in September as they continue to slide. Take Detroit.

The Pick :

Detroit Tigers

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take the Detroit Tigers to win @ 1.61 (Pinnacle)