Shane Greene (4-5, 5.40 ERA) and the Detroit Tigers (31-28) meet Jake Arrieta (5-4, 3.04 ERA) and the Chicago Cubs (30-26) in the second of a two-game interleague series at Comerica Park. The Tigers won the last game 6-0 and Detroit leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 7:08 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jun. 10 and will air on CSN-CHI and FSN-DET.
In his most recent outing, Greene pitched 4.1 innings, allowing four runs (two unearned), striking out two and walking two in a 7-5 loss to the Athletics. Miguel Cabrera (.330, 32 Rs, 12 HRs, 39 RBIs, 1 SB) continued his strong season yesterday, going 3 for 3 with one run and one RBI. In his pitching opportunities against the Tigers, Arrieta is 1-1 with a 3.71 ERA. He gets a strong Detroit offense that’s batting .273. Kris Bryant (.282, 31 Rs, 7 HRs, 34 RBIs, 5 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday.
Detroit is a +107 underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is eight runs. When playing as the underdog, the Tigers have an 11-11 record and overall money line at -110. They are 1-4 as the underdog over their last 10 games. The Tigers seem to play worse on offense against National League opponents. In those matchups, Detroit has only averaged 3.3 runs per game compared to its 4.1 season average. They have been a terror on the base paths, ranking fourth in all of baseball with 46 steals. Detroit’s pitching staff has fallen apart in the past 10 games. Its average runs allowed per game rose to 5.3 during that span, compared to its 4.2 season average.
Moving on to the opposing team, the Cubs come into this game with a win percentage of .562 when playing as the favorite (18-14) and an overall money line of +196. Against interleague opponents, they are 1-1 SU and 1-1 as the favorite. The Cubs rank third in the NL in road scoring, averaging four runs per game. The Cubs have racked up 46 steals on the year, making them one of the most threatening base-running teams in the league. Switching gears to Chicago’s pitching staff, they have some of the most overpowering arms in baseball with an NL-high 8.8 strikeouts per game.
So far this season, the Tigers are 1-0 against the Cubs. This game will feature Arrieta (RHP) on the mound against the Tigers, who have a 21-22 record when they take on a right-handed starter. Taking the hill against the Cubs will be the right-hander Greene. They sport a 25-21 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – DET, O/U – Over
Notes
Chicago has won 52% (13-12) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, Detroit has won 60% (15-10) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Tigers are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Cubs have a 6-13 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Tigers are 2-19. The Cubs have a 7-21 record when opponents outhit them.
Detroit ranks near the bottom of the league at 24th when it comes to home runs, hitting 45 this season. Chicago ranks in the bottom half at 16th with 53.
Ranking first in hits, Detroit has earned 9.28 per game this season. Chicago ranks 11th with 8.25 hits.
Ranking 17th, Chicago is in the bottom half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.700). Detroit ranks in the top five at fourth with an OPS of .745.
The Cubs are 17-19 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Tigers are 11-19 when they allow at least one homer.
