Yankees vs. Tigers: MLB Game Odds and Expert Analysis

The New York Yankees are having a massively disappointing year. They will miss the playoffs, possibly finish with a losing record for the first time in many years and probably will fire Manager Aaron Boone. But Gerrit Cole at least could win his first Cy Young Award and he’s on the mound in Detroit on Wednesday with the Yankees as solid favorites on the MLB odds.

New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers | 2023 MLB Expert Analysis

MLB Week 21: Monday August 28 – Sunday September 3, 2023

How to Bet New York at Detroit MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Wednesday, 6:40 PM ET
Where: Comerica Park
Probable pitchers (away/home): Gerrit Cole/Matt Manning
TV: MLB Extra Innings
Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
Opening MLB Lines: Yankees -165, Tigers +145 (total 8)

Why Bet on New York?

First baseman Anthony Rizzo has been taking live at-bats at the Yankees’ spring training complex in Florida. Rizzo stepped in over the weekend for the first time since he went on the injured list Aug. 3 with post-concussion syndrome. The veteran had recently advanced to hitting drills, and he appears to be working toward a return to the Yankees before the end of the campaign.

Rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe‘s 15 defensive runs saved this season are the second-most among Major League shortstops, trailing only Tampa Bay‘s Wander Franco (16). Volpe has made just five errors in his last 71 games that he has appeared defensively after making seven errors in his first 56 games.

Reliever Jonathan Loáisiga has retired 26-of-29 batters faced since returning from the injured list on Aust. 7, tossing 8.2 scoreless innings in that span and holding opponents to a .071 BA (2-for-28) during that stretch.

It’s ace and AL Cy Young favorite Gerrit Cole on the mound. Cole (11-4) picked up the win last Friday, yielding two runs (one earned) on three hits and no walks over 7.2 innings in a 6-2 victory over the Rays. He struck out 11. Cole was in total control, allowing just a solo home run to Yandy Diaz and having an unearned run charged to his ledger after he was lifted in the eighth inning. The right-hander’s 11 strikeouts tied his season high, and he induced 17 swinging strikes on an even 100 pitches.

“I said to him afterwards, ‘That’s about as good as I’ve seen you right there,’” Manager Aaron Boone said. “That’s what it looked like to me against, obviously, a really good offense that’s familiar with him.”

Cole had struggled in the start before in allowing six runs to see his ERA rise above 3.00 for the first time all season when he coughed up six runs his last time out. After that awful start vs. Boston, Cole made a few mechanical adjustments that helped him unlock more backspin on the baseball. His ERA now sits at 2.95, and he’s up to 181 strikeouts over 168 frames. Cole is a six-time All-Star and two-time MLB strikeout leader, but the Yankees ace has yet to make a successful run at an elusive Cy Young Award. Now it’s his to lose.

His 2019 season was his best. Cole led the league with a 2.50 ERA and 326 strikeouts in a year when the baseball was juiced, but he finished behind his Astros teammate Justin Verlander. This season, Cole leads the league with a 2.95 ERA, with 168 innings pitched and 20 starts with two or fewer earned runs allowed. No Yankee has won the Cy Young since Roger Clemens in 2001.

“I don’t want to get distracted and it’s not something that I’ve ever thought about through my whole career,” Cole said after his last start. “So I’m just sticking with what I’ve done in the past.”

Cole hasn’t faced the Tigers this year and is 7-1 with a 1.94 ERA in 11 career starts against them.

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Why Bet on Detroit?

Future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera is in sole possession of 11th place on the all-time RBI list. He also has 3,152 hits, tying Paul Waner for 18th all-time and two from equaling George Brett (3,154) for 17th. Young slugger Kerry Carpenter ranks second in the Majors with a .738 slugging percentage in August, while he is tied for second with nine homers, fifth in batting average (.369) and eighth in on-base percentage (.436).

The Tigers currently have 39 players on the 40-man roster. Two top prospects — corner outfielder/third baseman Justyn-Henry Malloy and third baseman/second baseman Colt Keith — need to be added to the 40-man roster before they can make their MLB debuts. There became an opening on the 40-man roster when infielder Isan Díaz, who played two games for the Tigers when shortstop Javier Báez was on the bereavement list, cleared waivers.

Right-hander Matt Manning (5-4) gets the call for Detroit. Manning threw a bullpen session on Monday before his scheduled start Wednesday because Manning exited his start last Friday against Houston after he slipped on the mound and tweaked his back. It was one of his best starts of the season, going toe-to-toe with Framber Valdez and posting 6 1/3 innings of shutout ball against the Astros.

Manning was visited by Tigers manager A.J. Hinch and the trainer after delivering a pitch to Yainer Diaz. “It looked like he slipped on the pitch before,” Hinch said. “His spike caught or whatever, but the back grabbed at him a little bit… He was uncomfortable.” Manning has dealt with lower-back issues on and off this year.

In 71 innings overall, Manning has pitched to a 3.93 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, and has walked just 18 while striking out 45 opposing hitters. If he can’t go Wednesday, Joey Wentz or recently demoted Spencer Turnbull likely would end up in the rotation to take Manning’s place. But it sounds like Manning will give it a try.

He hasn’t faced the Yankees in his three-year MLB career. Manning is 1-2 with a 4.56 ERA in five home starts in 2023 compared to 4-2 with a 3.57 ERA on the road.

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Expert Prediction

Yankees 5, Tigers 3

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