Game 2 between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Guardians was coming down to the wire. Until it wasn’t. We’re all accustomed to tight, low-scoring affairs between these AL Central rivals, and Wednesday’s game was much of the same. That is, until the Guardians broke loose for five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Their offensive explosion kept their season alive another day. Now we have a winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday, and both teams will throw all they’ve got into this one. That makes for an exciting player prop market.
The Guardians open as -113 moneyline favorites on the DraftKings Sportsbook. The Tigers are priced as -107 underdogs, while the total is set at seven runs. Let’s get into my top player props for Game 3 between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Guardians.
Best Tigers at Guardians player props
Jack Flaherty 4+ Hits Allowed (+110)
Jack Flaherty’s first season in Detroit did not go as planned. After being a part of the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series team, the hope was that Flaherty could add some stability behind Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. Instead, he created more uncertainty, pitching to a 4.64 ERA across 31 starts.
He did a solid enough job against the Guardians in three starts this season, recording a 3.94 ERA across 16 innings. However, Cleveland woke up in the eighth inning on Wednesday and will have something for Flaherty. A.J. Hinch’s quick hook with his starter could threaten this line, but I believe Cleveland can string together enough hits to make it count before his exit.
Kerry Carpenter 1+ Walks Drawn (+272)
Walks are not Kerry Carpenter’s thing. His 3.9% walk rate was a 2nd percentile mark amongst all hitters. He swings, and he swings hard. And that’s what Cleveland is afraid of.
Carpenter is their most dangerous hitter against right-handed starters. As Cleveland looks to limit as much damage as possible to give their offense a chance, there will be situations where it behooves them to pitch around Carpenter. He obliged them once on Wednesday, and I expect the same thing to play out on Thursday.
Slade Cecconi Over 3.5 Strikeouts Thrown (-113)
Slade Cecconi isn’t the most stable pitcher to throw out in a win-or-go-home contest. However, fortunately for Cleveland, he has performed well against Detroit this season. In his first turn against the Tigers, Cecconi hurled six innings and punched out six batters while giving up one run. He more or less repeated the performance in his second try with six innings, five strikeouts, and two runs allowed.
Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt won’t hesitate to pull Cecconi early if he gets into trouble. But I think he can bring out enough swing-and-miss stuff against a strikeout-happy Tigers lineup to stick around for a few innings; plenty long enough to rack up a handful of strikeouts.
