The Detroit Tigers (71-70) could not afford to get swept in San Diego, as they rallied late with a ninth inning grand slam to shock the Padres by a score of 4-3 yesterday. Detroit remains in the Golden State this weekend with a trip to the East Bay to face the Oakland Athletics (61-80), with the series opener starting at 9:40 p.m. ET at the Oakland Coliseum on Friday.
The A's are out of playoff contention but have not entirely punted on the season, posting a 24-19 record since the All-Star break, despite losing the final two games of their recent home series against the Mariners. The Tigers enter Friday five games back of the third AL wild-card spot and will have their ace on the mound in AL Cy Young contender Tarik Skubal.
Let's break down my Tigers vs Athletics prediction and F5 pick for Friday, September 6.
Tigers-Athletics Prediction
- Tigers-A's pick: Tigers First Five Innings -0.5 (-125)
My Tigers-Athletics best bet is on Tigers first five innings (F5) run line, where I see value at -125. The best line is available at FanDuel, as well as other sportsbooks — make sure to find the best odds by checking our live MLB odds page.
Tigers vs Athletics Odds
| Tigers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Moneyline | Total | Run Line |
-155 | 7 -105o / -115u | -1.5 +114 |
| Athletics Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Moneyline | Total | Run Line |
+130 | 7 -105o / -115u | +1.5 -135 |
- Tigers-Athletics Moneyline: Tigers -155 | A's +130
- Tigers-A's Over/Under: 7 total runs (-105o / -115u)
- Tigers-Athletics Run Line: Tigers -1.5 (+114) | A's +1.5 (-135)
Projected Starting Pitchers for Tigers at A's
| LHP Tarik Skubal (DET) | Stat | RHP Mitch Spence (OAK) |
|---|---|---|
| 16-4 | W-L | 7-9 |
| 5.0 | fWAR (FanGraphs) | 1.1 |
| 2.51/2.78 | ERA /xERA | 4.50/3.90 |
| 2.61/2.88 | FIP / xFIP | 4.22/4.20 |
| 0.93 | WHIP | 1.35 |
| 25.3% | K-BB% | 12.0% |
| 45.6% | GB% | 48.3% |
| 103 | Stuff+ | 100 |
| 103 | Location+ | 102 |
Kevin Rogers’ Detroit Tigers- Oakland Athletics Preview
Tigers Betting Preview: Tarik Skubal Destined to Win Cy Young
The Tigers headed west on Monday with wins in eight of their previous 10 games to improve to 70-68 and move within striking distance of the final Wild Card spot in the American League.
Detroit was on the verge of losing three games in San Diego, but Parker Meadows hit an opposite field grand slam with two strikes and two outs to salvage a 4-3 victory on Thursday. The Tigers remain a game above the .500 mark and five games behind Kansas City in the Wild Card standings.
Tarik Skubal has nearly cemented the Cy Young award in the American League after posting his 16th win of the season in his last start against Boston. The Tigers edged the Red Sox, 2-1 as Skubal logged his longest outing of the season with eight innings pitched, while yielding four hits and striking out eight batters.
Detroit has won seven of Skubal's last eight starts, while the Tigers are 4-0 in his past four outings away from Comerica Park. Skubal allowed four runs in 6.1 innings of work against Oakland earlier this season in a 5-4 triumph as a hefty -225 favorite. Since the All-Star break, the Tigers are 6-2 to the Over in Skubal's eight starts, including three straight Overs on the road.
Dating back to late June, Skubal has cashed the Over on his strikeout prop in 11 of 13 starts, with all 11 Overs seeking the left-hander strike out at least seven batters.
Athletics Betting Preview: Sell Mitch Spence?
The A's deserve a lot of credit considering the circumstances. The team is relocating to Sacramento next season and has been considered a team that the rest of league can just clean up against and pick up easy wins.
After a 50-win campaign in 2023, Oakland already has 61 victories with less than a month remaining this season, while owning more wins than four other teams in Major League Baseball.
Oakland walked off past Seattle in each of the first two games of its four-game set earlier this week, but the Mariners rebounded with a pair of wins in the final two contests to grab the road split.
Mitch Spence came to Oakland this season after being the top selection in the Rule 5 draft following a tenure in the Yankees' minor league system. Spence is fresh off a pair of solid road starts at Cincinnati and Texas in which he allowed a total of three earned runs in 10.1 innings of work.
The A's have lost seven of Spence's nine starts at the Oakland Coliseum as both victories came against the Angels. Spence has yet to win as a home underdog of +130 or higher as Oakland is 0-4 in those games.
From a first five innings perspective, the A's own a dreadful 4-13-2 record in Spence's 19 starts.
Tigers vs Athletics Prediction, Betting Analysis: F5
The Tigers received a nice momentum boost from last night's dramatic win over the Padres. Skubal is on the doorstep of winning the Cy Young award so he will look to finish strong over his final few starts.
Spence's first five inning numbers are horrible, while Skubal owns a 16-6-4 record in the first five innings, including a 4-0-1 mark the last five games.
Pick: Tigers First Five Innings -0.5 (-125)
Moneyline
Another good first five inning number to fade Oakland is the A's currently riding a 1-4-1 run in the last six games against left-handed starting pitchers. In four of those games, Oakland has been limited to one run or fewer in the first five innings. In the past 31 road games, the Tigers have led through five innings 17 times.
Run Line (Spread)
Ten of the last 13 losses for Oakland have come by two runs or more, while three of Detroit's past four wins are by one run apiece. Six of Skubal's eight road wins are by at least two runs, while each of the past seven losses with Spence starting have been decided by two runs or more.
Over/Under
The Tigers are riding a 7-2 Under streak the last nine games, although Skubal has been on a nice Over run since late July. The Athletics are in the midst of a 7-2 Over record the past nine contests, including hitting the Over in five of the last seven home games.
Tigers vs Athletics Betting Trends
- 78% of the bets and 99% of the money are on the Tigers on the moneyline.
- 82% of the bets and 78% of the money are on the over.
- 93% of the bets and 98% of the money are on the Tigers to cover the run line.
Tigers Betting Trends
- The Tigers are 3-2 in their last 5 games.
- The Tigers are 3-2 in their last 5 games against the spread.
- The Tigers are 42-30 in their road games against the spread.
- The total has gone Under in 4 of Tigers' last 5 games.
Athletics Betting Trends
- The Athletics are 2-3 in their last 5 games.
- The Athletics are 2-3 in their last 5 games against the spread.
- The total has gone Over in 4 of Athletics' last 5 games.
- The total has gone Over in 34 of Athletics' last 72 games at home.
Tigers-A's Weather
