The Tigers held on for a 6-3 victory in Tuesday’s opener against the St. Louis Cardinals, cashing as 160 home favorites. Detroit’s Austin Jackson and Delmon Young drove in two runs each while relievers Joaquin Benoit and Phil Coke allowed no hits in the battle’s final two frames.
Wednesday’s rematch has a pair of right-handed hurlers slated, with Detroit’s Rick Porcello (4-4, 5.18 ERA) opposing St. Louis’ Jake Westbrook (5-6, 4.27 ERA). Sportsbooks opened Porcello as a 130 favorite, while first listing the ‘total’ at 10.
Porcello goes five in Chicago
Porcello notched his first win in seven starts with last Wednesday’s 8-4 victory for Detroit as a 106 road dog against the Chicago Cubs. The 23-year-old gave up four runs on nine hits, lasting five innings.
Tigers outfielder Brennan Boesch cracked a homer as part of a 4-for-5 night, logging a pair of RBI. Boesch’s mate Jhonny Peralta poked a double and triple, finishing 3-for-4.
The contest’s combined 12 runs soared above the ‘total’ of 7 ½, lifting the OVER to 7-4 in Porcello’s last 11 outings. Detroit’s lineup edged out the Cubs in hits, 12-11 while Tigers reliever Brayan Villarreal tossed two scoreless innings en route to recording a hold.
Westbrook ends slideWestbrook brought a slide of three straight losses to a close with Thursday’s 5-3 triumph for St. Louis as a 117 home favorite against the Chicago White Sox. The 13-year veteran allowed all three of Chicago’s runs over six innings, including a homer to White Sox slugger Adam Dunn.
Cardinals third baseman David Freese cracked his 13th long ball of the year while mate Allen Craig poked a pair of doubles. The duo united to bring in all five of their squad’s runs, combining to hit 4-for-7 from the lineup’s No. 4 and No. 5 slots.
The battle’s eight runs ducked below the closing ‘total’ of 8 ½ by a ‘hook,’ bringing the UNDER to 3-0 in Westbook’s last trio of starts. St. Louis’ four relievers held Chicago without a hit over the final three frames with closer Jason Motte recording his 13th save.
Back the Tigers as home ‘chalk’Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. (ET, with ESPN2 providing the national television coverage. The weather forecast in Detroit calls for a 90 degree evening with calm winds.
I am adding the Tigers and Porcello to my MLB picks for the night’s card, looking for Jim Leyland’s club to stay hot here. Porcello has been stingy in his last three home starts, holding foes to four earned runs over 16 1/3 IP, while Westbrook has allowed five runs in both of his last two road outings (10 IP).
Porcello last faced St. Louis in 2009, giving up just one earned run in a stint of 5 2/3 frames. The New Jersey native has held Cardinals slugger Matt Holliday to 1-for-5 lifetime, while Detroit has cashed at 9-4 in Porcello’s last 13 interleague starts.
Westbrook has not visited an American League park yet this season, while struggling against his share of foes in the Tigers’ lineup over the years. Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera has a career mark of 6-for-10 against Westbrook, including a homer, while coming into the matchup hitting a hot 5-for-12 in his last three games.
Detroit has collected at 13-4 in its last 17 spots as home ‘chalk’ of minus 150 or less, while going 10-4 in Porcello’s last 14 starts as a home favorite. The team’s victory in Tuesday’s opener brought Cabrera and Co. to 5-0 in its last five
interleague contests against right-handed starters, while St. Louis moved to 1-6 in its last seven interleague games as an underdog.
Look for Detroit to hand the Cardinals another loss here, racking up runs on the way to a cashed ticket at a low premium.