Midwest Mashings
An afternoon/evening tour of the AL Central features Detroit, Minnesota, and Cleveland — with Miami making a cameo.
The Tigers have been treading water over the past few weeks but remain just 0.5 games behind Toronto for the top spot in the American League. Cleveland is 6.5 games back, one game out of the final Wild Card spot, but has been on a tear this past month, clawing their way back into contention.
Minnesota and Miami are on the outside looking in — more than six games out of the Wild Card with poor recent records. But that never stops a team from playing spoiler down the stretch while building for next year.
📺 Today's TV Games
- ⚾ No Contest Games on National TV Tonight
🎯 Pick'em 10 (6:40pm ET/3:40pm PT)
⚾ Miami @ Cleveland
Today’s rubber match features Miami’s top pitcher Edward Cabrera, who has a recent ERA of 2.06, averaging over a strikeout per inning while allowing only 0.64 hits per inning. This will be his first time facing Cleveland’s lineup — a team with the lowest batting average in the league.
Steven Kwan is in a slump but did homer last night against the Marlins. José Ramírez has been much better, with a .936 OPS over the past week.
Cleveland’s starter, Tanner Bibee, has been trending the opposite direction — his ERA has ballooned to 6.44 over his last seven starts. He hasn’t faced Miami either, and he doesn’t have the same strikeout stuff as Cabrera. Still, he’s gone 4-1 in those games thanks to strong run support.
Kyle Stowers is slumping badly in the second half, with only one double in the past week. Otto Lopez has struck out three times in this series alone.
🔹 Edward Cabrera – Over/Under 4.5 Hits Allowed
🔹 Kyle Stowers – Over/Under 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs
🔹 Otto Lopez – Over/Under 0.5 Strikeouts
🔹 Tanner Bibee – Over/Under 1.5 Walks Allowed
🔹 José Ramírez – Over/Under 0.5 Runs
🔹 Steven Kwan – Over/Under 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBI
⚾ Detroit @ Minnesota
The star of the show is Tarik Skubal, the pride of Kingman, AZ, and the current favorite for the AL Cy Young Award. Skubal holds an 11-3 record, a 2.35 ERA, and is leading the league in 10 statistical categories. He’s averaging 6.4 hits per nine innings with a WHIP of 0.860, though his recent four starts have averaged 5 hits allowed.
He has yet to face Mickey Gasper or Kody Clemens, both of whom have been struggling at the plate. Byron Buxton is hitting just .133 against him, though both of his hits were home runs.
Bailey Ober has been in a rough stretch — the Twins have lost all five of his last starts. Opponents are hitting over a hit per inning against him, with two home runs per nine innings. When he last faced Detroit (June 28), he surrendered 11 hits, 7 earned runs, and 4 home runs in 5.2 innings pitched.
Kerry Carpenter went 2-for-4 in that game with a home run, and Gleyber Torres added a 2-run shot. Riley Greenecrushes Ober (.313 AVG, .951 OPS), while Javier Báez has struggled mightily (1-for-15, 9 strikeouts).
🔹 Tarik Skubal – Over/Under 4.5 Hits Allowed
🔹 Kerry Carpenter – Over/Under 0.5 Runs
🔹 Bailey Ober – Over/Under 2.5 Earned Runs Allowed
🔹 Mickey Gasper – Over/Under 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs
🏆 Pick’em 5 Margin (7:40pm ET/4:40pm PT)
⚾ Detroit @ Minnesota
(See full game breakdown above)
🔸 Riley Greene – Hits + Runs + RBIs
🔸 Gleyber Torres – Hits + Runs + RBIs
🔸 Javier Baez – Hits + Runs + RBIs
🔸 Byron Buxton – Hits + Runs + RBIs
🔸 Kody Clemens – Hits + Runs + RBIs