Game 1 of the American League Wild Card series between the Guardians and Tigers was all about the dominance of Tarik Skubal. The presumptive Cy Young winner was outstanding in the series opener allowing just a single run while striking out a Wild Card record 14 over 7.2 innings as Detroit took Game 1, 2-1 over Cleveland.
Gavin Williams was nearly as good as Skubal allowing just two unearned runs over six innings with eight strikeouts.
Detroit’s manager, A.J. Hinch, played small ball with his ace on the mound. With the score tied at one in the top of the seventh and runners on the corners, Zach McKinstry delivered a sacrifice bunt to score Riley Greene which ultimately was the difference on the scoreboard. The ultimate difference in reality, though, was Skubal.
With Game 2 being a potential elimination game and less than 24 hours away, lets dive right into the matchup that pits Casey Mize on the bump for Detroit against Tanner Bibee for Cleveland.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Game 2 between the Tigers and the Guardians
- Date: Wednesday, October 1, 2025
- Time: 1:08PM EST
- Site: Progressive Field
- City: Cleveland, OH
- Network/Streaming: ESPN
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for Game 2: Detroit at Cleveland
The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of DraftKings:
- Moneyline: Detroit Tigers (+100), Cleveland Guardians (-121)
- Spread: Guardians -1.5 (+155)
- Total: 7.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Tigers at Guardians – Game 2
- Pitching matchup for October 1, 2025: Casey Mize vs. Tanner Bibee
- Tigers: Casey Mize (14-6, 3.87 ERA)
Last outing: 9/26 at Boston – 6.1IP, 2ER, 6H, 0BB, 8Ks
Key Stat: Mize has struck out 8 in 3 of his last 4 starts - Guardians: Tanner Bibee (12-11, 4.24 ERA)
Last outing: 9/24 vs. Detroit – 6IP, 1ER, 5H, 2BB, 5Ks
Key Stat: Bibee has not allowed more than 2 earned runs in any of his last 4 starts while pitching at least 6 full innings in each
- Tigers: Casey Mize (14-6, 3.87 ERA)
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Tigers at Guardians – Game 2
- The Guardians lost 2 games in a row twice in September with an overall record of 20-8
- Riley Greene was 1-3 in Game 1 and is now 7-29 (.241) with 2 runs scored in 8 career playoff games
- Jose Ramirez was 1-3 in Game 1 and is now 39-162 (.241) with 18 RBIs over 43 career playoff games
- Will Vest’s save in Game 1 was his second career save in 7 appearances
- Javy Baez was the only player from either team to collect more than 1 hit in the game collecting 2 singles in 3 trips to the plate
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for Game 2 between the Tigers and the Guardians
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Wednesday’s Game 2 between the Tigers and the Guardians:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Detroit Tigers +1.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 7.0.
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