Vegas Play of the Day: Detroit at Cleveland

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014 | 11 a.m.

Here’s the latest installment of the Play of the Day, which uses odds from the South Point. Our three sports writers started with a $10,000 bankroll — fictional, of course.

Detroit Tigers (-125) at the Cleveland Indians: $650 to win $500 I should be handicapping the NFL opener today between the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and the visiting Green Bay Packers. But I’m not too high on Seattle, or any team defending a Super Bowl championship. In the same thought, I refuse to bet against Seattle at home. CenturyLink Field is brutal on opposing teams.

Back to baseball, maybe for the last time.

While Detroit has struggled over the past six weeks, being passed in the American League Central standings by Kansas City, it’s great value to play the Tigers today. They are still in the race for the playoffs. And Detroit has a ton of veteran players who will keep the team focused. Tuesday, for instance, they rallied in the last inning to beat Cleveland, showing the Tigers still have some fight.

Detroit is starting Max Scherzer, who is one of the baseball’s most consistent pitchers. He has an impressive 15-5 record, registering 220 strikeouts in 187 innings pitched this season. Bottom line, the opposition isn’t putting the ball in play.

Standings: Bern (45-33-1, $13,827), Keefer (39-41, $10,132), Brewer (32-44-3, $2,200)

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21