Cleveland Guardians at Detroit Tigers

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
CLE	2	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	0	6	10	1
DET	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	7	1

Foster Griffin (13-4, 3.25 ERA) took the ball for Cleveland against Framber Valdez (7-8, 4.26 ERA), who came in as hot as anyone in Detroit's rotation. Valdez's last time out was about as good as it gets — 7 shutout innings, 5 strikeouts and just 5 hits allowed against Seattle — and the Tigers needed another one of those to push their record back toward even. First pitch went off at 6:40 PM ET at Comerica Park.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Guardians(59-62)

WLLLW

6

+1.5-178+117o7.5-125

Tigers(59-61)

LWWWL

4

-1.5+178-120u7.5+125

Best BetTigers -131

Postgame

This one didn't cooperate — Valdez couldn't hold the lead and Cleveland's bats did the rest, winning 6-4. The Greene absence we flagged as a risk mattered more than expected with the lineup thinner late, and Griffin's season-long track record proved the better signal than his shaky Guardians debut.

Pregame

Detroit's priced as the moneyline favorite off 3 straight wins and a Valdez outing that looked like his best of the season. Cleveland's offense just went cold at the worst time, stranding 11 runners in Tuesday's loss, and that's a tough profile to trust on the road as an underdog.

The bigger story walking in was who wasn't in Detroit's lineup. Riley Greene left the series opener a day earlier with right hamstring tightness and landed on the 10-day IL, thinning out an outfield that's already missing Kerry Carpenter and Wenceel Perez. That's a lot of production to replace against a Cleveland staff still finding its footing after Griffin's rocky first outing with his new club.

Foster Griffin

(14-4)·3.18 ERA

Aug 6 vs Mets

L

4.0IP

5ER

6K

2BB

88P

08/12 Lineup

Framber Valdez

(8-8)·4.35 ERA

Aug 6 @ Mariners

W

7.0IP

0ER

5K

2BB

95P

08/12 Lineup

None of that stopped Detroit from grabbing the early lead. The Tigers scored twice in the first and added another in the third to go up 3-2, and for a few innings it looked like Valdez's stuff plus a shorthanded-but-scrappy lineup would be enough to get this team back to .500 for the first time since early May.

Cleveland had other ideas. The Guardians chipped away with a two-run fifth and then broke it open with another two-run frame in the seventh, turning a one-run deficit into a two-run lead they wouldn't give back.

It's the kind of finish that fits both teams' recent shape. Cleveland is still under .500 on the year but had won its last game coming in, while Detroit had won 3 of its last 5 before Wednesday's loss snapped that momentum right before it could tip the season series in the Tigers' favor.

Cleveland Guardians

(59-62)

Aug 12W@ Tigers6-4

Aug 11L@ Tigers4-6

Aug 9L@ White Sox3-5

Aug 8L@ White Sox3-6

Aug 7W@ White Sox8-2

Detroit Tigers

(59-61)

Aug 12Lvs Guardians4-6

Aug 11Wvs Guardians6-4

Aug 9W@ Giants3-1

Aug 8W@ Giants8-0

Aug 8L@ Giants2-5

Injuries are the subplot worth watching now. Detroit's already been picking up the pieces on the pitching side all year, and losing Greene for even 10 days puts more pressure on a lineup that can't afford another hole. Cleveland's issues are thinner by comparison, but a rotation without Slade Cecconi has leaned harder on trade-deadline arms like Griffin than the club probably wanted.

Cleveland Guardians

(2)

• 15-Day-ILSlade Cecconi (SP) — Cecconi will be available out of the bullpen beginning with Tuesday's game against the Mets, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.08/07
• 60-Day-ILShawn Armstrong (RP) — The Guardians transferred Armstrong (calf) to the 60-day injured list Tuesday.08/05

Detroit Tigers

(13)

• 10-Day-ILRiley Greene (LF) — Greene exited Tuesday's game versus Cleveland in the third inning as a result of right hamstring tightness.08/12
• 10-Day-ILKerry Carpenter (RF) — The Tigers announced Friday that Carpenter (foot) has begun a full progression of hitting, running and playing defense, MLB.com reports.08/09
• 10-Day-ILMatt Vierling (CF) — The Tigers placed Vierling on the 10-day injured list Friday, retroactive to Thursday, due to a left adductor strain.07/31
• 15-Day-ILJack Flaherty (SP) — Manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday that he expects Flaherty (forearm) to be on the injured list beyond the 15-day minimum, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.07/28
• 60-Day-ILWenceel Perez (RF) — Perez (orbital) was pulled off his rehab assignment Tuesday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.08/11
• 60-Day-ILWill Vest (RP) — Vest (elbow) underwent hip surgery Tuesday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.08/11
• 60-Day-ILBrant Hurter (RP) — The Tigers transferred Hurter (back) to Triple-A Toledo on Saturday to begin a rehab assignment, Emily Waldon of Baseball America reports.08/08
• 60-Day-ILJustin Verlander (SP) — Verlander (hamstring/hip) threw off the front of the bullpen mound Wednesday, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.08/05
• 60-Day-ILBurch Smith (RP) — Smith is being evaluated after exiting a rehab appearance with Triple-A Toledo on Thursday with right shoulder/lat discomfort, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.07/24
• 60-Day-ILBailey Horn (RP) — Horn (elbow) will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.07/18
• 60-Day-ILParker Meadows (CF) — Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday that Meadows (forearm) has yet to resume hitting and is without a timeline to return from the 60-day injured list, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.06/25
• 60-Day-ILTrey Sweeney (SS) — Sweeney will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery this week, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.06/05
• 60-Day-ILReese Olson (SP) — The Tigers placed Olson on the 60-day injured list Tuesday after he underwent a right shoulder labral repair Feb. 2 that will result in him missing the 2026 season.05/08

Split the first two of this set and you're left with a rubber match that means a little more for Detroit, who's still chasing that .500 mark, and a little less for a Cleveland club just trying to find any consistency down the stretch.