Tigers at Guardians Wild Card Game 3 prediction: Odds, expert picks, pitching matchup, betting trends, stats

The Cleveland Guardians managed just six hits off Casey Mize and four Tigers†relievers, but they turned those base knocks into six runs and in the process evened their Wild Card series against Detroit at one game apiece with a 6-1 win Wednesday afternoon. Tanner Bibee and five Cleveland relievers put on a clinic escaping trouble time and again. They allowed seven hits and walked six but somehow wiggled their way out of trouble time and again stranding 15 Detroit baserunners in the game.

Clevelandâ€s Game 2 win sets up a winner-take-all Game 3 today. Slade Cecconi takes the ball for Cleveland in Game 3 against Jack Flaherty for Detroit. The winner moves on to the divisional round against Seattle.

Lets dive into Game 3 and see if we can find an angle or two to attack as bettors.

Weâ€ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the first pitch, 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.

Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.

Game details & how to watch Tigers at Guardians

• Date: Thursday, October 2, 2025
• Time: 3:08PM EST
• Site: Progressive Field
• City: Cleveland, OH
• Network/Streaming: ABC

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 the Tigers at the Guardians

The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of DraftKings:

• Moneyline: Tigers (+104), Guardians (-126)
• Spread: Guardians -1.5 (+178)
• Total: 7.0 runs

Probable starting pitchers for Tigers at Guardians – Game 3

• Pitching matchup for October 2, 2025: Jack Flaherty vs. Slade Cecconi
  • Tigers: Jack Flaherty (8-15, 4.64 ERA)
    Flahertyâ€s last 2 starts were both against Cleveland and both resulted in losses for the Tigers as he gave up 4 runs over 9.1 innings with 10Ks
  • Guardians: Slade Cecconi (7-7, 4.30 ERA)
    In 30 IP in September, Cecconi allowed 22 hits and 13 runs while striking out 26

Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!

Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Tigers at Guardians – Game 3

• Zach McKinstry has 1 HR in 3 ABs against Slade Cecconi
• Spencer Torkelson has 2 hits including 1 HR in 6 ABS against Slade Cecconi
• Steven Kwan is 4-16 against Jack Flaherty in his career
• Jose Ramirez is 7-27 including 1 HR in his career against Jack Flaherty

If youâ€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!

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Expert picks & predictions for tonightâ€s Game 3 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 Thursdayâ€s Game 3 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 at +1.5.
• Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 7.0.

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