The New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers meet today, continuing yesterday’s trend of being the opener to a full baseball slate.
We cashed our best bet, and the Tigers won yesterday, breaking New York's three-game winning streak. Detroit has now won three in a row vs. New York dating back to last summer. Can the Tigers keep it rolling here? My Tigers vs Yankees predictions believe so, but there is better value elsewhere on the board.
My MLB picks break it down for when the teams clash on Tuesday, April 8, at Comerica Park.
Yankees vs Tigers prediction
My Yankees vs Tigers best bet: Over 7.5 (+100 at Caesars)
I was surprised to see this total below 8, but we’ll take it. My projections made it around 8.8. With that in mind, I see significant value in the Over.
This total reflects what we saw last season from Tarik Skubal — the Detroit Tigers lefty taking the mound today — more than anything else. It’s certainly not what we’ve seen this year. Or perhaps it’s the weather? Winter will still be around in Michigan today, with temperatures in the low 30s. That said, a brisk wind will be blowing out, helping give the ball carry.
Skubal is undoubtedly becoming an interesting case study. The defending Cy Young winner had the best season of his career last year with a 2.39 ERA. That followed a season that was also impressive, which included a 32% K rate and a 2.8 ERA. He’s followed that up with a horrific start to his season, with a 1.50 WHIP while allowing seven earned runs over two starts.
This isn’t unprecedented. He’s undoubtedly had some ebbs and flows in his career. After all, he’s only three years removed from an expected ERA in the Bottom 10% of baseball. I say all this to say that I believe Skubal will return to his dominant self again, but I’m not sure it will happen here.
We have already talked about this multiple times and will talk about this more, but the combo that New York Yankees hitters exploit is obvious: a fastball-heavy pitcher with hard-hit and barrel rate problems.
That’s Skubal.
He has a barrel rate in the Bottom 20% of MLB and a hard-hit rate that’s just above average. A Yankees team that has already had success against him in his more dominant seasons can continue to pile on to his rough start to the season — at least enough.
As for the other side of the mound, Carlos Carrasco continues to look like what he was signed for: a stopgap because of injuries rather than any long-term solution. He’s not missing many bats with a whiff rate of 18%, and much of that contact is hard. The Tigers lineup has multiple strong hitters against off-speed pitches who can put up a crooked number because of it.
There are several paths to a fair amount of runs. One starter has a strong possibility of a blow-up start, while the other doesn’t have the best matchup and is in a poor run of form.
Yankees vs Tigers same-game parlay (SGP)
Over 7.5
Aaron Judge Over 1.5 total bases
Spencer Torkelson Over 0.5 RBI
You certainly cannot ignore Aaron Judge’s career numbers against Skubal. In 14 at-bats, he's hit two homers to go with a .429 average and a 1.42 OPS.
Judge is perhaps one of the best fastball hitters of his generation, let alone in baseball today, and Skubal will continue to confidently challenge him with that pitch. I like him to keep it rolling today and wouldn’t be surprised if he goes deep. However, the plus-money price on his total bases prop is more than appetizing.
We paired that with Spencer Torkelson to push over a run. Covers' MLB Prop Projections powered by The Bat X agrees, grading this a five-star play. His value is a product of being in the four-hole. We expect Carrasco to have plenty of issues on the mound, and Torkelson is in a prime position to take advantage.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
Yankees vs Tigers odds
Yankees vs Tigers live odds
Yankees vs Tigers opening odds
- Moneyline: New York +140 | Detroit -165
- Run line: New York +1.5 (-165) | Detroit -1.5 (+140)
- Over/Under: Over 7.5 (+100) | Under 7.5 (-120)
Yankees vs Tigers trend
The Detroit Tigers have hit the Run Line in 50 of their last 78 games (+20.15 Units / 19% ROI) Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. Tigers.
How to watch Yankees vs Tigers and game info
| Location | Comerica Park, Detroit, MI |
| Date | Tuesday, 4-8-2025 |
| First pitch | 1:10 p.m. ET |
| TV | YES, FanDuel Sports Network Detroit |
| Yankees starting pitcher | Carlos Carrasco (1-0, 7.36 ERA) |
| Tigers starting pitcher | Tarik Skubal (0-2, 5.91 ERA) |
Yankees vs Tigers latest injuries
Yankees vs Tigers weather
Not intended for use in MA.
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