Oakland @ Detroit Tigers Betting Preview

A's @ Tigers -1.5 +116: Well, after going 4-0 in baseball on wild card day, I take my talents to motor city (yes that was a LBJ reference if you struggle with Internet sarcasm.) The A's are hot right now, winning their last 5 games in order to win their respective division. However, I think that will overrate them. The A's have a very balanced staff, and believe it or not, that is not as important in the playoffs. Most MLB teams use a 3 man rotation for 5 game series, with 2 pitchers pitching on short rest. That means that the A's balanced staff will become a weakness against the top heavy rotation of the Tigers. The A's send out rookie Jarrod Parker, Parker is far from an ace, and has a 1.26 WHIP. WHIP is  a good stat to measure a pitchers pre dominance, as it just accounts hits and walks (WHIP=Walks+Hits in Innings Pitched.) Parker gave up .261 average to Detroit hitters in 5.2 IP in his only start against them. One thing benefiting Parker is his recent starts against elite offences. He has given up no more than 3 ER and has gone no less than 6 IP against Tex, Tex, NYY, Bal, LAA, LAA. Those are some tough Offences. The problem that I have with the A's is their reliance on the HR ball. They rank 28th in the MLB in BA (while playing in the AL) and 24th in on base %. Against Verlander, they will not be able to go yard to often. In his 33 starts, he has only given up 19 HR total. For those of us who struggle with math, that is around .7 HR a game. Verlander also has a 1.06 WHIP to boast. To top it off the A's have a combined 110 ABs against Verlander, and a .164 average and 1 HR. I predict the A's will get shutout, and despite solid pitching from Parker, the Tigers should be able to put up a few. Tigers -1.5 +116 for 1 Unit. U 7.5 for 3 units.