Stephen Nover

The New York Yankees franchise has been in existence for 123 years. All through that time the Yankees had never been held to three hits or fewer in four consecutive games.

Until now.

The Yankees are batting .098 in their last four games - lowest ever in franchise history - are playing sloppy defense and will be without their two best offensive weapons along with closer David Bednar.

So even with stud pitcher Cam Schlittler on the mound, I am going to fade the favored Yankees. The Tigers have their superstar pitcher going, Tarik Skubal. He has won the past two American League Cy Young Awards. This will be his fourth start since coming back from injury. So Skubal should not have any rust and be able to pitch deep into the game.

Detroit's top relievers are rested since none of them pitched during the Tigers' 7-3 victory against New York Monday night.

The Yankees will be missing closer Bednar, who is on paternity leave, along with injured Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm, who was placed in concussion protocol following a collision on Monday.

In addition to their hitting woes and bullpen vulnerability, the Yankees are playing sloppy defense. They have permitted 20 unearned runs in their last 10 games.

The Tigers have a winning record in their last 11 games. They are a good enough team to take advantage of the Yankees' poor play, especially with Skubal pitching for them. 

Tuesday Free Play

Rays-Royals Under 10 1/2 minus $1.05

Given the low quality of the offenses here, I find this total too high.

The Rays have hit the second fewest homers in the majors. They are averaging 2.7 runs a game during their past eight road contests.

Kansas City ranks in the bottom 10 in batting average, OPS and home runs. The Royals could be without three of their best offensive players. Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia are on the injured list and Jac Caglianone is day to day with a groin injury.

Two underrated pitchers are getting the start here - Griffin Jax and Noah Cameron.

Jax has a 2.40 ERA as a starter. Cameron has given up three or fewer earned runs in seven of his last nine starts. 

Given the low quality of the offenses here, I find this total too high.

The Rays have hit the second fewest homers in the majors. They are averaging 2.7 runs a game during their past eight road contests.

Kansas City ranks in the bottom 10 in batting average, OPS and home runs. The Royals could be without three of their best offensive players. Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia are on the injured list and Jac Caglianone is day to day with a groin injury.

Two underrated pitchers are getting the start here - Griffin Jax and Noah Cameron.

Jax has a 2.40 ERA as a starter. Cameron has given up three or fewer earned runs in seven of his last nine starts. 

It is clear the Dodgers love playing at Sutter Health Park, the A's sandbox minor league stadium. LA has scored nine runs in each of the first two games of the series.

The Dodgers are swinging hot bats averaging 8.8 runs during their last six games, excluding a one-run performance against the Padres.

Getting to play at the American League's premier hitting park is fun for the Dodgers, especially since they will get at least nine innings of at-bats being the visitor. Not that the Dodgers need any extra help. They rank first or second in runs, batting average, homers and OPS.

J.T. Ginn, with his 4.07 home ERA, isn't going to be able to slow down the Dodgers. Neither is an A's bullpen that has the fourth highest ERA in the majors at 5.02.

The A's have socked the most homers in the league at home and also rank second in slugging percentage and scored the fourth most runs when playing at Sutter Health Park.

The Dodgers were undecided on a starter.

The pitchers will have to deal with hitter's weather - temperatures in the high 80s and the wind blowing out at 6 to 10 miles per hour - in addition to the short dimensions. 

Solid starting pitchers. Two above average bullpens. A pair of weak hitting teams. Add it up, and I don't see the Rangers-Guardians reaching nine runs.

The Rangers rank 24th in scoring. They are likely to be without three of their best offensive players. Wyatt Langford is on the injured list. Fragile Corey Seager didn't play on Tuesday because of back problems after having just returned from a concussion. Brandon Nimmo hasn't played the last couple of games because of a shoulder injury.

Cleveland scores the fewest runs in the majors. The Guardians also are second to last in OPS and third from the bottom in batting average and home runs. They are without their injured superstar third baseman Jose Ramirez.

These missing key players make it easier for starters MacKenzie Gore and Joey Cantillo.

Gore has a misleading 4.05 ERA based on various metrics, including a 3.42 fielding independent, 0.8 home runs allowed and 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Gore ranks 12th in strikeouts in the American League.

Cantillo is pitching his best baseball of the season with a 1.42 ERA during his last three starts spanning 19 innings.

The Rangers and Guardians rank 11th and 13th, respectively, in bullpen ERA. Cleveland's Cade Smith leads the majors in saves by a wide margin.