MLB Playoff Odds: Guardians Now Favored to Win AL Central Over Tigers

Who will win the AL Central?

The Cleveland Guardians are now odds-on favorites to win the AL Central. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians have won nine of their last 10 games, including Tuesday's matchup with the Detroit Tigers to take over the top spot in the AL Central in the final week fo the regular season.

At BetMGM Sportsbook, the Guardians are now -225 favorites to win the division heading into their second game of their three-game set against Detroit this week. The Tigers, who have lost seven games in a row, were unable to win with Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal on the mound on Tuesday.

Cleveland is just a few wins away from completing one of the most improbable comebacks in a division race that you'll ever see. The Guardians were +15000 to win the AL Central at the All-Star break (Detroit was -10000), which is good for an implied probability of just 0.66 percent.

In fact, Cleveland was still set as a +300 underdog as recent as Sept. 20. Yet, with just five games left in the regular season, Cleveland has the inside track to win the division crown.

Now, both of these teams can still make the playoffs, as Detroit has a one-game lead over the Houston Astros for the final wild card spot in the AL. Depending upon how the final two games of the Guardians-Tigers series shake out, it could alter both the division race and the wild card race heading into the weekend.

Cleveland is likely favored to win the division since it already beat Skubal, and the Guardians face a Texas Rangers team that may be eliminated from playoff contention by the time the two teams face off for a three-game set this weekend.

Detroit, on the other hand, is facing a Boston Red Sox team that holds the No. 2 wild card spot in the AL but has yet to clinch a postseason berth.

Cleveland is favored at home in Game 2 of its series with the Tigers on Wednesday night, and a win would only improve the Guardians' chances of completing this comeback in the AL Central.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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