Baseball Betting Preview: Cleveland Indians vs. Detroit Tigers2

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Baseball Betting Preview: Cleveland Indians vs. Detroit Tigers2

The Cleveland Indians vs. Detroit Tigers series started off with an extra inning affair between the two rivals, and the second game should be just as exciting.

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Days like Wednesday are why the Indians parted with a number of their top prospects to acquire ace Ubaldo Jimenez. With his club now trailing the Tigers by three games in the American League Central following Tuesday night's walk-off hit-by-pitch in the 14th inning, Jimenez will take the mound at Progressive Field for the first time as a member of the Tribe, hoping he can continue to shave the Indians' deficit in the division and help build the necessary momentum to chase down the Tigers.

Jimenez also looks to bounce back from a rocky Cleveland debut in which he allowed five runs on seven hits over five innings in Texas on Friday. Despite his shaky debut and a 5.63 ERA in three career starts against Detroit, one of which came in Interleague Play on June 18, Indians manager Manny Acta expects a better performance out of his new right-hander.

However, Acta also recognized that after seizing the opener, his team needs to continue a steady march to catch Detroit.

"It's important, in a sense, that we can't let them get too far ahead," Acta said. "We showed how tough it is to make up so many games. We held a seven-game lead for over two months. But I've seen in baseball two seven-game leads disappear in 10 days."

Despite Jimenez's new shine in an Indians uniform, Tigers manager Jim Leyland believes his team will feel comfortable facing the right-hander and added that he respects the Indians for their aggressiveness in acquiring Jimenez.

"We've seen him before," Leyland said. "He's a power guy with really good stuff. I mean, they've got them lined up pretty good for us, and that's the way it should be. Leyland also sent a message to his own right-hander in Rick Porcello by moving him up to pitch on normal rest. Typically, Leyland would skip Porcello when moving up ace Justin Verlander.

However, with Porcello pitching well of late, including winning five straight decisions and walking just five batters in his past 38 2/3 innings, the Tigers' skipper wanted to keep Porcello in rhythm.

The race in the American Central is tight and it could be tighter after this game.