Under Is The Look As Flaherty And Gallen Square Off

Tigers vs. Diamondbacks, 8:10 ET

There are a lot of good things and a lot of bad things about sports betting. One of the worst things is that people think they should be able to send messages to players and complain about a loss. I recently saw a video of Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart of the New York Knicks laughing it off, but they read some messages that were really disturbing. One of them talked about wanting to kill one of the player's entire family. Those are the worst of the worst type of people and results from sports betting. A good thing from it is that every team is suddenly relevant. Every team matters once again and should be given attention. That brings me to tonight's game as the Tigers take on the Diamondbacks. 

The Tigers are hovering around the .500 mark which indicates progress after the past few seasons. This team isn't loaded with offensive talent, but they do have some very good pitchers who are making their impact this season. They have a guy, Tarik Skubal, who might end up as a Cy Young finalist this season, and they have a few other young guys that might be able to keep them afloat this season. The problem is their offense is rather bad. The team is only averaging fewer than four runs per game and the On Base Percentage is below .300. If you're not getting on base, you're putting a ton of pressure on your pitcher to be perfect. Tonight they are going to struggle against one of the better pitchers in the game. The pitching staff has Jack Flaherty on the hill for them. Flaherty has a 3.88 ERA for the season, which is fine, but still offers room for improvement. His WHIP is at 1.05 which is very good. One good thing is that the walks are not the issue. Flaherty hasn't walked more than two batters in any game this season. The bigger concern is that he has allowed seven homers in 48.2 innings and 45 hits in that timeframe as well. Diamondbacks hitters are 25-for-94 against him with a shocking eight home runs. 33% of their hits have left the yard, but he has only given up 13 RBIs. 

Apr 14, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty (9) throws during the game against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-USA TODAY Sports

The Diamondbacks started this season a bit slowly, but they are making a bit of an impact now that we are heading into June. The hitting hasn't been the issue as they have a .245 batting average and are among the league leaders in runs scored. I like most of what their offense has done this season, so why do they have a sub-.500 record? The main reason here is the pitching staff not quite being what they were last season. This year, the club has a 4.21 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Their opponent batting average is really my biggest concern for the team as they are allowing opponents to hit .252 against them. Couple that with the walks they allow and we can see why they are average to this point in the season. Tonight they get their Ace on the hill and that can position them for a win on any given night. Zac Gallen has been consistent for them with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Perhaps most impressive is that he continues his dominance on his home mound as he has  0.53 ERA for the season in three starts. He has allowed one earned run in 17 innings pitched there. One strange thing is that he hasn't pitched at home in over a month, so it could be a bit of an issue getting back into the normal routine at home. Tigers hitters have also been successful against Gallen as they are hitting .345 against him. 

This game is interesting for a number of reasons outside of sports betting. The Tigers and Diamondbacks are both fighting to get to .500. Both pitchers are throwing rather well this season, and I think we could be in line for a pitching duel. I would be a little surprised if the Diamondbacks lost this game, especially with Gallen on the mound. I think the best play for us is to take the under. Flaherty probably will allow a couple earned runs, but he shouldn't be crushed. Gallen has been very good at home and I expect it to continue. Back the under for the game. 

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024