Guardians vs. Tigers Game 5 player props: ALDS odds, picks, bets, predictions

Forgive yourself if you didn’t notice, but Matthew Boyd is pitching like an ace. The southpaw veteran has been a revelation for the Guardians since returning to the mound after undergoing Tommy John Surgery last June. Coming into the season with a career 4.94 ERA, Boyd was dominant in eight regular season starts since debuting on Aug.13 for Cleveland, posting a 2.72 ERA and a 3.29 FIP. He brought that success into the postseason, tossing 4 ⅔ scoreless innings with five strikeouts against the Tigers, his former team, in Game 2 of this series. Boyd gets to face Detroit again on Saturday, and oddsmakers appear to be underestimating his abilities. FanDuel Sportsbook has Boyd’s strikeout over/under at just 3.5, which he has gone over in all but one of his nine starts this season, including his Game 2 outing against the Tigers. Although they had a day off Friday, Cleveland’s bullpen comes into this game a bit taxed – no Guardians starter has gotten through the fifth inning in this series. But even if the Guardians turn this game into a bullpen game early, Boyd has shown he can rack up the punchouts quickly, striking out 10.4 batters per nine innings during the regular season. The Tigers were one of the most strikeout-prone teams in baseball this season (24.3 percent strikeout rate, 8th-highest), and have been even more so during the postseason (29 percent). Boyd doesn’t need to pitch deep into this game to hit the Over on this number.The play: Matthew Boyd over 3.5 strikeouts (-110, FanDuel Sportsbook)...