The Boston Red Sox host the Detroit Tigers on April 17, 2026. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on Apple TV+.
The Red Sox are favored by -130 on the moneyline and priced at +160 to cover -1.5. The Tigers are +110 on the moneyline and -190 toc cover +1.5. The total is set at 8 runs.
Find my MLB picks and Tigers vs Red Sox prediction below, as well as probable pitchers, weather report, and more.
Tigers vs Red Sox Prediction
- Tigers vs Red Sox Pick: Under 8 Runs -115 (Bet365, Play to -125)
My Tigers vs Red Sox best bet is Under 8 Runs. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live MLB odds page.
Tigers vs Red Sox Odds
| Tigers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -190 | 8 100o / -120u | +105 |
| Red Sox Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +160 | 8 100o / -120u | -125 |
- Tigers vs Red Sox spread: Tigers +1.5 (-190), Red Sox -1.5 (+160)
- Tigers vs Red Sox over/under: 8 (100o / -120u)
- Tigers vs Red Sox moneyline: Tigers+105-, Red Sox -125
Tigers vs Red Sox Projected Starting Pitchers
| RHP Casey Mize (DET) | Stat | LHP Ranger Suarez (BOS) |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | W-L | 1-1 |
| 0.3 | fWAR (FanGraphs) | 0.2 |
| 3.94/4.48 | ERA /xERA | 5.02/ 6.18 |
| 3.67/3.85 | FIP / xFIP | 4.49/3.74 |
| 1.44 | WHIP | 1.47 |
| 16.9% | K-BB% | 10.0% |
| 34.0% | GB% | 45.5% |
| 87 | Stuff+ | 96 |
| 100 | Location+ | 102 |
Tigers vs Red Sox Preview
Detroit Tigers Betting Preview: TK TK
The Tigers enter this series riding high in the midst of a six-game winning streak after earning an important sweep over the Kansas City Royals with a two-out ninth-inning rally on Thursday. They are just 2-8 on the road this season, but they went 41-40 on the road last season, and at this point, that trend is likely just noise.
Mize entered the year off a strong 2025 campaign in which he pitched to an ERA of 3.94 and an xFIP of 3.97 across 149 innings. He has gotten off to a comparably solid start in pitching, with an ERA of 3.94 and an xFIP of 3.84, and has improved his strikeout-minus-walk rate to 16.9%.
The Tigers' offense has started the season in strong form, currently ranking 12th with a wRC+ of 104 and fourth in xSLG. They have struggled mightily against left-handed pitching thus far with a wRC+ of 80 and a slugging rate of .280. Their offensive splits should level out in the near future, though, as they ranked second in wRC+ versus lefties in 2025.
Parker Meadows, Trey Sweeney and Zach McKinstry are currently on the IR, but none of the three hit better than league-average results versus lefties last season.
Boston Red Sox Betting Preview: TK TK
After signing a five-year, 130 million dollar deal to join the team in the offseason, Suarez has been one of the many early sources of frustration for Red Sox faithful thus far. Two of Suarez's three starts have been disastrous, but he does enter off a gem versus the Cardinals in which he allowed just three hits and zero earned runs across six innings of work.
Suarez holds an HR/FB ratio of 18.2% and has allowed 1.26 home runs per nine, a drastically higher mark than he held in any of his last five seasons. He should find positive regression in that regard, and his Stuff+ rating was up to 100 in his last start versus the Cardinals, while more importantly, relative to how he has typically found success, his command was exceptional.
Offensively, the Red Sox have been one of the more disappointing teams early on this season, as they currently hold a wRC+ of 91 and rank 24th in BB/K ratio. They also rank 26th in xSLG rate and hold the eighth-highest whiff rate in MLB.
Willson Contreras is listed as day-to-day ahead of this game and would be a notable absence given that he currently ranks second on the team in OPS.
Tigers vs Red Sox Picks
The under certainly may not look overly appealing on first glance, with a red-hot Tigers side heading into Fenway to take on Suarez, who holds pretty horrid surface-level statistics at this point.
Suarez looked drastically better in his last start, though, and it still seems reasonable to believe he can trend towards the strong results he offered the Phillies in the previous two seasons. The Tigers' offense has really struggled against lefties so far this season, and though they should bounce back, it is notable how drastic the splits have been.
The Red Sox have really struggled to get it going offensively, while Mize has had a solid start to the campaign after managing quality results in 2025.
Fenway is also projected to offer pitcher-friendly conditions in Friday's matchup, with the first pitch at 57 degrees and winds blowing in. Out of a small sample of 31 Fenway games with temps between 55 and 63 and winds blowing in, the under has yielded a +35.4% ROI.
Given the expected conditions and Suarez's potential to continue sorting things out, there appears to be value in backing this matchup to finish under 8 runs at -115.
Pick: Under 8 Runs -115 (Bet365, Play to -120)
