Red Sox vs. Tigers - Skubal to Undergo Elbow Surgery - prediction: Odds, trends, and best bets for May 4

Breaking news out of Detroit: Two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal is scheduled to undergo elbow surgery to remove loose particles. Thus, he will not be on the mound tonight when the Tigers (18-17) open their three-game series against the struggling Boston Red Sox (13-21). Tyler Holton faces Payton Tolle in the opener.

Detroit enters this three‑game series playing dominant baseball at home, where they’ve posted a 12–3 record. Their offense opened the season meekly but has been steady, hitting . 262 over their last 10 games while outscoring opponents by six runs.

A couple of the key contributors are youngsters Kevin McGonigle (. 315) and Riley Greene (12-for-37 with three home runs in his last 10). The Tigers have won 13 of 18 games when scoring five or more runs…and they may well need plenty of them without Skubal on the mound for the foreseeable future.

Boston arrives in Detroit looking to rebound after dropping a weekend series to Houston. The Red Sox sit at 7–11 on the road, with their offense struggling to find consistency. Although they scored but seven runs in the three games against the Astros, they Sox have shown flashes—hitting .