The Kansas City Royals have been one of the big surprises in the early portion of the season, and they'll look to keep it going when they host the Baltimore Orioles in the third game of this series. The Royals upset the Orioles on Friday night with a 9-4 win, and they get Game 2 underway on Saturday evening. These teams already met in Baltimore earlier this season, with the Orioles taking two of three. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with an Orioles-Royals prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

Cole Irvin will get the ball for the Orioles on Sunday afternoon against a team that he is familiar with facing. Irvin took on the Royals in his first start of the season, he went five innings and allowed seven hits and four earned runs. His next start against the Red Sox wasn't any better, giving up five earned runs in the same number of innings. However, the Orioles realized to get him out before he took on too much damage in his last start, allowing two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Seth Lugo has been a rock for the Royals pitching staff this season. He is 3-0 in four starts, boasting a 1.05 ERA. He twirled a gem in his last outing, going seven innings with just four hits and no earned runs in a 2-0 victory over the White Sox. Lugo was a steady force for the Mets bullpen for years, before transitioning to a starter with the Padres last season. He may have found his calling as a starter and looks right at home in Kansas City.

Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Orioles-Royals Odds

Baltimore Orioles: -1.5 (+152)

Moneyline: -102

Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-184)

Moneyline: -116

Over: 8.5 (-110)

Under: 8.5 (-110)

How to Watch Orioles vs. Royals

Time: 2:10 PM ET/ 11:10 AM PT

TV: MASN2, Bally Sports Network

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Orioles Will Cover The Spread/Win

Can Seth Lugo continue his torrid pace to start the season? It's a good question because he has always been solid, but a 1.05 ERA is obviously well below his career averages. Let's look at his opponents so far this season.

He has started two games against the White Sox, who are the worst offensive team in the Majors. They have 20 fewer runs than the next closest offense and a shocking .554 OPS. He also started against the Twins, who are the third-worst in both of those metrics. His start against the Astros is encouraging, but Houston is another team that is struggling and hasn't reached their full power.

Why The Royals Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Royals have been finding ways to win, albeit against some weaker competition. They are 7-3 over their last ten games and are doing it in many different ways. Their offense exploded in wins against the Astros and Mets at the start of the run, reaching double digits in three of four games.

Then, their offense stalled out but their pitching allowed just four runs in a three-game series against the White Sox. Their offense looked good again in Game 1 against the Orioles, but they may not need that if Lugo manages to keep his stellar form going.

Final Orioles-Royals Prediction & Pick

A big cause of the Royals' success is two series against the White Sox and facing an Astros team that is yet to find the form that got them to seven-straight American League Championship Series. Their offense hasn't been performing well enough over the last five games to continue winning, batting just .185 and averaging 3.5 runs per game.

You can also expect some regression back to the mean for Seth Lugo, who can't possibly keep up his Cy Young pace.

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Final Orioles-Royals Prediction & Pick: Orioles ML (-102)