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The Baltimore Orioles take on the Kansas City Royals. Check out our MLB odds series for our Orioles Royals prediction and pick.
Jordan Lyles gets the ball for the Orioles, while Kris Bubic takes the bump for the Royals.
Jordan Lyles has a 4.50 ERA. He has given up at least three runs in each of his last six starts, and he has allowed at last four runs in four of those six starts. In those six outings, Lyles has allowed 41 hits while striking out only 33 batters. He simply isn't an imposing pitcher. Batters get plenty of hittable deliveries against him, and opponents frequently have runners on base when Lyles pitches. This is something to keep in mind when making an Orioles Royals prediction based on the current MLB odds.
Kris Bubic has a 9.33 ERA. He has pitched only 18 1/3 innings this season, so his sample size is very small. In his first six appearances, encompassing 13 1/3 innings, Bubic gave up 19 runs. In his most recent outing against the Astros on June 4, he pitched five scoreless innings, giving up five hits and issuing three walks. He was able to pitch his way out of jams. Is it clear Bubic is not up to the task of being a big-league pitcher? It's too early to tell, which is part of the thought process attached to an Orioles Royals pick.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Orioles-Royals MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Orioles-Royals Odds
Baltimore Orioles: -1.5 (+146)
Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-176)
Over: 9.5 (-102)
Under: 9.5 (-120)
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Why The Orioles Could Cover the Spread
The Orioles are not an especially good team, but they're better than the Royals. The Orioles are five games ahead of the Royals in the composite American League standings, at 24-33 compared to Kansas City's 18-37 mark. Baltimore has a better record than K.C. despite playing in the cutthroat American League East Division. The Royals play in the comparatively weaker American League Central and still have a noticeably worse record. There are whispers in the MLB industry that Mike Matheny needs a few good weeks to cool off his hot seat. He could soon join Joe Girardi and Joe Maddon as managers fired during the 2022 regular season.
Also, Kris Bubic has barely pitched this season and is someone the Orioles should be able to feast on.
Why The Royals Could Cover the Spread
After beating the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday with an eight-run explosion, the Royals will come to the ballpark on Thursday with the belief that they can get big hits in big situations. The Royals have struggled on offense for most of the season. Getting a blowout win with a barrage of hits is exactly what this team needed; it's the perfect lead-in to a series against a beatable team, the Orioles, and a game against a very hittable pitcher, Jordan Lyles. If the O's think Kris Bubic is hittable, the Royals should view Lyles the same way.
On a separate note, Bubic's five scoreless innings against the Astros this past weekend show that he might be turning the corner. If he is, the Royals should like their chances here.
Final Orioles-Royals Prediction & Pick
If you're not sold on either team here, and you shouldn't be, take the over in a matchup of mediocre and unproven starting pitchers.
Final Orioles-Royals Prediction & Pick: Over 9.5
