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The San Francisco Giants continue interleague play as they have their home opener against the Kansas City Royals. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Royals-Giants prediction, pick, and how to watch.
The Royals enter the game at 1-6 and losers of three straight. The offense is struggling and the pitching has not been stellar either. Overall, they have been shut out in three of their seven games and need to find ways to score. The Giants have their home opener and are coming off a 16-6 demolition of the Chicago White Sox. It was the second time in the series that the Giants put up big run totals, winning the first game of the series 12-3. They will hope to continue that hot hitting today.
Here are the Royals-Giants MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Royals-Giants Odds
Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-126)
San Francisco Giants: -1.5 (+105)
Over: 8 (-105)
Under: 8 (-115)
How To Watch Royals vs. Giants
TV: BSKC/ NBCSBA
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 4:35 PM ET/ 1:35 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Royals Could Cover The Spread
The Royals finally scored some runs, but it was just too little too late. In the eighth inning against the Blue Jays, Bobby Witt Jr. launched his first home run of the season off Trevor Richards, then Melendez reached base on a walk, Perez singled and the Blue Jays pulled Richards. Mayza came in and promptly gave up a single and double, giving the Royals three runs in the eighth. Then, the offense was shut down. They left both men in scoring position, and Garcia came in to strike out the final two batters of the inning. The three runs in the inning were the second most they have scored in a single inning all year.
Still, the Royals are struggling overall on offense. Edward Olivares joined Salvador Perez as the only two guys on the Royals to be hitting over .250 on the season. Olivares is also one of just two guys to have an OBP over .300 as well out of their regular players. No player has more than one home run on the roster, and only Salvador Perez has more than one extra-base hit.
Brad Keller gets his second start of the season for the Royals in this one. In his first game, he went just 4.2 innings, giving up two runs, five hits, and four walks. This will be his first career start against the Giants and will need to put up a good performance if the Royals are to walk away with a victory.
Why The Giants Could Cover The Spread
The Giants' bats erupted for the second time in three games. The Giants hammers five home runs on their way to a 16-6 victory over the White Sox. J.D. Davis hit a grand slam, and Michael Conforto hit a three-run shot to lead the way. Two games earlier, the Giants hit seven home runs in a 12-3 victory. In that game, Conforto had his first home run of the season and David Villar hit two. The power has been impressive, as the Giants now lead all of baseball with 15 home runs on the season.
This does not tell the full story of the offense though, as they have had struggles. They were shut out twice and only scored three runs in another game. Of guys with more than ten at-bats on the season, Only J.D. Davis, Wilmer Flores, and Thairo Estrada are hitting over .300. While not hitting particularly well, LaMonte Wade Jr. is getting on base. He leads the team with seven walks and has an OBP of .538. A bulk of the runs scored this year for the Giants are coming via the home run, and if they do not figure out how to manufacture runs and move guys on base around the path, they will continue to have games where they struggle to score.
On the bump today will be Alex Cobb, who only got through 3.2 innings in his last outing, giving up two runs, one earned, and a home run. In his career he has faced the Royals seven times, going 2-3 with a 4.57 ERA. His last start against them was in 2021, where he when 5.2 innings, giving up three, but getting the win.
Final Royals-Giants Prediction & Pick
This game just depends on what team shows up for the Giants. The Royals will probably not score well, but if the Giants do their every other game thing that they have to start the year, there may not be any runs. Regardless, the Royals will not score enough to get the win. The Giants cover in a low-scoring affair.
Final Royals-Giants Prediction & Pick: Giants -1.5 (+105) and Under 8 (-115)
