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Only a few short hours separate us from this AL Central showdown between the Kansas City Royals and the Minnesota Twins, so let's get this show on the road! Join us and take an exclusive look at our MLB odds series, where our Royals-Twins prediction and pick will be unveiled for all to see.
It certainly hasn't been the start that Kansas City would've liked in 2022, but the rebuilding Royals expected some growing pains on the bumpy road to becoming relevant again. At 15-28 and in last place in the AL Central, the Royals will give the starting nod to righty Brad Keller, who has a 1-4 record and 3.20 ERA in eight games started.
The opposite could be said about the Twins, as Minnesota were big spenders in the offseason that saw them add some serious star power and go all out in chasing a possible championship. In line for the start will be RHP Bailey Ober, who currently has maintained a dazzling 2.55 ERA.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Royals-Twins MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Royals-Twins Odds
Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-130)
Minnesota Twins: -1.5 (+108)
Over: 8.5 (-106)
Under: 8.5 (-114)
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Why The Royals Could Cover the Spread
After a decisive 3-2 win over the Twins yesterday in game one of the series and snapped a six-game losing streak in the process, the Royals have a chance to at least ensure a split of this four-game set with a victory this evening. Before the victorious triumph over the Twins yesterday, the Royals were swept by their division rivals in a three-game series only about a week ago. Set to square off with the Twins three more times this weekend, Kansas City can finally breathe a sigh of relief after finally snapping the week-long losing streak.
The Royals have been pretty dreadful, to say the least at the plate, as they are near the bottom five of teams statistically in just about every hitting category. While KC can put a checkmark next to avoid being the victim of another sweep, the Royals need to find a way to generate some offense to present somewhat of a challenge to the first-place Twins.
Through 43 games, the Royals' best part of their game has been their team's .234 batting average, which is not saying much. Kansas City has only managed to score 159 runs and is only averaging 3.7 runs per contest. Obviously an area for concern, the Royals have also hit the fifth-fewest home runs in the majors with an underachieving 32-balls hit into the stands in 2022.
Pitching-wise, things haven't been a whole lot better, but this will be the part of Kansas City's game that will give the best chance to cover the spread on Friday. The pitcher who could be of record in Brad Keller has not been overly efficient to begin his campaign, but he has looked strong over his career against the Twins with a 3-4 record and a decent 3.43 ERA.
Why The Twins Could Cover the Spread
The first place Twins haven't been perfect, but they have shown the baseball community that they have what it takes to be a dangerous bunch as the season progresses into the later months. The Twins were also winners of six straight before dropping a pair to the Tigers and Royals that saw Minnesota only score four runs combined in 18 innings.
Consider this recent cold spell a typical funk that every MLB team faces throughout the marathon of a season, as Minnesota has been a very patient team at the plate, which has translated into success in scoring runs and finding the right pitch to hit. In 45 games played, the Twins are raking .244 as a club and have a knack for getting on-base and putting the pressure on the opposition to record outs. With the sixth-best on-base percentage in the league at .324, the Twins can use this to their advantage to keep teams guessing including being aggressive on the base paths and creating a small margin for error for opposing clubs to play by.
With Ober in line for the start against the Royals, the Twins winning ways can be traced to their pitching staff's success in setting down offensive lineups with ease. On the season, Minnesota has enjoyed the fifth-best ERA in all of baseball at a sparkling 3.31 mark and is also a top ten in keeping runners off the bases with a 1.19 WHIP.
With the perfect balance of swinging the sticks efficiently and recording outs on the mound, the key to Minnesota's success is that they can beat you in a multitude of ways.
Final Royals-Twins Prediction & Pick
The Royals probably shouldn't be trusted to win a second straight and cover the spread in doing so, while the Twins are due to breakout offensively as they square off with a Kansas City team that has had its struggles on the mound. Not to mention, but the Royals are 20-27 ATS and have a subpar record out on the road at 7-13. The Twins should make sports bettors very enthused in this one.
Final Royals-Twins Prediction & Pick: Twins -1.5 (+108)
