Subscribe
Follow Us
The Cincinnati Reds (32-35) visit the Kansas City Royals (18-48) for the second of their three-game series. First pitch commences Tuesday at 8:10 p.m. ET. The Reds jumped out to an early series lead thanks to their 5-4 win in yesterday's opener. Below we continue our MLB odds series with a Reds-Royals prediction, pick, and how to watch.
Here are the Reds-Royals MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Reds-Royals Odds
Cincinnati Reds: -1.5 (+146)
Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-176)
Over: 9.5 (-122)
Under: 9.5 (+100)
How To Watch Reds vs. Royals
TV: Bally Sports
Stream: MLB.tv
Time: 8:10 p.m. ET/ 5:10 p.m. PT
*See how to watch Reds-Royals LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Reds Could Cover The Spread
Last 10: 6-4 (Third in the NL Central)
Run Line Record: 40-27 (60%)
Over Record: 38-29 (57%)
The Reds continued their strong play of late in yesterday's series opener. Although they tried their best to blow an early lead, Cincinnati bounced back to win in 10 innings. With the win, the Reds now sit just 3.5 games back of first in the NL Central. After finishing May with a winning record, the Reds have gone 6-6 through their first 12 games in June. With so much hype surrounding their recently-recalled prospects, the Reds will be a popular favorite tonight. However, they narrowly blew last night's opener and ended up not covering in the process. Consequently, they need their offense to show up and provide their rookie start with plenty of run support if they want to cover tonight.
Lefty Brandon Williamson (0-0) makes his sixth start of the season for the Reds tonight. The 25-year-old rookie has been up and down since being called up to the bigs last month. Although the team has a 4-1 record in his starts, he's maintained a shaky 5.40 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. Williamson has really struggled with walks (20th percentile in BB Rate) and allowing hard contact. He sits in the eighth percentile in Hard Hit Rate, the sixth percentile in Barrel Rate, and the fifth percentile in xSLG. That said, the Royals are easily the weakest lineup he's faced as they rank 28th in runs and 30th in on-base percentage.
While the hype in Cincinnati has centered on phenom Elly De La Cruz, fellow rookie infielder Matt McLain has been their catalyst this month. Although he hasn't offered much power, he's collected a team-high 25 total bases this month. That isn't to say De La Cruz was overhyped, however, as he holds a stellar .925 OPS through his first seven games.
Why The Royals Could Cover The Spread
Last 10: 1-9 (Fifth in the AL Central)
Run Line Record: 22-44 (33%)
Over Record: 28-36-2 (44%)
By no means were the Royals good through the first two months of the season – they went 7-21 in April and 10-17 in May. However, they've completely fallen off a cliff in June with nine losses in their last 10 games. They're batting an abysmal .215 this month and haven't won a series since the middle of May. That said, they were able to cover as home underdogs last night after putting up four runs – their most in the last five games. Consequently, the Royals need their offense to keep trending up if they want to cover again tonight.
Righty Jordan Lyles (0-10) makes his 14th start of the season for the Royals tonight. The 32-year-old has the most losses in the majors thus far and is still searching for his first win. The team is 0-13 in games he starts as he's only given up less than three runs twice. That said, Lyles hasn't been the worst pitcher in the league despite his record and shaky ratios (6.84 ERA and 1.29 WHIP). His expected ERA sits at 5.12 while he has been above average at allowing hard contact – sitting in the 68th percentile in Hard Hit Rate. While the Reds' offense is trending up, they've noticeably performed worse against righties compared to lefties.
While the Royals don't boast a strong offense by any calculation, they have been better against lefties compared to righties. Bobby Witt Jr. in particular will be happy to see a southpaw on the bump considering his .849 OPS against lefties this season. Although Witt Jr. got off to a slow start this season, he's batting .289 this month and has only struck out four times in 38 at-bats. Alongside him, Salvador Perez could be in for another big night after going 2/5 with a home run in last night's opener. Perez has been by far the most consistent Kansas City hitter this season – leading the team with a .275 average, 14 HRs, and 37 RBI.
Final Reds-Royals Prediction & Pick
The Reds couldn't hold on to cover last night but matched up with Jordan Lyles they should have more than enough offense to do so tonight.
Final Reds-Royals Prediction & Pick: Cincinnati Reds -1.5 (+146)
