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It is the start of an Al Central series as the Kansas City Royals face off with the Cleveland Guardians. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Royals-Guardians prediction and pick.
The Royals enter the series sitting at 36-25 on the year which is good for second in the AL Central, and four games back of first pace. They have struggled as of late, losing six of their last eight games overall, but are coming off a win over the Padres. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Guardians are sitting at 39-20 on the year, which is good for first place in the AL Central. They have won 12 of their last 15 games, and just took two of three over the Nationals. They did lose on Sunday though, falling to the Nationals 5-2.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Royals-Guardians Odds
Kansas City Royals: -1.5 (+168)
Moneyline: +106
Cleveland Guardians: +1.5 (-205)
Moneyline: -124
Over: 8.5 (+100)
Under: 8.5 (-122)
How to Watch Royals vs. Guardians
Time: 6:40 PM ET/ 3:40 PM PT
TV: BSKC/BSGL
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Royals Will Cover The Spread/Win
Article Continues Below
The Royals are fifth in the majors in runs scored, seventh in batting average, 13th in on-base percentage, and seventh in slugging. Bobby Witt Jr. is scoring a bunch this year. He has scored 52 runs on the season. Witt is hitting .313 on the year with a .367 on-base percentage. He has 16 doubles, six triples, and nine home runs. This has led to 42 RBIs. Witt has also stolen 17 bases this year helping lead to his 52 runs scored. Salvador Perez has also been great this year. He is hitting .315 on the year with a .381 on-base percentage. He has 14 doubles, and ten home runs, leading to his 41 RBIs. Further, he has scored 24 times this year.
Vinnie Pasquantino has also been great this year. He is hitting .244 on the year with a .316 on-base percentage. Pasquantino has 15 doubles and seven home runs leading to 40 RBIs. He has also scored 28 times. Rounding out the top bats is Maikel Garcia. He is hitting .263 with a .311 on-base percentage. He has 12 doubles, three triples, and five home runs. This has led to 35 RBIs and 38 runs scored. Garcia has also stolen 13 bases this year.
Royals pitching is ninth in team ERA, 13th in WHIP, and 18th in opponent batting average. It will be Seth Lugo on the mound for the Guardians. He is 9-1 with a 1.72 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Lugo is first in wins in the majors and second in team ERA. He has been amazing in May, with six starts. In his last six starts, he has pitched 40.1 innings, giving up just nine runs, with eight earned. Lugo has also won five of his last six games in the process.
Why The Guardians Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Guardians are fourth in the majors in runs scored this year while sitting 16th in batting average, eighth in on-base percentage, and 11th in slugging. Jose Ramirez has been great this year. He is hitting .272 on the year with a .327 on-base percentage. He has hit 13 doubles, a triple, and 16 home runs. This has led to 57 RBIs on the year. Further, Ramirez has stolen nine bases and scored 44 runs this year. Josh Naylor has also been solid this year. He is hitting .227 on the year with a .312 on-base percentage. He has nine doubles and 15 home runs, leading to 42 RBIs. Further, he has scored 32 times this year.
Hitting wonderful this year is Andres Gimenez. He is hitting .276 on the year with a .336 on-base percentage. He has nine doubles, a triple, and four home runs, leading to 33 RBIs. Further, he has stolen nine bases and has 34 runs scored. Rounding out the top bats is Tyler Freeman. Freeman is hitting just .219, but he is getting on base at a .310 rate. He has 11 doubles and four home runs, leading to 22 RBIs. Freeman also has stolen eight bases and scored 32 times.
The Guardians are seventh in team ERA, seventh in WHIP, and sixth in opponent batting average. Triston McKenzie will be on the mound for the Guardians in this one. He is 2-3 with a 3.77 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. In his last two times out McKenzie has struggled some. He has given up seven and five home runs in the previous ten innings over two starts. Still, the Guardians have one or both of those games.
Final Royals-Guardians Prediction & Pick
The Guardians have been the better team this year. Still, the Royals have the much better pitcher going in this one. Triston McKenzie has been solid this year, but Seth Lugo has been the best pitcher in the majors. The Royals have enough firepower to get to McKenzie in this game. Take the Royals to get the win.
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Final Royals-Guardians Prediction & Pick: Royals ML (+106)
