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The Kansas City Royals look to close out the series as they face the Baltimore Orioles. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Royals-Orioles Game 2 prediction and pick.
Royals-Orioles Game 2 Projected Starters
Seth Lugo vs. Zach Eflin
Seth Lugo (16-9) with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP
Last Start: Lugo went just two innings in his last start, giving up one hit and a walk. He would take the no-decision as the Braves beat the Royals.
2024 Road Splits: Lugo was 9-3 on the road this year in 16 starts. He has a 2.62 ERA and a .216 opponent batting average.
Zach Eflin (10-9) with a 3.59 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP
Last Start: Eflin went 4.2 innings in his last start, giving up four hits, five walks, and a home run. He would surrender three runs but take the no-decision as the Orioles beat the Yankees.
2024 Home Splits: Eflin is 5-6 at home this year in 17 starts. He has a 4.24 ERA and a .258 opponent batting average.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
AL Wild Card Odds: Royals-Orioles Odds
Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-176)
Moneyline: +126
Baltimore Orioles: -1.5 (+146)
Moneyline: -148
Over: 7.5 (-115)
Under: 7.5 (-105)
How to Watch Royals vs. Orioles Game 2
Time: 4:30 PM ET/ 1:30 PM PT
TV: ESPN
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why The Royals Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Royals finished the regular season 13th in the majors in runs scored, while sitting tenth in batting average, 19th in on-base percentage, and 12th in slugging. Bobby Witt Jr. led the way this year. He is hitting .332 on the year with a .389 on-base percentage. Witt has 32 home runs, 109 RBIs, 31 stolen bases, and 125 runs scored. Meanwhile, Salvador Perez is hitting .271 on the year with a .330 on-base percentage. He has 27 home runs, 104 RBIS, and 58 runs scored. Maiken Garcia rounds out the top bats for the Royals. He hit .231 this year with a .281 on-base percentage. Garcia has seven home runs, 59 RBIs, 37 stolen bases, and 84 runs scored.
Michael Massey enters the playoffs hot. He is hitting .400 in the last week with a home run, and four RBIs. He has also scored twice. Meanwhile, Bobby Witt Jr. is also hitting well. He is hitting .263 in the last week with a .364 on-base percentage. He has just one RBI, one stolen base, and one run scored in the last week though. Salvador Perez is also hitting well coming into the playoffs. He was hitting .286 with a .318 on-base percentage. He has an RBI and a run scored in the week prior to the playoffs. The Royals offense was not hot coming into the playoffs. They hit just .177 in the last week of the season, with 16 runs scored in six games.
Current Royals have 96 career at-bats against Zach Eflin. They have hit .292 against Eflin. Hunter Renfroe has been solid, going 5-13 with a home run and two RBIs. Meanwhile, Bobby Witt Jr. is 3-6 with a double, a triple, and three RBIs. Further, Paul DeJong is 5-13 with a home run and two RBIs against Eflin.
Why The Orioles Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Orioles finished the regular season fourth in the majors in runs scored, seventh in batting average, 11th in on-base percentage, and third in slugging. They were led by Anthony Santander. He hit .235 this year with a .308 on-base percentage. Santander had 44 home runs, 102 RBIS, and 91 runs scored. Gunnar Henderson also had a great year. He hit .281 with a .364 on-base percentage. Henderson has 37 home runs, 92 RBIS, 21 stolen bases, and 118 runs scored. Rounding out the best bats this year is Adley Rutschman. Rutschman hit .250 with 19 home runs, 79 RBIs, and 68 runs scored.
Colton Cowser was productive in the week before the playoffs. He hit just .200 but has two home runs, five RBIs, a stolen base, and three runs scored. Meanwhile, Ryan O'Hearn is also hot at the plate. He is hitting .400 with a .429 on-base percentage in the last week. O'Hearn has two home runs, five RBIs, and four runs scored. Finally, Ramon Urias has been solid as of late. He is hitting .273 with a home run, two RBIs, and five runs scored. In the final week before the playoffs, the Orioles hit .304 with ten home runs and 37 runs scored.
Current Orioles have 32 career at-bats against Seth Lugo. They have hit .375 against Lugo. Jordan Westburg is 2-2 with a home run and an RBI. Meanwhile, Ryan Mountcastle is 2-4 with an RBI, while Colton Cowser is 1-2 with a home run and an RBI.
Final Royals-Orioles Prediction & Pick
Seth Lugo has been solid as of late. In September he made five starts, giving up seven runs in 27.2 innings of work. He had a 2.28 ERA in September, but the Royals went just 2-3 in those starts. Zach Eflin has been just as good for the Orioles. In September he gave up ten runs in 30 innings of work, good for a 3.00 ERA. The Orioles went 3-2 in those games. Lugo is the better pitcher in this one, but with the Royals' struggles at the plate, take the Orioles to get the win and extend the series.
Final Royals-Orioles Prediction & Pick: Orioles ML (-148)
