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It was a seventh-inning rally for the Detroit Tigers as they beat the Kansas City Royals. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Royals-Tigers prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
The Royals have now lost 12 of their last 13 games, and sit at 19-53 on the season. Jordan Lyles pitched well until the seventh inning. The only run scored has been on a double by Zach McKinstry double in the fifth. He came back out for the seventh and promptly gave up a single and a double to the first two batters. Taylor Clarke would come into the game and give up a single to the first batter he faced, Jake Rogers. The single scored both runners on base. After a walk to McKinstry, Kerry Carpenter hit a three-run home run to give the Tigers the lead. With the win, the Tigers are now just four games back of the Twins for first place in the division. It was also the fifth time in the last six games they have scored five or more runs.
Here are the Royals-Tigers MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Royals-Tigers Odds
Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-152)
Detroit Tigers: -1.5 (+126)
Over: 8.5 (-115)
Under: 8.5 (-105)
How To Watch Royals vs. Tigers
TV: BSKC/BSDET
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 6:40 PM ET/ 3:40 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Royals Could Cover The Spread
The Royals' offense is one of the worst in the majors. They are 28th in runs scored on the year while sitting 29th in on-base percentage, 26th in slugging, and 23rd in batting average. Kansas City also just lost a major part of their offense. Vinnie Pasquantino will be out for the rest of the season with a torn labrum in his shoulder. He was third on the team in home runs and fourth in RBIs before going down for the season.
Bobby Witt Jr. had a nice night last night. He went two for three with a walk a solo home run in the game, and a stole base. He has been hitting well in June. This month he is hitting .323 with two home runs, two doubles, and nine RBIs. He has also stolen five bases this month, placing him at 22 for the season. That figure leads the team and is good for fourth in the majors. Last night also saw Maikel Garcia drive in two runs with the help of a home run. He has been fairly productive over the last month. He has scored nine times while hitting a double, a triple, two home runs, and driving in six. Garcia also has stolen three bases this month and scored nine times.
Daniel Lynch will be starting today for the Royals. In four starts this season he is 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA. He has gone at least five innings in each of his four starts this year. He has given up two or more runs in each of those starts as well. In his last game, he gave up seven runs with four home runs in seven innings. It was his third straight loss in June. His ERA for the month is sitting at 6.50 while he has given up 15 runs, 13 earned in 18 innings this month.
Why The Tigers Could Cover The Spread
All of a sudden the Tigers know how to score runs and are in the thick of the playoff race. While Baseball Reference still gives the Tigers just a 2.2% chance of making the playoffs, that is a nice jump from the .5% chance they had just a week ago. Currently rank tied for 29th in the majors with 268 runs on the year. That puts them at an average of 3.77 runs per game. In the last ten games, they have scored 56 runs. That places them at an average of 5.6 runs per game, nearly two runs per game better.
Kerry Carpenter was the big hitter last night. He drove in three runs with a home run and a walk. Carpenter has been solid this month. He is hitting .395 for the month while driving in five runs, hitting two home runs, and scoring six times. Spencer Torkelson has been a huge part of the offensive uptick for the Tigers as well. He did not have a hit in the game yesterday and struck out twice, but he has driven in ten runs. Joining him in driving in runs is Javier Baez. Baez is hitting .262 this month with eight RBIs. He has shown a fair amount of power this month as well. He has a double, three triples, and two home runs in his 17 hits on the month.
The Tigers are sending Michael Lorenzen to the mound today. He is 2-4 on the season with a 4.23 ERA. He had an amazing month in May. In May he went 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA. He had only one game out of five in which he gave up more than one run. Lorenzen continued that in his first start in June, going seven innings and giving up just a run. The last two starts have been rough though. He has given up six runs in each start, losing both of them.
Final Royals-Tigers Prediction & Pick
The recent offensive improvement for the Tigers is encouraging. They are scoring nearly two runs more per game as of late, which will win them a fair amount of games. For as bad as Lorenzen has been as of late, the Tigers also have the pitching advantage today. The Tigers will get another win today, and continue to make up ground in the division
Final Royals-Tigers Prediction & Pick: Tigers -1.5 (+126)
