The Kansas City Royals head on the road to take on division rivals Minnesota Twins in game one of a three-game series Monday night at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. So let's check out our MLB odds series, which includes our Royals-Twins prediction and pick.

Kansas City (25-59) is surprisingly coming off a series win against the Los Angeles Dodgers and are 4-1 in their last five games. They scored 22 runs during that five-game stretch and really are hoping this newfound offensive output will certainly continue into this divisional matchup against the Minnesota Twins.

Minnesota (42-43) is tied with the Guardians at the top of the division and will be looking to pull away from them when they play host to the bottom-feeding Kansas City Royals. The Twins can't take the Royals too lightly or they will end up like the Dodgers and get routed by one of the worst teams in the major leagues. The AL Central is essentially up for grabs as the top four teams in the division are only separated by 5.5 games.

Here are the Royals-Twins MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Royals-Twins Odds

Kansas City Royals: +194

Minnesota Twins: -235

Over: 8.5 (-118)

Under: 8.5 (+100)

How To Watch Royals vs. Twins

TV: Bally Sports North and Bally Sports Kansas City

Stream: MLB.TV

Time: 8:10 PM ET/5:10 PM PT

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Why The Royals Will Win

The Kansas City Royals have been hitting the ball well as of late driving in 22 runs over their last five games. Most of their offense has come from the top of their lineup which includes Salvador Perez, Maikel Garcia, and Bobby Witt Jr. Perez has a .253 batting average, 15 home runs, and 40 RBIs this season, while Garcia has a .292 batting average with 2 home runs, 10 doubles, and 1 triple this season. Additionally, Witt Jr. has a .249 batting average, 12 home runs, and 42 RBIs this season.

Rookie Austin Cox will get his second major league start this Monday evening when he takes on a divisional foe. He did well in his first 12.1 innings pitched out of the bullpen where he gave up no runs. He was then moved to the starting rotation due to some injuries and his success wasn't long-lasting as he lasted only 3.2 innings while giving up 4 earned runs. If he can get back to form after getting the nerves out of his system during his first start in the majors he has the chance to limit this Twins offense and keep the Royals winning ways going.

Why The Twins Will Win

The Minnesota Twins have a strong pitching staff that includes Joe Ryan, Sonny Gray, and Bailey Ober. Ryan has a 3.44 ERA with 105 strikeouts in 96.2 innings pitched meanwhile, Sonny Gray who has been their ace all season long has a 2.50 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 93.2 innings pitched while only allowing 3 home runs this season. Additionally, Bailey Ober has been almost as dominant as Gray with 2.70 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 76.2 innings pitched.

While the Minnesota Twins have struggled with hitting at times this season, they have a strong offensive lineup that includes Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, and Donovan Solano. Their offense just does enough at times to get the win as their pitching staff keeps them in games. As the Twins are going against a rookie pitcher in Austin Cox as long as they can muster up a few runs off of him they should have no trouble coming away with the win here this evening.

Final Royals-Twins Prediction & Pick

The Kansas City Royals have some momentum coming into this divisional series which is something we haven't said often this season and are actually hitting the ball a lot better than their counterparts. The Twins on the other hand have certainly been struggling at the plate in recent games but a matchup against the Royals and a rookie pitcher will do them some wonders. Ultimately, this game should be the Twins to lose and they should be able to get off on Cox early and often making it easier on their pitching staff to limit the damage and get the job done.

Final Royals-Twins Prediction & Pick: Minnesota Twins (-235), Under 8.5 (+100)