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The Minnesota Twins go for the sweep of the Kansas City Royals today. It is now time to continue our MLB odds series with a Royals-Twins prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
The Royals struck early in the first game of the series as Maikel Garcia took the first pitch of the ball game yard. Still, a big eight inning from the Twins gave them the win. Yesterday it was a good start from Kenta Maeda, as he went seven innings and struck out nine giving up just one run. The Twins tagged Zach Greinke for six runs in 5.1 innings in the victory. Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, and Donovan Solano all hit home runs in the victory.
With the loss, the Royals dropped to 25-61 on the season. They have already begun selling off assets and are looking to play younger guys in the hope of the future. Meanwhile, the Twins are back over .500 for the year at 44-43. That is good for first place in the AL Central, a game ahead of the Guardians.
Here are the Royals-Twins MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Royals-Twins Odds
Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (+106)
Minnesota Twins: -1.5 (-128)
Over: 8.5 (-105)
Under: 8.5 (-115)
How To Watch Royals vs. Twins
TV: BSKC/BSNO
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 7:40 PM ET/ 4:40 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Royals Could Cover The Spread
The Royals' offense is just bad and it was another rough night for them, as they scored just three runs. They are 29th in the majors in runs scored, 16th in batting average, 30th in on-base percentage, and 26th in slugging this year. There are bright spots though. Salvador Perez will be an all-star for the eighth time in his career. It is a little surprising considering how bad he was over the last month. He hit just .185 in June while driving in seven runs and hitting three home runs. He also missed game one of the series and went 0-3 with a strike-out and walk yesterday.
As of late, there have been some positives on the offense. Maikel Garcia has been hot. In the last week, he is hitting .444 with a home run, a double, three RBIS and six runs scored. He has also stolen 2 bases for a team that has stolen eight over the last week. Bobby Witt Jr. is adding two of them as well. He has been driving in a lot of runs. Witt Jr. has seven RBIs in the last week while hitting .385. He has also hit a home run and a double in the last week.
Joining him in hot hitting is Drew Waters. Waters is hitting .381 over the last week with three RBIs and also two stolen bases. He has also scored six times over the last week while reaching base at a .458 clip. Waters has been helped even more with three doubles in the last week. Nicky Lopez is hot as well. He had four RBIs while hitting .353 over the last week. He has walked two times as well to bring his OBP to .450 over the last seven games.
The Royals send Alec Marsh to the mound in this one. The rookie made his first career start last Friday. In the game he went four innings, giving up six hits, four walks, and five runs. The biggest issue was home runs, as he gave up two in four innings. This was against the Dodgers though, who boast a much better offense than the Twins.
Why The Twins Could Cover The Spread
For the Twins, it is all about the pitching. The Twins rank first in the majors in team ERA, WHIP, and quality starts. They are second in opponent batting average. It was Kenta Maeda who continued the good starting pitching for the Twins yesterday. Sonny Gray and Joe Ryan have been leading the way for the Twins' pitching this year, but neither takes the mound today.
Today it will be Pablo Lopez for the Twins. He is 4-5 on the season with a 4.24 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. Lopez is coming off a nice start against the Orioles. In that game, he went six innings and gave up just one run on a solo home run. He was up and down in June though. He had two starts in which he gave up just one run, two starts giving up three, and three starts giving up five or more.
Yesterday it was Max Kepler who drove in four runs. That gives him seven over the last week, as he has hit two home runs and been batting .444. He has also scored four times in the last week. Joining him with a hot week is Byron Buxton, who has been driving in a lot of runs. Buzton has six RBIs in the last week, with two home runs and also six runs scored. He is hitting .364 over the last six games as well.
Carlos Correa and Alex Kirilloff have joined in with hot bats. Correa has just one RBI, but he is hitting .409 in the last week while scoring four times and hitting two doubles. Kirilloff is hitting .389 while driving in four runs. He has scored just twice though and does not have an extra-base hit in the last week. While not hitting well, Willi Castro is causing issues on the base paths. He has three stolen bases in the last week, which has led to him scoring a run.
Final Royals-Twins Prediction & Pick
This game will all be about pitching. Pablo Lopez has been hit-and-miss all year. He could give a great outing or just an average one. Lopez could also give up six runs. Meanwhile, Alec Marsh does not have a big track record to work off of. He was okay in the minors this year, but like Lopez, could be hit-and-miss. With no major edge in the pitching matchup, this comes down to the offense. The Twins have had the hotter offense as of late. If they can get some timely hits today, and move guys over when they are in scoring position, they will win again.
Final Royals-Twins Prediction & Pick: Twins -1.5 (+108)
