The Guardians make the trip to Kansas City to face the Royals! These two teams are playing well and in the playoff hunt in the AL Central. The Guardians and the Royals have been playing well leading into this matchup. Our MLB odds series has our Guardians-Royals prediction, odds, and pick for Friday.

Guardians-Royals Projected Starters 

Triston McKenzie vs. Alec Marsh

Triston McKenzie (3-4) with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP

Last Start: Pitched three innings and gave up three runs on three hits with four walks and six strikeouts in a Guardians win.

2024 Road Splits: (1-2) 4.28 ERA

Alec Marsh (5-5) with a 4.40 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP

Last Start: Pitched 5.2 innings and gave up three runs on eight hits with two walks and four strikeouts in a Royals loss.

2024 Home Splits: (3-1) 3.58 ERA

Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Guardians-Royals Odds

Cleveland Guardians: -1.5 (+136)

Moneyline: -118

Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-164)

Moneyline: +100

Over: 9.5 (-118)

Under: 9.5 (-104)

How to Watch Guardians vs. Royals

Time: 8:10 pm ET

TV: FOX Sports 1 / Bally Sports Great Lakes

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Guardians Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Guardians have had a great season with a 51-27 heading into this series. They recently lost a game that broke a seven-game winning streak. Their bats are steadily average this season in the middle of the pack, while their pitching has been a top-10 staff. Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez, Andres Gimenez, Tyler Freeman, and Josh Naylor have carried the Guardians on offense. Tanner Bibee and Ben Lively have held down the fort in the pitching staff despite Shane Bieber getting Tommy John Surgery. They have been one of the best teams in the MLB this season, and not just the AL.

The Guardians are starting Triston McKenzie on the mound and he has a 3-4 record, a 4.66 ERA, and a 1.50 WHIP. Mckenzie has allowed 41 runs on 64 hits with 46 walks and 71 strikeouts through 73.1 innings. In his 15 starts, the Guardians are 11-4 in those games. McKenzie has been inconsistent in a great Guardians pitching lineup. It will be difficult against a Royals offense that slumped recently, but still has a lot of talent.

The Guardians are a talented team behind the plate but are average statistically. They are 16th in team batting average at .245 after finishing last season at .259. The offense is led by Jose Ramirez in almost every batting category. Ramirez leads the way in batting average at .275, in home runs at 21, in RBI at 72, in OBP at .330, and in hits at 83. This offense has shown flashes, and they get a favorable matchup against Alec Marsh on the mound for the Royals who have struggled with consistency for a strong Kansas City pitching staff.

Why The Royals Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Royals have played well this year and have a 44-38 record. They won two out of their last three games. Their batting has slumped and is now around average, while their pitching is in the top 10. Seth Lugo has made a potent pitching combination with Brady Singer and Cole Ragans. Their bats have been playing well this season too. Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. have been the main standouts for the Royals behind the plate, but Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino have also played well. The Royals have been one of the bigger surprises this season after what happened last year.

The Royals are starting Alec Marsh on the mound. He has a 5-5 record, a 4.40 ERA, and a 1.22 WHIP on the year up to this point. Through 75.2 innings, he has allowed 38 runs on 69 hits with 23 walks and 69 strikeouts. He has started in 14 games so far this season and the Royals are 9-5 in those games. Marsh has struggled with consistency recently and has fallen off a bit with his performance on the mound. This is an interesting matchup against a Guardians offense that has been good, not great.

The Royals offense has taken a dip recently. They are 16th in team batting average at .243 after finishing last season at .254. Their offensive output has been led mainly by Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez in almost every batting category. Witt Jr. leads in batting average at .311, is tied for the lead in home runs at 12 with Perez, in RBI at 53, in OBP at .361, and in total hits at 102. The Royals' offense gets an interesting matchup against McKenzie because he has been inconsistent in his own right, while this offense has slowed down, so something has to give.

Final Guardians-Royals Prediction & Pick

These two teams are very similar. The pitching duel is almost a tie between Mckenzie and Marsh, but Marsh is slightly better. These two offenses are right next to each other in total batting average. These two teams are very close in everything and with the game in Kansas City the Royals should be able to keep things close and cover and potentially win this game at home.

Click here for more betting news and predictions

Final Guardians-Royals Prediction & Pick: Royals +1.5 (-164)