It is an Al Central battle as the Cleveland Guardians take on the Kansas City Royals. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Guardians-Royals prediction, pick, and how to watch.

The Guardians enter the game coming in off a sweep of the Texas Rangers. In the series, the Guardians were great at the plate. They scored 23 runs in three games for the sweep. Still, they are just 5-5 in the last ten, and playoff hopes are fading as injuries are mounting. the Guardians are 72-78 on the season, and while they have a losing record they are still in second in the AL Central. The Guardians sit seven games back of the twins with just 12 games left to play. They are just six games away from elimination currently.

Meanwhile, the Royals have long been eliminated from playoff contention and just aim to play spoiler. They did some of that over the weekend, as they took two of three from the Houston Astros. As the Royals turn their focus to the future, all 12 games left of their schedule are against teams currently not eliminated from playoff contention, although the Tigers and Yankees could be out by the time they play.

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

MLB Odds: Guardians-Royals Odds

Cleveland Guardians: -1.5 (+134)

Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-162)

Over: 9 (-122)

Under: 9 (+100)

How To Watch Guardians vs. Royals

TV: BSGL/BSKC

Stream: MLB.TV/ ESPN+

Time: 2:10 PM ET/ 11:10 AM PT

*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Guardians Could Cover The Spread

The Guardian's offense was solid over the weekend, something it has not been regularly this year. They are 27th in runs scored, 15th in batting average, 23rd in on-base percentage, and 28th in slugging. Andres Gimenez comes in swinging a hot bat. In the last week, he is hitting .304 with a .333 on-base percentage. He has a home run and double in the last week, helping him drive in seven runs. Meanwhile, he has stolen two bases and scored six times in the last week.

Josh Naylor is also producing a lot. In the last week, he is hitting .423 with a .444 on-base percentage. He has hit two doubles and a home run helping drive in six runs. Naylor also has two stolen bases and has scored six times. Jose Ramirez is also still slugging. While hitting .308 in the last week with a .357 on-base percentage, he has two home runs and two doubles. This has led to five RBIS and four runs scored. Assing to the run total in the last week has been Steven Kwan. He has scored five times in the last week while reaching base at a .414 rate. Kwan also has a stolen base.

As a whole, the Guardians are hitting well. In the last week, they are hitting .283 with a .351 on-base percentage. They have stolen ten bases and scored 35 times this week. That is on an expected 33.8, so there is a positive with the guys at the plate. The Guardians are also making solid contact. They have struck out just 38 times in the last week.

The Guardians send Cal Quantrill to the mound today. He is 3-6 on the year with a 5.40 ERA. His last three starts have been solid since coming back from the IL. He has pitched 18 innings, giving up just three runs. That is good for a 1.50 ERA and he is 1-0, while the team is 2-1 in those starts.

Why The Royals Could Cover The Spread

The Royals will counter Cal Quantrill with Brady Singer. Singer is 8-11 on the year with a 5.11 ERA. Unlike Quantrill, Singer has struggled as of late. He has given up four or more runs in each of his last four starts. Meanwhile, in his last two starts, he has given up 12 runs in just 10.1 innings of work, good for a 10.45 ERA.

Still, over the last five games, the Royals have shown up at the plate. They have scored 33 runs in the last five games. On the year the Royals are 26th in runs scored, while sitting 20th in batting average, 29th in on-base percentage, and 22nd in slugging. It has been Salvador Perez who has been the big bat in the last week. He is hitting .389 in the last week with a .400 on-base percentage. He has a double and seven RBIs in that time, while also scoring three runs.

Michael Massey is also hitting well. He is hitting .353 in the last week with three home runs. That has led to six RBIS and five runs scored in that time frame. Bobby Witt Jr. also continues to hit well. He is hitting .450 in the last week with a .500 on-base percentage. He has four RBIs and a home run in the last week. The impressive part is he has stolen six bases in the last week and scored six times. Joining him in stealing bases has been Dairon Blanco. He has been used as a pinch runner and stolen four bases in the last week.

As a whole, the Royals have stolen 13 bases in the last week while hitting .265. They have also scored 35 runs in the last week, on an expected 31.2 runs scored. They are having some trouble with strikeouts though. The Royals have struck out 52 times in the last week, roughly a quarter of their at-bats.

Final Guardians-Royals Prediction & Pick

Can Qualtrill is going to give the Guardians the pitching edge in the last week? Brady Singer has struggled a lot lately, and that will continue today. With how the Royals are hitting, they will hit pretty well against Quantrill, but not as well as the Guardians will hit against Singer. Expect the Guardians to score a lot of runs today. They should also be able to steal a base or two, but Salvador Perez is solid behind the plate. The Guardians will also be able to hit a few home runs. Expect them to put up six to seven runs today and take another win as the Royals will not score enough against Quantrill.

Final Guardians-Royals Prediction & Pick: Guardians -1.5 (+134)