The Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Kansas City Royals. Check out our MLB odds series for our Diamondbacks Royals prediction and pick.
Zac Gallen will start for the Diamondbacks, while Brady Singer gets the call for the Royals.
Both pitchers in this game have been breakthrough stories in 2022. Two fresh faces have announced themselves as high-level hurlers with bright futures.
Zac Gallen has a 2.78 ERA. What's impressive about Gallen is that he did go through some bumpy periods earlier in the season, made adjustments, learned from what he was failing to do, and has bounced back. He has handled adversity well. He has grown and evolved and — one can reasonably say — is a better pitcher than he was when he was thriving in the spring. He currently has a 21-1/3 scoreless inning streak, the second-longest active streak in baseball among all starting pitchers. Gallen is not an overpowering pitcher, which adds to the enormity of what he is doing. He follows the time-tested formula of locating his fastball and changing speeds. He knows how to get hitters out and doesn't rely on pure power to do the work for him.
Brady Singer has a 3.27 ERA, but if you look a little deeper and notice his past month and a half of work, he has been absolutely brilliant. Singer has pitched at a Cy Young level in July and August, posting a 1.83 ERA, a .213 opposing batting average, and recording an average of 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings in his last seven starts. He has been filthy. Crucially, he isn't just feasting on bad teams, either. He pitched extremely well against the Yankees, and he shut out the Dodgers. He is going up against good hitters and finding solutions. He is a rising star in this sport.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Diamondbacks-Royals MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Diamondbacks-Royals Odds
Arizona Diamondbacks: -1.5 (+134)
Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-162)
Over: 7.5 (+100)
Under: 7.5 (-122)
Why The Diamondbacks Could Cover the Spread
Zac Gallen, riding a scoreless inning streak over 20, is fully trustworthy at the moment. The Diamondbacks are a better team than the Royals, but having Gallen on the hill is what makes them such an attractive pick in this spot. The fact that Arizona's bats performed well on Tuesday night in Kansas City indicates that stepping into a new and relatively unfamiliar hitting environment did not negatively affect the D-Backs at the plate. They have to feel good about this game.
Why The Royals Could Cover the Spread
If Brady Singer could hold the Yankees at bay and then pitch a scoreless game against the Dodgers, he can certainly dominate the Diamondbacks, who do not have anything close to the same level of offensive firepower. The Royals have played very competitive baseball in recent months. They were so much worse in the first months of the season. This is a different team which is doing the exact opposite of mailing it in for the final months of the campaign.
Final Diamondbacks-Royals Prediction & Pick
If you know which pitcher will prevail in this dead-even duel, go ahead, but this should be seen as a stay-away game. A good rule of thumb in stay-away games is that if you absolutely have to make a pick, lean to the team getting the run and a half on the run line. Here, that's the Royals.
Final Diamondbacks-Royals Prediction & Pick: Royals +1.5
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