It is interleague baseball today as the Pittsburgh Pirates face the Kansas City Royals. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Pirates-Royals prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

The Pirates enter the game after losing three of four to the Cubs. They struggled with giving up runs in the series, giving up 26 runs in four games. The Pirates season has completely crashed. They once led the division, but between injury and poor play, they have fallen to 58-73 on the season. That places them 15.5 games out in the division, and 11 games out in the Wild Card race.

In the meantime, the Royals were just swept by the Mariners over the weekend. The Royals have just won twice in their last ten games and now sit at 41-91 on the season. They have bee officially eliminated from playoff contention now, but they have not been as bad as other teams as of late. They are 15-26 since the All-Star Break, which is the fifth-worst record since the break. The Yankees, Marlins, Athletics, and White Sox have all been worse. Even more, their -26 run differential since the break is good for 18th in the majors.

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

MLB Odds: Pirates-Royals Odds

Pittsburgh Pirates: -1.5 (+146)

Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-178)

Over: 9 (-120)

Under: 9 (-102)

How To Watch Pirates vs. Royals

TV: FS1/ ATTP/ BSKC

Stream: MLB.TV

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

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

Why The Pirates Could Cover The Spread

The Pirates gave up 26 runs in four games with the Cubs, and the pitching has been an issue all year long for them. They are 23rd in the majors in ERA while sitting 22nd in. WHIP and 23rd in opponent batting average. Tonight they send Johan Oviedo to the mound. He is 7-13 on the season with a 4.46 ERA. He has been better this month though. In five starts he has given up 12 runs over 28 innings, giving him a 3.86 ERA and a 3-2 record. In three of the starts, he has given up one or fewer runs, winning all three of them. Still, he does have two starts with giving up four or more runs, which resulted in losses.

At the plate, the Pirates are 24th in the majors in runs scored, while sitting 27th in batting average, 23rd in on-base percentage, and 26th in slugging. Joshua Palacios has been raking in the last week. He is hitting just .207, but he has two home runs and a double in the last week. This has resulted in him driving in eight runs in the last week while scoring four times. Meanwhile, Conner Joe is hot. He is hitting .435 in the last week with a .533 on-base percentage. He has five doubles and five RBIs in the last week and scored six times.

Also, he scored a lot of runs in Ke'Bryan Hayes. He has scored six times in his last six games. Hayes has done this while hitting .308 with a .357 on-base percentage. He has also hit two home runs and two doubles leading to four RBIs. As a team, the Pirates are hitting .246 in the last week. They have also capitalized on run-scoring opportunities. Their expected runs scored in the last seven games sit at 30.9, but they have scored 34 runs in the last week. Still, there has been an issue with power at the plate. They have hit just five home runs or one every 47.2 at-bats.

Why The Royals Could Cover The Spread

The Royals' pitching staff also had issues over the weekend. They gave up 25 runs in three games. On the season, the Royals are 28th in team ERA, while sitting 26th in WHIP and 26th in opponent batting average. They send Zach Greinke to the mound today, who is 1-12 with a 5.34 ERA. He has not made a start since August 6th but did come in relief on the 22nd. In that game, he went four innings giving up just two hits without a ruin. He has been overall better this month. In 13 innings of work, he has given up six runs, which is good for a 4.15 ERA.

At the plate, the Royals have also struggled this year. They are tied for 27th in runs scored this season, while sitting 20th in batting average, 29th in on-base percentage, and 23rd in slugging. The Royals also have some guys producing fairly well. Kyle Isabel leads the way in that regard. In the last week, he is hitting .214 but has a .313 on-base percentage. He has hit a home run and driven in five runs in the last week while scoring twice.

Meanwhile, Matt Beaty is hitting well. He is hitting .333 in the last week but has not driven in a run. Still, he is getting one base at a .467 rate and has scored three times. Overall, the team has struggled as of late though. They are hitting just .193 as a team with a .262 on-base percentage. the Royals have outperformed their expected numbers a little though. They have an expected runs scored of 18.1 in the last six games but have scored 21 runs. Regardless, that is good for just 3.0 expected runs per game. After coming out hot on offense from the All-Star break, the bats have cooled off, and the Royals need to figure out how to score runs again to win this one.

Final Pirates-Royals Prediction & Pick

After starting the season 20-8, the Pirates have been awful. They have moved towards a youth-oriented lineup, bringing up prospects to play regularly. The Pirates' young bats have shown some flashes, but not enough to win consistently. Meanwhile, the Royals had a hot streak at the end of July. They won seven straight games and were looking good. Since then, they have gone 5-21. Zach Grienke does not give a ton of hope for the Royals. He rarely goes over 75 pitches in a start, which means the Royals have to rely on a shakey bullpen. The Pirates have hit right-handed pitching better as of late, and that should continue today.

Final Pirates-Royals Prediction & Pick: Pirates -1.5 (+146)