After losing game one, the Kansas City Royals look to bounce back against the Miami Marlins. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Royals-Marlins prediction, pick, and how to watch.
The Royals held a four-run lead after three innings of play after Nick Pratto hit his fourth home run of the season in the top of the third and MJ Melendez drove in his second run of the game. The Marlins fired back though. They scored two in the bottom of the third, including a Luis Arraez RBI Double in the inning. It was the first of three hits on the night for Arrez, as he brought his batting average to .399 on the season. In the fourth inning, the Marlins scored four more runs, with another Arraez hit and RBI. That would be enough for the Marlins, as they ended up winning the game 9-6.
Here are the Royals-Marlins MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Royals-Marlins Odds
Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-156)
Miami Marlins: -1.5 (+130)
Over: 7.5 (-118)
Under: 7.5 (-104)
How To Watch Royals vs. Marlins
TV: BSKC/BSFL
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 6:40 PM ET/ 3:40 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Royals Could Cover The Spread
The Royals are one of the worst offensive units in the league. They are last in the majors in on-base percentage, while being 27th in runs, 25th in batting average, and 24th in slugging. Salvador Perez has been the best bat in the offense so far this year. He is top 50 in the majors in batting average, RBIs, and slugging. He also had a very solid May, hitting .302 for the month while sending nine ball yards. Home runs have been a big part of his game this year. He is tied for 17th in the majors with 12 of them but has not hit one in nearly two weeks.
Joining Perez in having a solid year is Nicky Lopez. Lopez was hitting just .200 before going on the IL at the end of April. Since has come back he is hitting .316 and walked four times. He has not driven in a run yet since coming back, but that will change soon with how he is hitting. Finally, Bobby Witt Jr. continues to be a terror on the basepath. He has stolen 19 bases this year, including one yesterday. He is hitting better as of late as well, hitting .294 in the four games this month. If he can continue to get on base, he is always a threat to steal and manufacture a run.
Taking the mound today for the Royals will be Zach Greinke. Greinke is just 1-5 on the year with a 4.19 ERA. The last time out was a solid outing. He gave up just two hits and no runs in five innings of work. Still, he got the no-decision as he lacked run support. That has been the story of the last month for Greinke. He had a 2.30 ERA in May but went just 1-1 as his team failed to score for him.
Why The Marlins Could Cover The Spread
The Marlins are not a high-scoring team either. They are 25th in the majors in runs scored while sitting 15th in OBP and 19th in slugging. Still, they are 5th in the majors in batting average, and that is due to Luis Arraez. Arraez is first in the league with a .399 batting average, while sitting sixth in the league with a .945 OPS. In May Arrez hit .330, but since the calendar turned to June, keeping him from getting a hit has been near impossible. He is batting .579 this month in five games so far. He has nine RBIs already this month and has scored three times. Arraez is setting himself up to be an MVP candidate and if he can finish the season with a batting average over .400, he may get there.
Bryan De La Cruz is also having a solid season. He is hitting .300 for the season, which is 17th in the majors. De La Cruz has also started this month hot. He is hitting .333 in June, with five RBIs. He also hit another home run last night, which is his third in two weeks, and his eighth of the season. With this combination, plus the power of Jorge Soler, the Marlins' offense can be potent.
Jesus Luzardo takes the mound for the Marlins in this one. He is 4-4 on the season with a 4.05 ERA. Last time out he struggled, as he gave up five runs in just 5.1 innings of work to take the loss. It was his second bad start in his last three. On May 21st Luzardo went five innings giving up six runs and two home runs in a loss. Still, he has. had some solid starts. In three of his last five starts, he has only given up one run.
Final Royals-Marlins Prediction & Pick
With Zach Greinke, it seems assured the Royals will not score many runs. The Royals have struggled mightily to score runs when he is pitching. While they may have a chance to do that today against Luzardo, Luzardo has not put up multiple bad starts in a row for a while now. He should rebound from his last outing, and get the win.
Final Royals-Marlins Prediction & Pick: Marlins -1.5 (+130)
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