It is the start of a weekend series between the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Royals-Orioles prediction, pick, and how to watch.

The Royals enter the game after being swept in Miami, losing the last two games by a combined 12-2. They are not losers of seven of their last ten and sit with an 18-44 record on the season. The Roaysl are the second-worst team in baseball this season and may be looking toward the future. They could be trading for assets here shortly, as the Royals are clearly out of contention. For the Orioles, the future is now. They come off a win yesterday, and sit 38-24 on the season, second place behind the Rays in the AL East. They are on track to meet their goal this year, to make the playoffs. Pitching has not been their strongest suit this year, so that may be where they are focused come the trade deadline.

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

MLB Odds: Royals-Orioles Odds

Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-128)

Baltimore Orioles: -1.5 (+106)

Over: 8 (-110)

Under: 8 (-110)

How To Watch Royals vs. Orioles

TV: Apple TV+

Stream: Apple TV+/ MLB.TV

Time: 7:05 PM ET/ 4:50 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 teams offensive teams in the league this year. They are bottom five in the league in runs, batting average and slugging percentage, while being last in the majors in OBP. One of the major issues is how much they chase. The Royals chase balls out of the zone 31% of the time, which is the fourth worst in the majors. They swing and miss 28.2% of the time, which is the second worst in the majors. This has led to them striking out 560 times this year, which is 24.6% of the time, or 25th worst in the majors.

MJ Melendez has been a major strikeout victim this year. He has struck out a team-high 71 times this year, which has resulted in him hitting only .218 on the season. His WAR of -1.1 is the worst on the team, but there is hope. This month he is hitting .333 with a .391 on-base percentage. He has shown a little more patience over the last week, which could lead to a turnaround. Also having a fairly solid start to the month is Bobby Witt Jr. He is hitting .292 on the month with two stolen bases. Speed is the name of his game as he has now stolen 19 bases on the year.

The Royals will be sending Daniel Lynch to the mound in this game. He has started just two games this season, going 0-1 with a 4.35 ERA. Last time out he gave up five runs in five innings, but only three of them were earned. He did strike out seven batters though. The strikeouts have been good this year. Against the Nationals he struck out six, which is great considering the Nats strike out the least in the majors.

Why The Orioles Could Cover The Spread

The Orioles finally found some offense yesterday, knocking out ten hits and two home runs on the way to a victory. To cover for the loss of Cedric Mullins, the Orioles acquired Aaron Hicks. He has performed fairly well as a member of the Orioles. He is batting .368 as a member of the Orioles while driving in three runs and scoring five. This is an improvement from his time with the Yankees where he was hitting just .188. If Hicks can keep this up, he will be a nice additional player when Mullins returns.

In Yesterdays game Gunnar Henderson hit a home run and knocked in two runs. He had been on a cold streak heading into June. In his last five games in May, he has just two hits in 16 at-bats. In his four games since, he is hitting .273 while driving in three and hitting two home runs. Ramon Urias also hit a home run yesterday, which was his first since opening day. He has three hits yesterday, which could be a good sign. Before that, he has been hitting just .091 on the month.

Tyler Wells will be getting the start for the Orioles today. He is 4-2 this year with a 3.29 ERA. The issue for Wells this year has been giving up home runs. He has given up 14 home runs in 12 starts this year. He only has two games since the start of May in which he did not give up a home run. One he went six innings and gave up just one run, but took the loss. The other he went seven innings of scoreless baseball for the win. Considering the lack of power for the Royals, Wells could be in for a good start today.

Final Royals-Orioles Prediction & Pick

These are two teams heading in opposite directions. The biggest concern for the Orioles today will be strikeouts. They are ninth in strike-out percentage, but if that spikes a little, as it has over the last week, they could struggle to score runs. Still, it is unlikely that the Royals will be able to score enough runs to keep up in this one. Wells's biggest downfall has been the long ball this year, but that should not be an issue today, as the Royals are 23rd in baseball in home runs.

Final Royals-Orioles Prediction & Pick: Orioles -1.5 (+106)