Royals vs. Indians Pick
The Kansas City Royals and the host Cleveland Indians complete their four-game series Sunday afternoon at 1:10PM EST.
Oddsmakers at sports book Bovada.lv have listed the Indians as a -250 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Royals are a +210 underdog and the over-under is 7.5. Cleveland is -115 on the -1.5 runline, while Kansas City is -115 on the +1.5 RL.
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Danny Duffy (8-8, 3.78 ERA) will draw the start for the Royals, while the Indians go with AL Cy Young Award candidate Corey Kluber (16-4, 2.44). Duffy has a 1.25 WHIP with 116 strikeouts in 131 innings. He allowed two earned runs on on hit with seven strikeouts and three walks over six innings in a 3-2 home win over Colorado his last start. He has a 4.30 ERA in 12 road starts. Kluber has a 0.87 WHIP with 243 strikeouts in 184 2/3 innings. He threw a complete-game shutout in a 2-0 win against the Tigers his last outing, giving up two hits with eight strikeouts and no walks. Kluber has a 1.93 ERA in 14 home starts and Cleveland won nine of his last 10 starts.
The Royals enter at 73-73 and 34-39 on the road, while the Indians are 92-57 and 44-30 at home. Cleveland has won eight of the last 10 meetings and the total has gone under six times.
Cleveland has won two out of three in the series including Saturday’s game by a count of 8-4. Francisco Lindor was 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, two runs and two RBIs for the Indians. Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-run homer. Carlos Carrasco allowed four earned runs in 6 2/3 innings to get the win.
Kluber has been darn near untouchable since June. We’re siding with Cleveland, but not in a rout. We like the Royals to keep it close with a good pitcher in his own right in Duffy before the Indians perhaps win it late. Kansas City could also win outright, but we’ll play it safe.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: KANSAS CITY ROYALS RL -115