Tigers vs. Royals Prediction
After a surprising offensive outburst on Thursday, will the Kansas City Royals manage to light up the Detroit Tigers once again when they meet up at 8:15PM ET?
Game Snapshot & Odds
923 Detroit Tigers at 924 Kansas City Royals
Friday, May 4, 2018
8:15PM ET – Kauffman Stadium
TV: FSKC (KC); FSDT (Det)
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Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers, the Royals are the slight favorite today. Kansas City is getting odds of -135 to win, while the Tigers are listed with a money line of +125 to prevail. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 9 runs. The public betting currently has 79% going on Detroit on the road. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our MLB Public Betting Page for updated figures on the game.
Tigers pitching struggles
Detroit had a really poor pitching outing on Thursday, giving up 10 runs to the Royals in a 10-6 loss. The Tigers are now 13-17 overall with a 5-9 record on the road. Detroit is putting up 4.50 runs per game on the season, but allowing 4.70 per game.
Francisco Liriano gets the start today and has been one of the best on the mound for Detroit this season. He is 3-1 through five starts with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Liriano has 21 strikeouts with 14 walks through 29.1 innings of work.
Royals heating up?
The Royals had a big scoring outburst on Thursday and they have scored at least five runs in five of their last six games while winning four of their last six. KC is now 9-22 overall and 4-12 at home. The Royals are scoring just 3.74 runs per game for the season while allowing 5.71 per contest.
Ian Kennedy gets the start for the Royals in this game. Kennedy has started six games on the year and has a 1-3 record with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Through 31 innings of work, Kennedy has 28 strikeouts with 10 walks.
MLB Betting Trends
Detroit
The Tigers are just 11-28 in their last 39 road games and 15-37 in their last 52 divisional games. They have also dropped 19 of their last 26 Friday games.
Kansas City
The Royals are just 3-7 in Kennedy’s last 10 starts and 2-5 in his last seven starts at home.
Prediction:
I don’t feel great about the Tigers on the round. The two starters are comparable, but the Tigers don’t have a bullpen you can really trust. Kennedy does a good job of getting swings and misses and the Tigers don’t have a lot of power to rely on. I think KC builds on Thursday’s win and picks up another tonight.
The Pick: Kansas City Royals -135