Royals vs. Dodgers Pick
Will the Kansas City Royals be unable to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers again when the two teams meet tonight at 7:15PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Dodgers are the clear favorite tonight, as they are getting odds of -180 to win tonight. The Royals are listed with odds of +165 to prevail, while the over/under total for the contest has been set at 9 runs.
MLB Quick Links: Scores & Matchups | Injuries | Odds Comparison | Betting Trends | ATS Stats
The pitching matchup tonight has Ian Kennedy (3-6, 4.44 ERA) on the mound for the Royals to face Brandon McCarthy (6-3, 3.25) of the Dodgers. Kennedy has been sharp on the mound lately, allowing just six earned runs in his last four starts, a total of 24.1 innings of work. He has 69 strikeouts and 35 walks on the season. McCarthy is coming off a shaky outing where he lasted just three innings and gave up four earned runs to the Rockies. He has 57 strikeouts and 20 walks on the season with a 1.11 WHIP.
These two opened up their series on Friday night, with the Dodgers getting a 4-1 win at home. Los Angeles is now 59-29 overall and 37-11 at home. The Royals are now 44-41 overall and 20-22 on the road.
Los Angeles relied on good pitching Friday. Kenta Maeda pitched five innings and allowed just one run to lead the Dodgers to the win while the bullpen pitched four scoreless innings and allowed just one hit. Yasiel Puig had his 16th home run of the season to lead the Dodgers while Chase Utley had a pair of hits. Alcides Escobar drove in the lone run for the Royals.
The Royals have won the last five starts for Kennedy. He has looked really good on the mound in the last few weeks and cut down his overall baserunners. I think he should be able to compete tonight and give the Los Angeles hitters some problems. The key will be for the Royals to get some run support on McCarthy. McCarthy looked shaky in his last start, so he could struggle a little today. The Dodgers used a number of arms last night to get the win, so their bullpen will be somewhat limited. To me, it all spells an upset win for the Royals.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: KANSAS CITY ROYALS +165