Royals vs. Indians Pick
After an upset win on Friday, will the Kansas City Royals upset the Cleveland Indians again when they meet up at 4:10PM ET today?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Indians are the favorite at home, as they are getting odds of -160 to win, while the Royals are getting odds of +145 to win. The over/under total for the game is listed at 8.5 runs.
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The pitching matchup today has Jason Vargas (5-3, 2.30 ERA) on the mound for the Royals to face Danny Salazar (3-4, 5.55) of the Indians. Salazar is struggling right now, allowing multiple runs in six straight starts. He has given up 29 earned runs in 47 innings of work. He has 69 strikeouts, but also has 23 walks and a WHIP of 1.53. Vargas has had a good year, but he has allowed 9 earned runs over his last two starts. He now has given up 14 earned runs in 54.2 innings. He has 49 strikeouts and just 13 walks with a WHIP of 1.04.
The Royals opened the series on Friday with a 6-4 win on the road. These two teams have now split their four meetings this year, with the road team winning three of them. KC is now 20-27 overall and 8-16 on the road while Cleveland is 24-22 overall and 8-12 at home.
Friday’s game came down to bullpens, as both starters lasted just five innings. The KC bullpen pitched four scoreless innings with just three hits allowed while Cleveland allowed two runs over four innings on three hits. Jorge Bonifacio had a two-run double in the eighth, which proved to be the game-winning hit. Brandon Moss had a three-run home run in the win, his ninth of the season. Mike Moustakas also hit his 12th homer of the year.
Cleveland is really struggling at home right now. They have lost six of their last eight at home and they have struggled against poor teams, losing five of their last six against a losing team. Salazar doesn’t have the numbers to make you think that will improve today. Vargas has been largely good. He is in a rough stretch, but I think he can snap out of its today against this Cleveland lineup that hasn’t scored more than four runs in their last four home games.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: KANSAS CITY ROYALS +145