Indians vs. Royals Pick
Who has the edge in today’s rubber match between the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians when they meet at 2:15PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, this game is considered even, as both teams are getting odds of -110 to prevail. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 8.5 runs.
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The pitching matchup this afternoon has Danny Duffy (2-2, 3.89 ERA) taking the mound for the Royals to face Mike Clevinger of the Indians. Clevinger is taking the mound for the first time in 2017 today. He started 10 games last season and had a 5.26 ERA. He also pitched relief in the postseason, recording a 4.76 ERA over 5.2 innings. Duffy is coming off back-to-back outings where he allowed six earned runs to the White Sox. He has given up 16 earned runs in 37 innings and has a WHIP of 1.38.
These two teams have traded 3-1 wins, with the Royals getting the edge on Friday and the Indians coming out on top on Saturday. Kansas City is now 10-19 overall and 8-8 at home. Cleveland enters this game 16-13 overall and 10-7 on the road.
Josh Tomlin didn’t get a win on Saturday, but he was the key to the victory. Tomlin pitched seven strong innings, allowing one run and only three hits. The bullpen then locked up the final two innings. Jason Vargas had a great outing as well, giving up just four hits and no runs in six innings. The KC bullpen struggled though, as Joakim Soria and Kelvin Herrera allowed three runs and five hits over two innings. Carlos Santana and Francisco Lindor hit back-to-back home runs in the ninth to lift Cleveland to the win.
In a matchup of two questionable pitchers, I have to go with the better batting lineup. Duffy has really struggled in his last two outings, so the Cleveland hitters should be able to take advantage of his mistakes today. Clevinger didn’t have great numbers when healthy last season, so he probably won’t light the world on fire today, but I think he can do enough to help Cleveland get past this weaker lineup.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: CLEVELAND INDIANS -110