Royals’ Hosmer to remain hot vs. Nationals?
Washington already earned its St. Louis bona fides over the weekend. Next on the agenda: dominating the other MLB team that resides in the Show-Me State.
Dusty Baker’s troops aim to stay hot in tonight’s series opener vs. the Royals, with an 8:15 p.m. ET first pitch at Kauffman Stadium. Online sports book BetDSI, though, leans toward the defending World Series champions as 1.5-run favorites. The over/under figure comes in at 7.5 runs.
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The Nationals (17-7) enter the festivities having finally exorcised their longstanding demons at Busch Stadium. They just completed a sweep of the Cardinals, kicking off an extended road trip in the most satisfying way imaginable. Washington even managed to turn the trick despite getting minimal contributions from right fielder Bryce Harper, who’s in a 1-for-17 rut.
The reigning National League MVP strives to straighten things out by extending the recent misery of Edinson Volquez (3-1, 3.34 ERA). The Kansas City righty served up eight runs and 12 hits in five innings of last week’s 9-4 defeat at the hands of the Angels. Volquez also carries the burden of pulling the Royals out of a 1-5 funk. Prior to grabbing a 1-0 advantage in the second frame of yesterday’s 4-1 victory at Seattle, they’d gone 27 innings without crossing the plate.
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Offensive production is far from a certainty against Washington’s Gio Gonzalez (1-1, 1.42), who seems to have regained the form that coincided with early-decade stardom for Oakland. The southpaw surrendered one earned run in his most recent outing and has permitted four total runs over his four starts with a 1.96 OBA. Gonzalez possesses a shaky track record vs. Ned Yost’s crew, however, going 3-3 with a 7.49 ERA eight career meetings.
If Gonzalez can neutralize Eric Hosmer (7 for 16 with two homers in the past four contests), we’re looking at an exceedingly tight matchup. Kansas City (13-11) simply does not receive enough oomph elsewhere in the lineup right now. Until Lorenzo Cain (.230 batting average) and Kendrys Morales (.216) shake off the cobwebs, these low-scoring affairs will be plentiful.
MONDAY MLB FREE PICK: NATIONALS/ROYALS UNDER 7.5 RUNS
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