Diamondbacks vs. Royals Pick
Are the host Kansas City Royals going to post another win over the Arizona Diamondbacks Saturday night? First pitch is at 7:15PM EST.
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Diamondbacks are a -112 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Royals are a -108 underdog and the over-under is 9.
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Drawing the start for Arizona will be Taijuan Walker (9-9, 3.54 ERA), while Kansas City is going with rookie Jake Junis (8-3, 4.39). Walker carries a 1.35 WHIP with 140 strikeouts over 152 1/3 innings. He surrendered seven earned runs (three earned) on six hits with six strikeouts and three walks over 3 2/3 innings in a 12-6 home loss to the Marlins his last start. Walker carries a 2.99 ERA in 81 1/3 road innings. holds a 1.29 WHIP with 75 strikeouts over 92 1/3 innings. He surrendered six earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and one walk over 5 2/3 innings in an 11/3 win at the Yankees his last outing. Junis has a 3.49 ERA in 38 2/3 home innings.
Arizona has a 92-68 record and is 40-39 on the road, while Kansas City comes in at 79-81 and 42-37 at home. The Royals won Friday night’s game 2-1 in the first meeting between the two teams since 2014.
Friday night’s contest saw Ian Kennedy allow one earned run and strike out seven over five innings to pick up his first home win in more than a calendar year. Mike Minor picked up his fifth save. Whit Merrifield was 2-for-4 with a solo home run to key the offense. Mike Moustakas finished the night 3-for-4. A.J. Pollock was 2-for-3 with a walk for the D-backs, while Jake Lamb went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk. Zack Greinke gave up two earned runs in four innings to take the loss.
Bet on Diamondbacks vs. Royals
Junis has been a nice addition to the Royals staff this summer and clearly has a bright future. While Arizona boasts a strong lineup, it gets a ballpark downgrade again and it showed Friday night to be an issue. Walker has had an inconsistent season and while he’s been better on the road, the Royals might have a little more motivation in this contest as they try to get back to .500. Arizona has been locked in to hosting the NL Wild Card game next week for many days now and could take a final opportunity to rest a couple players.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: KANSAS CITY ROYALS -108