Indians vs. Royals Pick
Can the Cleveland Indians further their lead on the Kansas City Royals when the two continue their weekend series tonight at 7:15PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, Cleveland is favored on the road, as the Indians are getting odds of -135 to win. The Royals are listed with a money line of +125. The over/under total for the game has been set at 9 runs.
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The pitching matchup has Trevor Bauer (11-8, 4.72 ERA) on the mound for Cleveland to face Jason Vargas (14-6, 3.45) of the Royals. Bauer is coming off a brief relief appearance a few days ago, but he had allowed just one run in three of his last four starts. He has 145 strikeouts and 46 walks this season with a 1.42 WHIP. Vargas was rolling most of the season, but has since allowed 12 earned runs over his last three starts. He has 102 strikeouts with 39 walks and a 1.28 WHIP.
These two opened their weekend series on Friday, with Cleveland earning a 10-1 win on the road. The road team has won six of the last nine games between these two. Cleveland is now 67-53 overall and 36-26 on the road. Kansas City is 61-60 overall and 32-28 at home.
Cleveland lit up Ian Kennedy for five runs in 2.2 innings on Friday night, handing him his ninth loss of the season. Corey Kluber left the game early with a sprained ankle, but allowed just one run over 5.1 innings of work to get his 12th win of 2017. Cleveland was led by Jay Bruce, who had three hits and drove in five runs. That included a pair of home runs. Edwin Encarnacion also added his 28th home run of the season. Melky Cabrera led the Royals with three hits.
The Indians are locked in once again and look to be taking complete control of the AL Central. Bauer is starting to look more like a reliable starter for the Indians. That combined with their talented bullpen should be enough to limit what KC does at the plate. Vargas hasn’t looked like the same pitcher in recent outings and I can see him struggling again tonight against the Indians’ hitters.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: CLEVELAND INDIANS -135