Royals vs. Orioles Pick
Will the Baltimore Orioles have what it takes to grab another win over the Kansas City Royals tonight at 7:05PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Baltimore is the favorite today, as the Orioles are getting odds of -120 to win, while the Royals are listed with a money line of +110 to prevail. The over/under total for the game has been set at 10 runs.
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The pitching matchup tonight has Jason Vargas (13-4, 3.00 ERA) on the mound for the Royals to face Jeremy Hellickson of the Orioles. Hellickson is making his first start for the Orioles since being acquired from the Phillies. He started 20 games this year for Philly, posting a 6-5 record with 4.73 ERA. Hellickson has 65 strikeouts with 30 walks and a 1.26 WHIP. After a pair of really poor outings, Vargas has allowed just three runs over his last 11 innings of work. Vargas has 86 strikeouts with 32 walks this season and a 1.23 WHIP.
The Orioles have won the first two games in this series, 2-1 and 7-2. The home team has now won all five meetings between the two teams this year. The Orioles now sit at 52-54 overall and 32-21 at home while the Royals are 55-50 overall and 25-27 on the road.
Tuesday’s game saw the Orioles pick up a 7-2 win behind a 15-5 advantage in hits. Ian Kennedy lasted just four innings, giving up four runs on eight hits. The KC bullpen then allowed another three runs over four innings. Dylan Bundy pitched eight strong innings for the Orioles, allowing one unearned run on three hits to get his 10th win of the year. The Orioles were led at the plate by Seth Smith, who had two hits and three RBI. Manny Machado added three hits for Baltimore.
The Royals haven’t looked good in this series, but I am going to stick with them tonight. Vargas has been one of their most reliable players in 2017. He seems to have snapped out of his recent funk and the Royals have won nine of the last 10 games he has started. Baltimore is turning to Hellickson for his first AL start. Hellickson didn’t look that great with Philadelphia, so I am not sure that should chance in Baltimore. He also doesn’t have a great bullpen behind him.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: KANSAS CITY ROYALS +110