The Cleveland Indians are playing host to the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. SportsTime Ohio will televise the matchup and the game is scheduled to get going at 1:10 p.m. ET.
Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Indians Odds
Kansas City (+230) is hosting this game as the underdog to Cleveland (-260) and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under for this game at 8 runs (-105 for the under and -115 for the over). Runline odds stand at +105 for taking the Royals +1.5 runs and -125 for the Indians -1.5 runs.
The Indians are 19-19 SU and 14-23 ATS. The team has lost 10.3 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 11.2 units against the spread (ATS). Cleveland has a 3-5 ATS mark over its last seven games and the total has gone over in five of those seven. On the other hand, the Royals are 13-26 SU and have gone 17-21 ATS. Overall, the teams lost 8.8 units for moneyline gamblers in this young season and 7.2 units ATS. Kansas City has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the under has hit in four of those seven.
Indians games have had an over/under record of 19-17-1 so far in 2018. The Royals have been a decent under bet with a total record of 15-21-2.
Danny Duffy will get the nod for Kansas City. The southpaw Duffy is 1-4 with a 5.15 ERA and 39 strikeouts. He’s 0-1 with three strikeouts and a 4.76 ERA against Cleveland this year (three starts).
The Indians are turning to righty Corey Kluber (5-2, 2.62 ERA), who has 57 strikeouts and 10 walks as well as a 0.81 WHIP. Kluber has yet to face the Royals this year, but he made two starts against them in 2017, putting together a perfect 2-0 record with a 0.73 ERA and 13 strikeouts.
As a unit, Cleveland’s pitchers have allowed 4.4 runs per game overall this season. Its starting pitching staff has a 3.53 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 5.36 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 9.1 K/9. In 11 games against divisional opponents, Indians starters have an ERA of 1.65 and the bullpens ERA is 1.88.
The Cleveland offense is putting up 4.7 runs per contest, including 4.2 per game against divisional foes and 5.4 per game over its last five. The team has slashed .229/.297/.452 over its last five contests and is 2-3 SU during that stretch.
Shortstop Francisco Lindor and third baseman Jose Ramirez have paced the Indians’ hitters so far. Lindor is slashing .311/.376/.615 with 12 home runs, 24 RBIs, 33 runs and five stolen bases, and Ramirez is hitting .279 with 11 homers, 24 RBIs, 24 runs and five stolen bases.
Ramirez appeared to take a step back when facing lefty pitching at home in 2017, slashing .295/.340/.442 over 103 such plate appearances (compared to his overall season line of .318/.374/.583).
In the visiting dugout, Kansas City’s pitchers have allowed 5.7 runs per game and its starters own a 5.15 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 7.35 K/9. The bullpen has logged an ERA of 5.83, along with a K/9 of 6.18.
Royals hitters have slashed .260/.328/.398 on their way to 4.2 runs scored per game in 2018, including 3.7 runs per game against divisional foes and 7.2 per game over the teams last five contests (2-3 SU).
Kansas City’s hitters have been led by outfielder Jorge Soler and third baseman Mike Moustakas. Soler is slashing .333/.434/.548 with five home runs, 18 RBIs and 18 runs scored, while Moustakas is hitting .293/.327/.554 with 10 homers, 29 RBIs and 25 runs scored.
Putting up a slash line of .103/.235/.138 across 34 plate appearances, Soler didn’t do as well batting against righty pitching on the road in 2017 (his total season line was .144/.245/.258).
The Royals have lost 12.1 units and are 9-14 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this season. The over has hit in nine of those games, as opposed to 12 that’ve hit the under against righty starters. On the other hand, the Indians have lost 1.1 units and are 5-8 ATS when facing a lefty starter. The over’s cashed in seven of those games, compared to six that went under the total.
Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Indians Free Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Indians, ATS Winner – Royals, O/U – OVER
Betting Trends
- The Royals have hit 13 home runs in their last 10 games, including eight over their last five.
- Cleveland has recorded 27.1 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 20.6 over its last five.
