The Kansas City Royals will try to avoid losing their fourth straight game they play host to the Chicago White Sox at Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium. NBC Sports Chicago will be showing the matchup and the game is scheduled to get underway at 8:15 p.m. ET.
Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals Odds
Oddsmakers are listing Kansas City (-115) as the favorite over Chicago (+105). The total stands at nine runs and bettors can take the over for +100 and the under for -120. Runline odds stand at -200 for taking the White Sox +1.5 runs and +170 for the Royals -1.5.
The White Sox are only 6-16 SU and have gone 9-12 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 10.7 units for moneyline bettors through the early portions of the season and 5.0 units ATS. The Royals, on the other hand, are 5-18 SU and 9-13 ATS. They’ve lost 10.6 units for moneyline bettors and 8.8 units ATS.
Royals games have had an over/under record of 8-13-1 thus far in 2018. White Sox games have gone over 11 times, gone under nine times and pushed on one occasion.
Reynaldo Lopez is getting the start for the White Sox. The right-handed Lopez is 0-2 with a 1.50 ERA and 23 strikeouts. He has yet to face Kansas City this year, but he did make three starts against the Royals in 2017, posting a 2-0 record against them with a 3.44 ERA and seven strikeouts.
The Royals are handing the ball to lefty Danny Duffy (0-3, 5.26 ERA), who has 25 strikeouts and 13 walks to his credit, as well as a WHIP of 1.52. Duffy is 0-1 with five strikeouts and an 11.25 ERA across one starts against Chicago this year.
Kansas City’s pitching staff has allowed 5.6 runs per game overall in 2018 as a unit. The team’s starting pitching staff has a 4.34 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 6.8 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 6.81 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 6.7 K/9. In 12 games against divisional opponents, Royals starters have an ERA of 4.25 and the bullpen’s ERA is 6.06.
The Kansas City offense has put up 3.3 runs per outing, including 3.0 per game against divisional foes and 3.8 per game over its last five. The team has a slash-line of .246/.317/.404 over its last five matchups and is 1-4 SU during that stretch.
The Royals’ hitters have been led by Mike Moustakas, who is hitting .309/.337/.608 with seven home runs, 18 RBIs and 14 runs scored.
In the visiting dugout, Chicago’s pitchers have allowed 6.0 runs per game and its starters own a 5.96 ERA, 1.59 WHIP and 5.56 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 5.17, along with a WHIP of 1.59 and a K-per-9 of 9.83.
The White Sox offense has slashed .237/.313/.408 on its way to 3.8 runs scored per game in 2018, including 4.6 runs per game against divisional foes and 4.0 per game over the team’s last five contests (2-3 SU).
Chicago’s hitters have been paced by Yoan Moncada, who is hitting .264/.360/.563 with six home runs, 12 RBIs and 15 runs scored. He seemed to have a little trouble hitting left-handed pitching on the road in 2017, maintaining a slash line of .237/.275/.316 across 40 such plate appearances (his overall season line was .231/.338/.412).
The White Sox just took the previous game in the series by a score of six runs to three.
Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals MLB Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Royals, ATS Winner – White Sox, O/U – OVER
Betting Trends
- The over has hit in four of Chicago’s last seven games.
- The White Sox have hit 13 home runs in their last 10 games, including nine over their last five.
- Kansas City has averaged 21.4 runs + hits + errors over its last 10 outings and 20.6 over its last five.
- The Royals have lost four of their last five games SU.
