The Kansas City Royals are set to take on the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. Fox Sports Kansas City will broadcast this AL matchup and the opening pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET.
Kansas City Royals vs. Baltimore Orioles Odds
Kansas City (+125) is hosting this game as the underdog to Baltimore (-135) and oddsmakers have the Over/Under for this game at 9 runs (+105 for the under and -125 for the over). Bettors can also wager on the games runline with the odds standing at Royals +1.5 runs (-170) and Orioles +-1.5 runs (+150).
The Royals have gone only 12-23 SU this year and are 15-19 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 10.4 units for moneyline bettors in this young season and 6.5 units ATS. The Orioles, on the other hand, are 8-27 SU and 12-22 ATS. They’ve lost 17.2 units for moneyline bettors and 11.8 units ATS.
Baltimore games have an over/under record of 15-18-1 thus far in 2018. Kansas City has been a decent under bet with a total record of 12-20-2.
Eric Skoglund will get the start for the visiting Royals. The left-handed Skoglund is 1-2 with a 6.84 ERA and 25 strikeouts. He has yet to face the Orioles this year and did not record a start against them in 2017, either.
The Orioles will send righty Andrew Cashner (1-4, 4.89 ERA) to the mound. Cashner has 37 strikeouts and 19 walks to his credit, as well as a 1.53 WHIP. Cashner only made one start against the Royals in 2017 (0-0, 0.00 ERA and three strikeouts across six innings).
As a unit, Baltimore’s pitching staff has given up 5.8 runs per game overall in 2018. The teams starters have a 5.67 ERA, 1.59 WHIP and 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 4.67 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 8.9 K/9.
The Baltimore hitters have produced 3.5 runs per contest, including 4.0 per game over its last 10 games and 3.0 per game over their last five. The team has hit .229/.289/.346 over its last five contests and is 0-5 SU during that stretch.
The Orioles hitters have been led by Manny Machado and Pedro Alvarez. Machado is slashing .346/.432/.617 with nine home runs, 27 RBIs and 17 runs scored, while Alvarez’s line sits at .205/.311/.500 with seven homers, 14 RBIs and 13 runs.
Machado performed well against lefty pitching at home last year, slashing .300/.345/.588 across 87 such plate appearances (compared to his total season line of .260/.311/.473).
For the visiting squad, Kansas City’s pitchers have allowed 5.5 runs per game and its starters own a 4.53 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 7.40 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 6.11, along with a WHIP of 1.35 and a K/9 of 6.19.
The Royals offense has slashed .257/.326/.393 on its way to 4.0 runs scored per game this year, including 6.2 runs per game over the teams last 10 games and 7.0 per game over the teams last five contests (4-1 SU).
Right fielder Jorge Soler and third baseman Mike Moustakas have led Kansas City’s offense. Soler is slashing .324/.436/.546 with five home runs, 15 RBIs and 15 runs scored, while Moustakas is hitting .300/.333/.586 with 10 homers, 28 RBIs and 23 runs scored.
Maintaining a slash line of .103/.235/.138 across 34 such plate appearances, Soler did not perform especially well against right-handed pitching on the road last year (compared to his total season slash line of .144/.245/.258).
The Royals have lost 13.7 units and are 7-12 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this season. The over has cashed in six of those games, as opposed to 11 that’ve hit the under in such games. On the other hand, the Orioles have lost 4.7 units and are 4-7 ATS when facing a left-handed starting pitcher. The over has hit in six of those games, compared to four which went under the total.
Kansas City Royals vs. Baltimore Orioles Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Orioles, ATS Winner – Royals, O/U – OVER
Betting Notes
- The under has cashed in four of Kansas City’s last seven games.
- The Royals have won four of their last five games SU while the Orioles have lost eight of their last nine SU.
- Kansas City fielders have committed zero errors over their last five games, compared to five errors for Baltimore over its last five.
- The Royals have hit 14 home runs in their last 10 games, including nine over their last five.
