T.J. House (0-3, 12.60 ERA) and the Cleveland Indians (6-12) meet Yordano Ventura (2-1, 4.09 ERA) and the Kansas City Royals (13-6) in the second of a three-game division series at Progressive Field. The Royals won the last game 6-2 and Kansas City leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 6:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Apr. 28 and will air on FSN-KC and STO.
House has a 2.63 ERA and a 1-0 record in his career against the Royals, but faces a strong Kansas City offense that’s hitting .297 on the year. In his career against the Indians, Ventura is 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA. He meets a less-than-stellar Cleveland offense that’s batting just .232. Mike Moustakas (.342, 16 Rs, 3 HRs, 7 RBIs, 1 SB) has been hitting the ball well, going 4 for 5 yesterday with two runs and one RBI.
Cleveland, a -130 favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Kansas City. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is seven runs. The Indians perform poorly as a favorite with a 3-6 record and have an overall money line of -674. They have disappointing records of 2-6 as the favorite and 4-10 SU within their division. Don’t expect the Cleveland hitters to swing wildly. They average only 6.9 strikeouts per game. Cleveland’s pitchers struggle within their division. The Indians have given up an average of 4.9 runs to intra-division opponents, well over their defense’s season average of 4.2.
Switching gears, the Royals come into this game with a solid win percentage of .857 when playing as the underdog (6-1) and an overall money line of +568. Over the past 10 matchups, they are 5-5 SU and have played well as the underdog with a 3-1 record. The Royals rank fourth in the AL in road scoring, averaging five runs per game. Kansas City is the top hitting team in the AL with an average of 10.3 hits per contest. The Royals have racked up 18 steals on the year, making them one of the most threatening base-running teams in the league. The Royals are a problem for opposing batters, sporting an AL-low 2.93 ERA this season. They have a WHIP of 1.07, best in the MLB. The Kansas City pitching staff has been an intimidating group on the road this year, averaging 7.2 strikeouts per game.
The only other game between the two teams went Kansas City’s way. The Indians will take on a right-hander (Ventura) in this game and have a 5-5 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. The right-handed House will take the mound against the Royals, who have a 5-4 record against righty starters this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Over
Notes
Cleveland recorded at least two errors for the second time this season.
The Royals are 1-0 in games that go into extra innings. Meanwhile, the Indians are 0-1 in such matchups.
The Royals managed to give up five walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Indians who are heading in with a 1-3 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Indians are 5-1. The Royals have a 12-2 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 23rd in runs, Cleveland has earned 66 this season. Kansas City ranks seventh with 95 runs.
Ranking 25th, Kansas City is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 46 this season. Cleveland ranks in the bottom half at 16th with 55.
When the Indians hit at least one home run, they are 5-5. When the Royals hit at least one homer, they have an 8-2 record.
