Chris Tillman (9-11, 5.15 ERA) and Johnny Cueto (9-11, 3.24 ERA) take the hill in the second of a three-game series between the Baltimore Orioles (68-72) and the Kansas City Royals (83-57) at Camden Yards. The Orioles won the last game 14-8 and Baltimore leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 1:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sep. 12 and can be seen on FOX.
Tillman pitched 3.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering six runs, striking out three and walking one in a 10-4 defeat to the Blue Jays. Chris Davis (.262, 84 Rs, 41 HRs, 105 RBIs, 2 SBs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 2 for 3 with three runs and one RBI. Cueto went 3.0 innings, surrendering five runs, striking out four and walking two in a 7-5 defeat to the White Sox in his last outing. Lorenzo Cain (.315, 93 Rs, 16 HRs, 67 RBIs, 27 SBs) has been successful at the plate for the Royals, going 3 for 4 yesterday with four runs, two home runs, and two RBIs.
Kansas City takes on Baltimore as a -119 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at eight runs. The Orioles have recorded an overall money line of -943 and have shown a weak performance as an underdog this season with a record of 26-39. The Orioles are one of the best in the MLB in terms of home runs with 188. Baltimore’s pitching staff has been doing poorly against opposing offenses during the last 10 games, allowing an average of 5.8 runs per game, well above its season average of 4.2. The Orioles are the fourth-best team in the AL at limiting walks during home games, allowing only 2.4 walks per game to their opponents this season.
As for their opponent, Kansas City is coming in with an overall money line of +1,938 and an impressive record of 50-30 as the favorite. The Royals are an excellent base stealing team with 93 stolen bases, ranking fifth in the MLB. The Royals allow 3.8 runs per game, but have damaged those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 5.3 runs per game during that span. When it comes to preventing batters from getting hits, the Royals are fifth in the AL with an average of 8.4 hits allowed per game.
The Royals lead the season series, 3-2. The Orioles have a 49-54 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Cueto takes the mound. Tillman (RHP) will be on the hill against the Royals, who have a very good 57-32 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Kansas City is 32-19, while Baltimore is 24-23.
Having scored zero runs in their last game, the Royals are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Orioles have a 9-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs.
When they outhit their opponents, the Orioles are 49-13. The Royals have a 65-8 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking seventh in runs, Baltimore has earned 604 this season. Kansas City ranks fifth with 616 runs.
Ranking 30th, Kansas City is at the bottom of the league in walks, notching 313 this season. Baltimore ranks near the bottom at 25th with 342.
When the Orioles hit at least one home run, they are 60-38, well-matched with the Royals who are 57-24 when hitting one or more homers.
