Raisel Iglesias (3-4, 4.70 ERA) and Edinson Volquez (11-7, 3.27 ERA) are on the hill in the first of a two-game series between the Cincinnati Reds (51-65) and the Kansas City Royals (71-46) at the Great American Ball Park. Action begins at 7:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 18 and can be seen on FSKC and FSOH.
Iglesias pitched 6.0 innings in his last outing, surrendering three runs, striking out eight and walking one in a 7-3 win over the Padres. Joey Votto (.310, 66 Rs, 21 HRs, 58 RBIs, 7 SBs) continued his strong play Sunday, going 2 for 3. Volquez went 7.0 innings, surrendering five runs (one unearned), striking out five and walking two in a 7-4 defeat to the Tigers in his most recent start. Eric Hosmer (.319, 73 Rs, 14 HRs, 71 RBIs, 5 SBs) went 1 for 2 Sunday with one run and one RBI.
The odds for Cincinnati and Kansas City are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable as of now. In interleague play, the Reds have a 6-11 record SU. Cincinnati leads the MLB in steals, swiping 110 bases.
Kansas City is 11-6 SU against National League opponents. The Royals are tough outs for opponents, leading the AL with 9.2 hits per road game. The Royals are an excellent base stealing team with 78 stolen bases, ranking fifth in the MLB. The Royals allow 3.7 runs per game, but does better whenever an NL opponent is on the schedule. They bring that runs allowed average down to 2.9 against teams from the NL.
The Royals have the edge in the season series, 2-0. The Reds have a 39-49 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Volquez takes the mound. Iglesias (RHP) will be on the hill against the Royals, who have a very good 48-28 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cin
Notes
Cincinnati has won 42% (18-25) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, Kansas City has won 64% (29-16) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Royals are coming into this game after allowing one walk during their last outing. The Reds have a 6-13 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Reds are 8-44. The Royals have an 11-37 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 27th in home runs, Kansas City has hit 92 this season. Cincinnati ranks ninth with 125 home runs.
Ranking seventh, Cincinnati is in the top 10 of the league in hits, notching 8.57 per game. Kansas City ranks in the top five at second with 9.15.
Cincinnati and Kansas City both rank in the top half of the league for their on-base plus slugging percentage. Cincinnati sits at 15th with an OPS of .715 and Kansas City ranks 12th with an OPS of .731.
When the Royals allow at least one home run, they are 31-32. When the Reds allow one or more homers, they have a 22-50 record.
