The Kansas City Royals will be facing off against their divisional rival Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. The game gets underway 4:10 p.m. ET and SportsTime Ohio will broadcast the action.
Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Indians Odds
Cleveland (-195) is the favorite over Kansas City (+182) and Vegas has the Over/Under for this one at 9 runs (-105 for the under and -115 for the over). Bettors can also wager on the game’s spread with the runline odds sitting at Royals +1.5 runs (-120) and Indians +-1.5 runs (+100).
The Royals are only 13-25 SU and have gone 16-21 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 11.1 units for gamblers taking the moneyline in the season’s early going and 8.2 units ATS. The Indians, on the other hand, are 18-19 SU and 14-22 ATS. They’ve lost 8.0 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 10.0 units ATS.
Indians games have an over/under record of 18-17-1 thus far in 2018. The Royals have been a decent under bet with a total record of 14-21-2.
The right-handed Jakob Junis is projected to start for the visiting Royals. Junis is 4-2 with a 3.18 ERA and 38 strikeouts. He has yet to face the Indians this year and only made one start against them in 2017 (0-0, 5.63 ERA and four strikeouts over eight innings).
The Indians are handing the ball to righty Mike Clevinger (2-0, 2.76 ERA), who has 39 punchouts and 14 walks to his name, as well as a WHIP of 1.07. Clevinger is 0-0 with four strikeouts and a 1.23 ERA over one starts against Kansas City this year.
Cleveland’s pitching staff has yielded 4.5 runs per game overall in 2018 as a unit. Its starting pitching staff has a 3.57 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 5.44 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 9.1 K/9. In 10 divisional games, Indians starters have an ERA of 1.57 and the bullpen’s ERA is 1.98.
Cleveland’s hitters are putting up 4.7 runs per outing, including 4.0 per game against divisional foes and 4.6 per game over their last five. The team has a slash-line of .206/.272/.412 over its last five matchups and is 1-4 SU during that stretch.
Third baseman Jose Ramirez and shortstop Francisco Lindor have led the Indians’ batters this year. Ramirez is slashing .287/.374/.587 with 11 home runs, 24 RBIs, 24 runs and five stolen bases, and Lindor’s line is .293/.362/.554 with 10 homers, 22 RBIs, 29 runs and five stolen bases.
In the other dugout, Kansas City’s pitchers have allowed 5.7 runs per game and its starters own a 5.11 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 7.25 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 5.86, along with a K/9 of 6.15.
The Royals offense has slashed .261/.329/.400 on its way to 4.2 runs scored per game in 2018, including 3.8 runs per game against divisional foes and 7.6 per game over the team’s last five contests (3-2 SU).
Kansas City’s hitters have been led by outfielder Jorge Soler and third baseman Mike Moustakas. Soler is slashing .320/.426/.525 with five home runs, 17 RBIs and 18 runs scored, while Moustakas is slashing .301/.335/.569 with 10 homers, 29 RBIs and 25 runs scored.
Putting up a slash line of .103/.235/.138 across 34 such plate appearances, Soler did not do as well hitting against righty pitching on the road last season (compared to his total season slash line of .144/.245/.258).
The Royals have lost 14.3 units and are 8-14 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this season. The over has cashed in eight of those games, compared to 12 that’ve gone under against righty starters. On the other hand, the Indians have lost 6.8 units and are 9-14 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over has hit in 11 of those games, compared to 11 that’ve cashed the under.
Kansas City Royals vs. Cleveland Indians Free MLB Tip
Predictions: SU Winner – Indians, ATS Winner – Royals, O/U – OVER
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Notes
Betting Trends
The under has cashed in four of Kansas City’s last seven games.
The Kansas City defense has allowed zero errors over the last 10 games, compared to 11 errors for Cleveland over its last 10.
The Royals have hit 15 home runs in their last 10 games, including eight over their last five.
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