Danny Duffy (2-0, 3.45 ERA) and the Kansas City Royals (17-9) meet Carlos Carrasco (3-2, 4.98 ERA) and the Cleveland Indians (9-16) in the second of a three-game division series at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won the last game 5-3 and Kansas City leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 8:10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May. 6 and will air on STO and FSN-KC.
Duffy is 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA and 1.34 WHIP against the Indians in his career. Eric Hosmer (.320, 16 Rs, 4 HRs, 19 RBIs, 2 SBs) continued his strong season yesterday, going 2 for 4 with one run, one home run, and four RBIs. In his career against the Royals, Carrasco is 2-4 with a 4.82 ERA. He gets a solid Kansas City offense that’s batting .293. Michael Brantley (.351, 11 Rs, 2 HRs, 14 RBIs, 3 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday with one run, one home run, and two RBIs.
Kansas City is a -133 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Royals perform well as a favorite with an 8-5 record and have an overall money line of +717. They have performed well against their division to earn an SU record of 11-8 and an 8-4 record when they were the favorite. The Royals have one of the most prolific offenses in the entire AL, averaging 5.1 runs per game. The Royals are a stellar hitting team with an MLB-best .293 team batting average. They have been a terror on the base paths, ranking fifth in all of baseball with 21 steals. As for the pitching staff, the Royals lead the AL in home ERA with a 2.85 team average. The Royals don’t allow many hitters to get on base, ranking second in the league with a 1.10 WHIP.
Across the field, the Indians have a subpar record of 3-6 when they are the underdog and are -915 overall with the money line. They have played poorly as the underdog as of late. They managed a 1-3 record when playing as the underdog and an SU record of 4-6. During the last 10 games, they averaged 5.8 runs per game, above their 4.2 season average. Opposing pitchers have routinely struggled to strike out the Cleveland batters, who rank third in the AL with 6.4 strikeouts per game.
In their previous four games this season, the Royals have a 3-1 record. The Royals will take on a right-hander (Carrasco) in this game and have an 8-6 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. The left-handed Duffy will take the mound against the Indians. Against lefty starters this season, they have a terrible 2-8 record overall and 0-3 on the road.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Over
Notes
Cleveland has won 33% (3-6) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, Kansas City has won 78% (7-2) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Royals are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Indians have a 3-4 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Royals are 0-5. The Indians have a 2-12 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 19th in home runs, Kansas City has hit 20 this season. Cleveland ranks 11th with 25 home runs.
Ranking first in hits, Kansas City has earned 10.40 per game this season. Cleveland ranks 10th with 8.33 hits.
Ranking 16th, Cleveland is in the bottom half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.701). Kansas City ranks in the top five at third with an OPS of .781.
When the Indians allow at least one home run, they are 7-11. When the Royals allow one or more homers, they have a 10-5 record.
