Edinson Volquez (12-7, 3.27 ERA) and the Kansas City Royals (81-51) go up against Matt Boyd (1-5, 7.12 ERA) and the Detroit Tigers (61-71) in the last of a three-game division series at Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won the last game 12-1 and the series is currently tied 1-1. The game gets underway at 8:10 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sep. 3 and will air on FSKC, FSDT and MLBN.
In his last start, Volquez pitched 6.2 innings, allowing one, striking out five and walking two in a 3-2 victory over the Rays. Lorenzo Cain (.313, 83 Rs, 13 HRs, 61 RBIs, 26 SBs) played well again yesterday, going 2 for 3 with two runs, one home run, and three RBIs. The Tigers were unsuccessful the last time Boyd pitched. He did not do well, pitching 6.0 innings, giving up five runs, striking out four and walking three in a 5-3 loss to the Blue Jays. Miguel Cabrera (.359, 55 Rs, 17 HRs, 67 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 2 yesterday.
Kansas City is a considerable -190 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is eight runs. The Royals have a winning record of 48-25 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of +2,594. They are 5-2 as the favorite over their last 10 games. The Royals come into the game with the fifth-ranked scoring offense in the AL, averaging 4.4 runs per game. The Royals are a superb hitting team with 9.2 hits per game, one of the highest marks in the AL. They have been a terror on the base paths, ranking fifth in all of baseball with 88 steals.
Moving on to the away team, the Tigers come into this game with a weak win percentage of .386 when playing as the underdog (27-43) and an overall money line of -974. They have played poorly as the underdog as of late. They managed a 1-8 record when playing as the underdog and an SU record of 2-8. During the last 10 games, they averaged 3.2 runs per game, below their 4.3 season average. Detroit is the top road hitting team in the AL with an average of 9.3 hits per contest. Detroit’s pitching staff has allowed an average of 7.2 runs per game during the last 10 games, higher than their season average of 5.0.
The Royals have mostly come out on top against the Tigers in their previous 15 games this season, earning an 8-7 record. The Royals will take on a left-hander (Boyd) in this game and have a 25-21 record against left-handed starting pitchers this season. The right-handed Volquez will take the mound against the Tigers, who have a 43-56 record against righty starters this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Over
Notes
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Kansas City’s last 7 games.
Kansas City is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Kansas City’s last 6 games at home.
Kansas City is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Kansas City’s last 6 games when playing Detroit.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Kansas City’s last 6 games when playing at home against Detroit.
In their last game, the Royals won by a margin of 11 runs. The Tigers are 2-6 in games decided by a margin of 10 runs or more. The Royals have a 2-3 record in blowouts.
The Royals are coming into this matchup after a high-scoring game where they scored a whopping 12 runs. The Tigers have a 0-9 record when opponents score that many runs or more.
When they are outhit, the Tigers are 7-49. The Royals have a 12-42 record when opponents outhit them.
Kansas City ranks near the bottom of the league at 26th when it comes to home runs, hitting 107 this season. Detroit ranks in the top half at 14th with 132.
Ranking first in hits, Detroit has earned 9.42 per game this season. Kansas City ranks second with 9.24 hits.
Ranking eighth, Kansas City is in the top 10 of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.736). Detroit ranks in the top five at fourth with an OPS of .757.
When the Tigers allow at least one home run, they are 30-56. When the Royals allow one or more homers, they have a 37-36 record.
