In the second of a four-game series between the Kansas City Royals (44-32) and the Minnesota Twins (44-32) at Kauffman Stadium, Jeremy Guthrie (6-5, 5.68 ERA) and Tommy Milone (4-1, 3.19 ERA) take the mound. The Twins won the last game 2-0 and Minnesota leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 8:10 p.m. ET on Friday, Jul. 3 and will air on FSN-N and FSN-KC.
Guthrie is 9-4 with a 3.47 ERA and 1.23 WHIP against the Twins in his career. Lorenzo Cain (.298, 45 Rs, 6 HRs, 33 RBIs, 15 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday. In his pitching opportunities against the Royals, Milone is 4-2 with a 4.21 ERA. He meets a strong Kansas City offense that’s batting .269. Torii Hunter (.270, 40 Rs, 12 HRs, 44 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 4 yesterday.
Kansas City is a -154 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is eight runs. The Royals perform well as a favorite with a 24-15 record and have an overall money line of +1,209. They have struggled as the favorite over their last 10 games, going 0-1. The Royals are a superb hitting team with 9.2 hits per game, one of the highest marks in the AL. They typically aren’t overmatched by pitchers, leading the AL with an average of only 5.9 strikeouts per game. The Kansas City pitching staff has been dominant, only giving up 3.4 runs per home game, good for best in the AL. The Royals don’t give up many walks to opposing batters at Kauffman Stadium, ranking fifth in the AL with only 2.7 walks allowed per home game.
Switching gears, the Twins come into this game with a win percentage of .531 when playing as the underdog (34-30) and an overall money line of +1,153. Against divisional foes, they are 18-19 SU and 15-16 as the underdog. They also allow just 2.4 walks per game, good for tops in the AL.
The Royals have gotten the best of the Twins in head-to-head matchups this season, going 6-4. The Royals will take on a left-hander (Milone) in this game and have a 12-13 record against left-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Twins will be the right-hander Guthrie. They sport a 23-27 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Over
Notes
Minnesota earned its seventh shutout of the season in its last game. Kansas City has been shut out seven times this season.
When the Royals play into extra innings, they have a 3-1 record. The Twins are 3-2 when their games exceed nine innings.
The Twins managed to give up four walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Royals who are heading in with an 11-6 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Royals are 38-5. The Twins have a 29-1 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 16th in runs, Kansas City has earned 322 this season. Minnesota ranks 15th with 331 runs.
Ranking 30th, Kansas City is at the bottom of the league in walks, notching 161 this season. Minnesota ranks near the bottom at 24th with 190.
When the Royals hit at least one home run, they are 29-14, well-matched with the Twins who are 30-15 when hitting one or more homers.
