Runs may be hard to come by in this one as Chris Young (7-3, 2.71 ERA) and the Kansas City Royals (44-31) go up against Kyle Gibson (5-6, 3.30 ERA) and the Minnesota Twins (41-37) in the first of a four-game series at Kauffman Stadium. The game gets underway at 8:10 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jul. 2 and will air on FSN-N and FSN-KC.
Young is 2-2 with a 2.86 ERA, 22 strikeouts and 14 walks against the Twins in his career. Lorenzo Cain (.299, 45 Rs, 6 HRs, 33 RBIs, 15 SBs) continued his strong season yesterday, going 2 for 4 with one run. In his career against the Royals, Gibson is 4-2 with a 2.68 ERA. He gets a solid Kansas City offense that’s batting .271. Brian Dozier (.268, 61 Rs, 16 HRs, 40 RBIs, 7 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run.
Kansas City is a -159 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Royals have a winning record of 24-15 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of +1,309. They have performed well against their division to earn an SU record of 19-12 and an 11-6 record when they were the favorite. Kansas City has averaged 4.7 runs per game during divisional play, higher than its season average of 4.3. The Royals rank second in the AL in hits with 9.3 per game. Don’t expect the Kansas City hitters to swing wildly. They average an AL-low 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 are fifth in the AL in walks allowed at home with just 2.7 per 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 teams in their division, they are 18-19 SU and 15-16 as the underdog. They also allow just 2.4 walks per game, best in the AL.
The Royals have gotten the best of the Twins in head-to-head matchups this season, going 6-3. The Royals will take on a right-hander (Gibson) in this game. They have done very well against right-handed starting pitchers this season (32-17), especially at home where they have a 16-8 record. Taking the hill against the Twins will be the right-hander Young. They sport a 23-27 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Over
Notes
In their last game, the Twins lost by a margin of one run. The Royals are 8-7 in one-run games. The Twins have a 13-10 record in close games.
The Royals are 3-1 in games that go into extra innings. Meanwhile, the Twins are 3-2 in such matchups.
Having scored one run in their last game, the Twins are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Royals have a 14-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Royals are 38-5. The Twins have a 28-1 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 16th in runs, Kansas City has earned 322 this season. Minnesota ranks 13th with 329 runs.
Ranking 30th, Kansas City is at the bottom of the league in walks, notching 157 this season. Minnesota ranks near the bottom at 24th with 189.
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.
