Jason Vargas (1-1, 6.00 ERA) and Tommy Milone (2-0, 2.08 ERA) start in the second of a three-game series between the Kansas City Royals (10-3) and the Minnesota Twins (5-8) at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won the last game 7-1 and Kansas City leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 8:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Apr. 21 and can be seen on FSN-N and FSN-KC.
Vargas is 5-4 with a 3.97 ERA in his appearances against the Twins, and goes up against a below-average Minnesota offense which is batting just .219 this season. Salvador Perez (.380, 8 Rs, 3 HRs, 12 RBIs, 1 SB) kept up his hot start yesterday, going 2 for 3 with one run and one RBI. Milone is 4-2 with a 3.92 ERA when pitching against the Royals. He takes on a good Kansas City offense which is hitting .310 this season. Torii Hunter (.233, 3 Rs, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 3 yesterday.
Kansas City is a -152 favorite against Minnesota and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at eight runs. The Royals have an overall money line of +593 and a record as the favorite of 4-3. Kansas City has had an impressive season against division opponents, earning 4-2 and 4-2 records as the favorite and SU respectively. The Royals have no trouble scoring as they lead the AL in offense with 5.7 runs per game. The Royals lead the MLB in batting average with an impressive team average of .310. Kansas City strikes out the least of any team in the AL, with only 5.2 per game. Crossing over to the pitching staff, opposing offenses have been stifled by the Royals, who have a team ERA of only 3.31. The Royals are the second-best team in the league at limiting hits and walks to their opponents, recording a WHIP of 1.01 so far this season.
In games where it is the underdog, Minnesota has a 5-6 record and an overall money line of -111. They have played poorly as the underdog with a 5-6 record against teams in their division, and a 5-5 record SU.
The Royals have a 5-1 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Milone takes the mound.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Over
Notes
Minnesota has lost all of its games (0-4) when leading after 7 innings. However, Kansas City has won all of its games (5-0) when taking a late lead.
The Royals are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Twins have a 2-7 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Royals are 0-2. The Twins have a 2-8 record when opponents outhit them.
Minnesota ranks near the bottom of the league at 25th when it comes to home runs, hitting eight this season. Kansas City ranks in the bottom half at 16th with 11.
Kansas City ranks at the top of the league when it comes to hits with 11.00 per game this season. Minnesota ranks in the top half at 12th with 7.33.
Ranking 28th, Minnesota is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.592). Kansas City ranks in the top five at third with an OPS of .840.
The Twins are 3-6 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Royals are 7-3 when they allow at least one homer.
