In the last of a three-game series between the Kansas City Royals (83-55) and the Minnesota Twins (71-67) at Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium, Kris Medlen (3-1, 4.88 ERA) and Mike Pelfrey (6-9, 4.17 ERA) get the start. The Royals won the last game 4-2 and the series is currently tied 1-1. The game gets underway at 8:10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Sep. 9 and will air on FSKC and FSN.
In his last start, Medlen pitched 5.2 innings, allowing seven runs, striking out three and walking one in a 12-1 loss to the White Sox. Eric Hosmer (.311, 84 Rs, 14 HRs, 81 RBIs, 6 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run and three RBIs. The Twins were unsuccessful to the Astros 8-0 the last time Pelfrey pitched. He went 4.0 innings, allowing seven runs and striking out five. Brian Dozier (.240, 93 Rs, 27 HRs, 70 RBIs, 11 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday with one run and one RBI.
Kansas City, a -165 favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Minnesota. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is set at eight runs. The Royals perform well as a favorite with a 49-29 record and have an overall money line of +2,025. They have impressive records of 21-16 as the favorite and 34-24 SU within their division. The Royals come into the game with the fourth-ranked scoring offense in the AL, averaging 4.5 runs per game. The Royals rank second in the AL in hits with 9.3 per game. They have been a terror on the base paths, ranking fifth in all of baseball with 88 steals. Turning to the pitching and defensive side, the Kansas City pitching staff and defense is very good at home, only giving up 3.8 runs per game. The Royals don’t give up many walks to opposing batters at Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium, ranking fifth in the AL with only 2.6 walks allowed per home game.
Moving on to the away team, the Twins come into this game with a win percentage of .500 when playing as the underdog (55-55) and an overall money line of +2,058. Against divisional rivals, they are 29-26 SU and 21-22 as the underdog. They also allow just 2.5 walks per game, second-best in the AL.
The Royals have gotten the best of the Twins in head-to-head matchups this season, going 9-6. The Royals will take on a right-hander (Pelfrey) in this game. They have done very well against right-handed starting pitchers this season (56-31), especially at home where they have a 31-14 record. The right-handed Medlen will take the mound against the Twins, who have a 46-44 record against righty starters this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Kansas City is 32-19, while Minnesota is 25-24.
The Twins are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Royals have a 48-40 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Twins are 48-6. The Royals have a 65-8 record when outhitting opponents.
Both falling in the top 10 of the league based on total runs this season, Kansas City ranks sixth with 614 runs and Minnesota is 10th with 595.
Ranking 30th, Kansas City is at the bottom of the league in walks, notching 311 this season. Minnesota ranks near the bottom at 24th with 348.
When the Royals hit at least one home run, they are 57-23, well-matched with the Twins who are 54-30 when hitting one or more homers.
