Jeremy Guthrie (1-0, 5.54 ERA) and Mike Pelfrey (0-0, 4.50 ERA) take the hill in the last of a three-game series between the Kansas City Royals (11-3) and the Minnesota Twins (5-9) at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won the last game 6-5 and Kansas City leads the series 2-0. Action begins at 8:10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Apr. 22 and can be seen on FSN-N and FSN-KC.
Guthrie is 9-3 with a 3.38 ERA in his appearances against the Twins, and goes up against a below-average Minnesota offense which is batting just .223 this season. Salvador Perez (.370, 8 Rs, 3 HRs, 12 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 4 yesterday. Pelfrey is 0-2 with a 9.49 ERA when pitching against the Royals. He is up against a good Kansas City offense which is hitting .310 this season. Kurt Suzuki (.216, 5 Rs, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs) has been successful at the plate to the start the season for the Twins, going 2 for 4 yesterday with one RBI.
Kansas City is a -163 favorite against Minnesota and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at eight runs. The Royals have recorded an overall money line of +693 and have shown high-level performance as a favorite this season with a record of 5-3. Kansas City has had an impressive season against division opponents, earning 5-2 and 5-2 records as the favorite and SU respectively. The Royals have no trouble scoring as they lead the AL in offense with 5.8 runs per game. The Royals lead the MLB in batting average with a phenomenal team average of .310. Kansas City is one of the best in the MLB in terms of steals, swiping 13 bases. Turning to the pitchers, opposing offenses have been stifled by the Royals, who have a team ERA of only 3.13. The Royals are the top team in the league at limiting hits and walks to their opponents, recording a WHIP of 1.02 so far this season.
In games where it is the underdog, Minnesota has a 5-7 record and an overall money line of -211. They have played poorly as the underdog with a 5-7 record against teams in their division, and a 5-5 record SU. Offensively, the Twins have really picked up the pace in the last 10 games. They have exceeded their season average of 3.1 runs per game by averaging 3.9 during that stretch.
The Royals lead the season series, 3-2. The Royals have a 5-2 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Pelfrey takes the mound. Guthrie (RHP) will be on the hill against the Twins, who have a 3-5 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Under
Notes
In their last game, the Twins lost by a margin of one run. The Royals are 1-0 in one-run games. The Twins have a 1-2 record in close games.
The Twins are 1-0 when they go into extra innings.
The Twins managed to give up five walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Royals who are heading in with a 2-0 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
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 top half at 12th with 13.
Kansas City ranks at the top of the league when it comes to hits with 10.77 per game this season. Minnesota ranks in the top half at 13th with 7.15.
Ranking 29th, Minnesota is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.595). Kansas City ranks in the top five at second with an OPS of .844.
The Twins are 3-7 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Royals are 7-3 when they allow at least one homer.
