The Kansas City Royals will head east to take on the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Fox Sports Kansas City will be televising this AL matchup and the first pitch will be at 7:07 p.m. ET.
Kansas City Royals vs. Toronto Blue Jays Odds
Vegas has listed Toronto (-175) as the favorite over Kansas City (+165). Gamblers can wager on the game’s total with odds sitting at -110 for over 8.5 runs and -110 for under 8.5. The game’s current runline odds stand at -135 for taking the Royals +1.5 runs and +115 for the Blue Jays -1.5.
The Blue Jays are 9-5 SU and 8-6 ATS. The team has gained 3.0 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 2.8 units against the spread (ATS). Toronto has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the total has gone under in three of those seven. The Royals are 3-10 SU and have gone 6-7 ATS. Overall, the team’s lost 6.2 units for moneyline bettors in this young season and 3.4 units ATS. Kansas City has covered the spread just twice over its last seven games and the total has gone under in four of those seven.
Toronto games have an over/under record of 5-8-1 so far in 2018. Royals games have gone under nine times, gone over four times and pushed on zero occasions.
The Royals have lost 1.0 units and are 3-2 ATS when facing a lefty starter this season. The over has hit in one of those games, compared to four that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the Blue Jays have netted 1.6 units and are 3-1 ATS when facing a lefty starter. The over’s hit in two of those games, compared to two that’ve gone under.
Eric Skoglund (0-1, 9.64 ERA) will get the start for the visiting Royals. The left-handed Skoglund started five games last year while finishing the season 1-2 overall with a 9.50 ERA and a 2.33 WHIP.
The Blue Jays will be turning to lefty Jaime Garcia (1-0, 3.18 ERA), who started 27 games last year and finished the season 5-10 overall with a 4.41 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.
Toronto’s pitchers have allowed 3.8 runs per game overall in 2018 as a unit. The team’s starters have a 4.58 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a solid ERA of just 2.38, a WHIP of 1.15 and a K/9 of 9.5.
The Toronto offense is putting up 5.1 runs per outing, including 5.7 per game over its last 10 games and 5.4 per game over its last five. The team has hit .239/.320/.398 over its last five games and is 4-1 SU during that span.
First baseman Justin Smoak and third baseman Yangervis Solarte have led the Blue Jays’ offense so far. Smoak is hitting .288/.397/.500 with 15 hits, 10 RBIs and 11 runs scored, while Solarte’s line is .286/.423/.500 with 12 hits, four RBIs and seven runs.
Smoak seemed to enjoy hitting lefties at home last year. Over 69 such plate appearances, he slashed .333/.420/.650 (his total season line was .269/.355/.530).
In the visiting dugout, Kansas City’s pitchers have allowed 4.5 runs per game and its starting pitchers own a 3.34 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 7.43 K/9. The bullpen has logged an ERA of 6.26, along with a WHIP of 1.20 and a K-per-9 of 6.48.
The Royals offense has slashed .231/.300/.325 on its way to 3.0 runs scored per game this season, including 2.8 runs per game over the team’s last 10 games and 2.6 per game over the team’s last five contests (0-5 SU).
Third baseman Mike Moustakas and first baseman Lucas Duda have led Kansas City’s offense. Moustakas is slashing .327/.352/.596 with 17 hits, nine RBIs and nine runs scored, while Duda (.282/.349/.436) is up to 11 hits, two homers, eight RBIs and four runs scored.
Compared to his total season slash line of .217/.322/.496, Duda performed well against lefties on the road last season, maintaining a slash line of .271/.357/.625 across 56 such plate appearances.
Kansas City Royals at Toronto Blue Jays MLB Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Blue Jays, ATS Winner – Royals, O/U – OVER
Notes
Betting Trends
The Royals have lost six of their last seven games SU while the Blue Jays have won four of their last five SU.
Kansas City has recorded 18.4 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 18.6 over its last five.
The Royals have hit four home runs in their last 10 games. The Blue Jays have hit 15 over their last 10.
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