Hector Santiago (6-9, 3.75 ERA) and Jason Vargas (11-10, 3.71 ERA) are on the hill in the first of a three-game series between the Los Angeles Angels (2-1) and the Kansas City Royals (3-0) at Angel Stadium. Action begins at 10:05 p.m. ET on Friday, Apr. 10 and can be seen on FSN-KC and FSN-W.
Santiago is 1-0 with a 0.90 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and 29 strikeouts against the Royals. Johnny Giavotella (.444 ) kept up his hot start Wednesday, going 3 for 4. When pitching against the Angels, Vargas is 5-4 with a 3.02 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 73 strikeouts. Lorenzo Cain (.417 ) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run and one RBI.
Los Angeles is a -145 favorite against Kansas City and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at eight runs.
Offensively, they average 8.5 runs per game, which is tops in the AL. The Royals are tough outs for opponents, leading the AL with 13.5 hits per game. The Royals are an excellent base stealing team with six stolen bases, ranking second in the MLB. Kansas City’s pitching staff has set the standard for its league, with an AL-low 0.00 ERA on the road. When it comes to preventing batters from getting hits, the Royals are the best in the AL on the road with an average of 0.0 hits allowed per away game.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Over
Notes
Neither the Angels (2-0) nor the Royals (3-0) have lost a game when they outhit opponents.
Kansas City tops the league in runs with 21 this season. Los Angeles ranks in the bottom half at 16th with eight.
Ranking 22nd, Los Angeles is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching five this season. Kansas City ranks in the top 10 at ninth with nine.
The Angels are 2-1 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Royals are 3-0 when they hit at least one homer.
