Tommy Milone (1-0, 0.00 ERA) and Jason Vargas (1-0, 3.00 ERA) start in the last of a three-game series between the Minnesota Twins (2-6) and the Kansas City Royals (7-1) at Target Field. The Twins won the last game 3-1 and the series is currently tied 1-1. Action begins at 1:10 p.m. ET on Thursday, Apr. 16 and can be seen on FSN-KC.
Milone is 3-2 with a 3.75 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 15 strikeouts against the Royals. Joe Mauer (.286 ) went 1 for 4 yesterday. Against the Twins, Vargas is 5-3 with a 3.65 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and 39 strikeouts.
Kansas City is a narrow -113 favorite over Minnesota. The Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at eight runs for this matchup. The Twins have an overall money line of -388 and a record as the underdog of 2-6.
In games where it is the favorite, Kansas City has a 4-1 record and an overall money line of +625. They have been playing solid baseball as favorite with a 4-1 record against AL Central foes, and a 4-1 record SU. Offensively, they average 6.6 runs per game, which is tops in the AL. The Royals capitalize on their at-bats at a high percentage, leading the league with a .322 team batting average. Kansas City is excellent at not striking out with an AL-low 5.4 per game. Kansas City’s pitching staff is one of the top in the AL, with a 2.66 ERA. When it comes to preventing batters from getting on base, the Royals are the best in the league with a WHIP of 0.85 for the season.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Under
Notes
Minnesota is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games.
The total has gone OVER in 16 of Minnesota’s last 21 games at home.
Minnesota is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games when playing Kansas City.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 6 games when playing at home against Kansas City.
Minnesota is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Kansas City.
When leading after 7 innings, Kansas City is 4-0, while Minnesota is 0-3.
Having scored one run in their last game, the Royals are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Twins have a 2-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs or fewer.
Ranking 28th in home runs, Minnesota has hit three this season. Kansas City ranks seventh with 10 home runs.
Ranking first in hits, Kansas City has earned 11.50 per game this season. Minnesota ranks 15th with 6.38 hits.
Ranking first in on-base plus slugging percentage, Kansas City has an OPS of .888 this season. Minnesota ranks 30th with an OPS of .525.
The Royals are 6-1 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Twins are 0-5 when they allow at least one homer.
