Mike Montgomery (1-2, 2.73 ERA) takes the mound for the Seattle Mariners (32-39) as they meet Jeremy Guthrie (5-4, 5.55 ERA) and the Kansas City Royals (40-27) in the second of a three-game series at Safeco Field. The Royals won the last game 4-1 and Kansas City leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 10:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Jun. 23 and will air on FSN-KC, ROOT-NW and MLB Net.
In his last start, Montgomery pitched 7.1 innings, giving up four runs, striking out one and walking two in a 7-0 loss to the Giants. In his career against the Mariners, Guthrie is 2-7 with a 5.40 ERA. He meets a less-than-stellar Seattle offense that’s batting just .230. Lorenzo Cain (.294, 41 Rs, 6 HRs, 32 RBIs, 14 SBs) has been doing well offensively for the Royals, going 2 for 4 yesterday with two RBIs.
Seattle is favored by a slight -110 margin in its matchup against Kansas City. The teams combine to set the Over/Under (O/U) at seven runs. When playing as the favorite, the Mariners have a 19-24 record and overall money line at -1,067. Over the last 10 games, they have performed poorly when playing as the favorite (1-4).
On the other side, the Royals have a record of 15-12 when they are the underdog and are +1,002 overall with the money line. Opposing pitchers have routinely struggled to strike out the Kansas City batters, who average an AL-low 5.7 strikeouts per game. The Royals are a problem for opposing batters, sporting a 3.55 ERA this season. They also average just 8.0 hits allowed per game, fourth-best in the AL.
The only other game between the two teams went Kansas City’s way. This game will feature Guthrie (RHP) on the mound against the Mariners, who have a 25-31 record when they take on a right-handed starter. The left-handed Montgomery will take the mound against the Royals, who have a 10-11 record against lefty starters this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Under
Notes
The Royals are 3-1 in games that go into extra innings. Meanwhile, the Mariners are 4-5 in such matchups.
The Royals are coming into this game after allowing one walk during their last outing. The Mariners have an 8-9 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Mariners are 17-12. The Royals have a 35-4 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 28th in runs, Seattle has earned 239 this season. Kansas City ranks 13th with 295 runs.
Ranking 30th, Kansas City is at the bottom of the league in walks, notching 143 this season. Seattle ranks in the bottom half at 17th with 202.
The Mariners are 26-17 when they hit at least one home run. The Royals perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 26-12 record.
