The Cleveland Indians will be taking on their divisional rival Kansas City Royals in a Sunday showdown. Fox Sports Kansas City will be airing the matchup and the game will get underway at 2:15 p.m. ET.
Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals Odds
Cleveland (-145) is coming into this one as the favorite over Kansas City (+135) and Vegas has put the Over/Under for this game at 8 runs. The odds for betting on the game’s total now stand at -115 for the under and -105 for the over. You can also wager on the game’s runline with the odds standing at +100 for the Indians -1.5 runs and -120 for the Royals +1.5 runs.
The Indians have gone 8-6 SU this year and are 6-7 against the spread (ATS). They’ve gained 1.1 units for gamblers taking the moneyline in this young season, despite having lost 1.4 units ATS. Cleveland’s covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the under has hit in four of those seven. The Royals, on the other hand, are 4-10 SU and 7-6 ATS. The team’s lost 7.1 units for moneyline bettors while gaining 0.8 units ATS. Kansas City has a 3-4 ATS mark over its last seven outings and the total has gone over in five of those seven.
Royals games have an over/under record of 10-2-1 so far in 2019. The Indians have an over/under record of 6-7.
Corey Kluber (1-2, 3.86 ERA) is projected to get the start for the visiting Indians. The right-handed Kluber struck out 222 hitters across 214 innings last year (33 starts) while finishing the season 20-7 overall with a 2.89 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. He made five starts against Kansas City in 2018 and compiled a 3-1 record against the Royals with a 3.60 ERA and 31 strikeouts.
The Royals are going with righty Jakob Junis (1-1, 5.74 ERA) as their starter. Junis struck out 164 hitters in 176 innings last year (30 starts), while finishing the season 9-12 overall with a 4.37 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He made four starts against Cleveland a year ago and registered a 2-2 record with a 5.63 ERA and 21 strikeouts.
Kansas City’s pitching staff has allowed 5.4 runs per game overall this season as a unit. The team’s starters have a 4.48 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 6.75 ERA, 1.78 WHIP and 7.9 K/9. In 10 divisional games, Royals starters have an ERA of 3.13 and the bullpen’s ERA is 6.83.
Kansas City’s offense has put up 4.6 runs per contest, including 4.6 per game against divisional foes and 5.0 per game over its last five. The team has a slash-line of .267/.344/.506 over its last five contests and is 2-3 SU during that stretch.
Second baseman Whit Merrifield and shortstop Adalberto Mondesi have led the Royals’ offense so far. Merrifield is hitting .339/.369/.500 with 21 hits, six RBIs, 13 runs and five steals, while Mondesi’s line is .293/.323/.603 with 17 hits, 11 RBIs and nine runs scored.
In the other dugout, Cleveland’s pitchers have allowed 3.3 runs per game and its starting pitchers own a 3.52 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 11.50 K/9. The bullpen has logged an excellent ERA of just 2.03, along with a WHIP of 1.13 and a K/9 of 9.74.
Indians hitters have slashed .185/.279/.306 on their way to 3.1 runs scored per game in 2019, including 2.7 runs per game against divisional foes and 2.8 per game over the team’s last five outings (2-3 SU).
Cleveland’s hitters have been led by first baseman Carlos Santana and outfielder Leonys Martin. Santana is hitting .386/.509/.523 with 17 hits, 10 RBIs and seven runs scored, while Martin (.233/.389/.442) has produced 10 hits, two homers, three RBIs and five runs scored.
The Indians have gained 3.4 units and are 5-5 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this year. The over has hit in four of those games, as opposed to six that’ve gone under against righties. On the other hand, the Royals have lost 5.0 units and are 5-4 ATS when facing a righty starter. The over has hit in eight of those games, compared to one that went under.
Indians at Royals MLB Tip
Predictions: SU Winner – Indians, ATS Winner – Indians, O/U – OVER
Betting Notes
- The over has hit in five of Kansas City’s last seven games.
- The Indians have an OPS of .584 this season and an OPS of .589 when facing right-handed pitchers. The Royals’ OPS stands at .735 overall and .756 versus righties.
- The Indians have lost three of their last four games SU.
- Kansas City has recorded 21.7 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 23.4 over its last five.
- The Indians have hit nine home runs in their last 10 games, including six over their last five.
