The Cleveland Indians will head west to play their AL Central foe Kansas City Royals at Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium. SportsTime Ohio will televise the matchup and the game will get going at 8:15 p.m. ET.
Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals Odds
Oddsmakers have listed Kansas City (+220) as the underdog to Cleveland (-240). Bettors can wager on the games total with odds sitting at -110 for over eight runs and -110 for under eight. Bettors can also wager on the games runline with the most recent odds sitting at -160 for the Indians -1.5 runs and +140 for the Royals +1.5 runs.
The Royals are only 25-58 straight up (SU) and 37-45 against the spread (ATS). The team has lost 21.7 units for moneyline bettors and 16.0 units (ATS). Kansas City has a 3-4 ATS mark over its last seven games and the total has gone under in four of those seven. The Indians are 45-37 SU and have gone 38-43 ATS. In total, the teams lost 9.9 units for moneyline gamblers and 8.8 units ATS. Cleveland is 3-4 ATS over its last seven games and the total has gone under in five of those seven.
Royals games have had an over/under record of 31-47-4 so far in 2018. Indians games have gone over 41 times, gone under 38 times and pushed on two instances.
Corey Kluber will get the start for Cleveland. The right-handed Kluber (11-4, 2.54 ERA) has recorded 115 punchouts in 113.1 innings so far. He’s 1-0 with four strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA against Kansas City this year.
The Royals will put the ball in the right hand of Jakob Junis (5-9, 4.67 ERA), who has 90 punchouts and 27 walks as well as a 1.27 WHIP. Junis is 0-1 with seven strikeouts and a 6.35 ERA in one start against Cleveland this year.
As a unit, Kansas City’s pitchers have yielded 5.4 runs per game overall in 2018. The clubs starting pitching staff has an ERA of 5.08, a WHIP of 1.42 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 7.4. The bullpen has a 5.30 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 7.0 K/9. In 26 games against AL Central opponents, Royals starters have an ERA of 5.08 and the bullpens ERA is 4.97.
The Kansas City hitters have put up 3.5 runs per contest, including 3.9 per game against divisional foes and 2.2 per game over their last five. The team has a slash-line of .178/.232/.268 over its last five contests and is 1-4 SU during that stretch.
Second baseman Whit Merrifield and third baseman Mike Moustakas have led the charge for the Royals hitters this year. Merrifield is hitting .289/.360/.403 with four home runs, 24 RBIs, 32 runs and 16 stolen bases, and the line for Moustakas stands at .258/.313/.471 with 16 homers, 53 RBIs and 37 runs.
In the visiting dugout, Cleveland’s pitching staff allowed 4.2 runs per game and its starters own a 3.39 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 9.17 K/9. The bullpen has logged an ERA of 5.17, along with a WHIP of 1.13 and a K/9 of 8.77.
Indians hitters have slashed .255/.326/.440 on their way to 5.0 runs scored per game this season, including 5.4 runs per game against divisional foes and 5.0 per game over the teams last five contests (2-3 SU).
Cleveland’s hitters have been paced by shortstop Francisco Lindor and third baseman Jose Ramirez, who’ve collectively launched 45 home runs. Lindor is hitting .296/.372/.564 with 21 home runs, 48 RBIs, 70 runs and 10 stolen bases, while Ramirez (.295/.399/.607) has produced 24 homers, 55 RBIs, 58 runs and 14 stolen bases.
The Indians have lost 14.6 units and are 25-33 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this season. The over has cashed in 28 of those games, compared to 28 that’ve hit the under against righty starters. On the other hand, the Royals have lost 26.5 units and are 20-34 ATS when facing a righty starter. The over has cashed in 21 of those games, compared to 29 that went under.
Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals MLB Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Indians, ATS Winner – Indians, O/U – OVER
Betting Notes
- Cleveland has tallied 22 extra-base hits over its last five outings. Kansas City has eight XBH over its last five.
- The Royals have dropped four of their last five games SU.
- Kansas City has recorded 14.8 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 contests and 13.4 over its last five.
- The Indians have hit 16 home runs in their last 10 games. The Royals have hit six over their last 10.
