The Kansas City Royals are gunning for their fourth win in a row as they play host to the Cleveland Indians at Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium. The action will get going at 8:15 p.m. ET and fans looking to watch it can tune in to SportsTime Ohio.
Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals Odds
Kansas City (+135) is coming into this one as the underdog against Cleveland (-145) and oddsmakers have the Over/Under for this one at 9.5 runs. The odds for wagering on the game’s total sit at -110 for both the over and the under. Runline odds stand at +100 for picking the Indians -1.5 runs and -120 for the Royals +1.5.
The Indians have gone 89-69 SU this year and are 74-83 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 23.7 units for moneyline gamblers and 20.1 units ATS. The Royals, on the other hand, are 56-102 SU and 80-77 ATS. The team’s lost 26.3 units for moneyline bettors and 6.6 units ATS.
Kansas City games have had an over/under record of 68-78-11 in 2018. Cleveland has an over/under record of 74-73-10.
Right-hander Josh Tomlin will get the nod for the visiting Indians. Tomlin is 2-5 with a 6.44 ERA and 41 strikeouts. He’s 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA against Kansas City this year.
The Royals are handing the ball to righty Glenn Sparkman (0-3, 4.86 ERA), who has 25 punchouts and 15 walks to his credit, as well as a WHIP of 1.71. Sparkman has yet to face the Indians this year and did not record a start against them in 2017.
Kansas City’s pitchers have yielded 5.1 runs per game overall this year as a unit. The team’s starting pitching staff has an ERA of 4.93, a WHIP of 1.41 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 7.3. The bullpen has a 5.01 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 7.3 K/9. In 72 divisional games, Royals starters have an ERA of 4.88 and the bullpen’s ERA is 4.94.
The Kansas City offense is putting up 3.9 runs per contest, including 4.4 per game against divisional foes and 4.2 per game over its last five. The team has hit .240/.278/.433 over its last five contests and is 4-1 SU during that stretch.
The Royals’ offense has been led by Whit Merrifield, who is hitting .303/.367/.440 with 12 home runs, 58 RBIs, 87 runs and 41 stolen bases.
In the other dugout, Cleveland’s pitching staff allowed 4.0 runs per game and its starters own a 3.41 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 9.66 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 4.51, along with a WHIP of 1.15.
Indians hitters have slashed .258/.334/.435 on their way to 5.0 runs scored per game in 2018, including 5.4 runs per game against divisional foes and 5.4 per game over the team’s last five outings (4-1 SU).
Francisco Lindor has led Cleveland’s hitters and is slashing .280/.353/.523 with 37 home runs, 90 RBIs, 125 runs and 23 steals.
The Indians just got a 10-2 victory over the White Sox, while the Royals are coming off of a 6-1 win against the Reds.
Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Indians, ATS Winner – Indians, O/U – OVER
Betting Trends
- The under has hit in five of Kansas City’s last seven games.
- The Indians have hit 11 home runs in their last 10 games. The Royals have hit 13 over their last 10.
- Cleveland has posted 24.3 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 games and 28.6 over its last five.
- The Indians have won four of their last five games SU.
