Kansas City Royals vs. Chicago White Sox Betting Preview

betdsiArticles, Baseball, MLB

The Kansas City Royals will head north to Guaranteed Rate Field to take on their division rival Chicago White Sox. WGN will be televising the matchup and the game gets going at 8:10 p.m. ET.

Kansas City Royals vs. Chicago White Sox Odds

Oddsmakers have put matching moneyline odds (-105) on both of these teams. The total sits at 9 runs and bettors can wager on the over for even money (+100) or the under for -120. Bettors can also wager on the games spread with the current runline odds standing at +140 for the Royals -1.5 runs and -160 for the White Sox +1.5.

The Royals have gone 32-72 SU this year and are 48-57 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 27.1 units for moneyline bettors and 17.6 units ATS. Kansas City has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the under has hit in three of those seven. The White Sox, on the other hand, are 37-67 SU and 52-53 ATS. The team has lost 18.6 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 8.3 units ATS. Chicago has a 3-4 ATS mark over its last seven outings and the total has gone over in five of those seven.

White Sox games have a 50-50-5 over/under record in 2018. Kansas City has been a good under bet with a total record of 43-56-6.

Danny Duffy will get the start for Kansas City. The southpaw Duffy is 6-9 with a 4.70 ERA and 113 strikeouts. He’s 1-1 with 16 strikeouts and a 4.76 ERA against Chicago this year (three starts).

The White Sox will turn to righty James Shields (4-12, 4.53 ERA) to the mound. Shields has 104 strikeouts and 53 walks to his name, as well as a 1.30 WHIP. Shields is 2-0 with seven strikeouts and a 4.26 ERA across two starts against Kansas City this year.

Kansas City’s pitchers have allowed 5.5 runs per game and its starting pitchers own a 5.27 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 7.28 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 5.39, along with a WHIP of 1.46.

The Royals offense has slashed .241/.305/.373 on its way to 3.7 runs scored per game in 2018, including 4.0 runs per game against divisional foes and 5.0 per game over the teams last five outings (2-3 SU).

Kansas City’s offense has been led by second baseman Whit Merrifield and third baseman Mike Moustakas, who collectively have swatted 25 home runs. The speedy Merrifield is slashing .300/.372/.422 with five home runs, 32 RBIs, 49 runs and 22 steals, while Moustakas (.249/.309/.468) has produced 20 homers, 62 RBIs and 46 runs scored.

In the other dugout, Chicago’s pitchers have yielded 5.4 runs per game overall in 2018. The teams starters have an ERA of 5.31, a WHIP of 1.46 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 6.5. The bullpen has a 4.57 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 9.5 K/9. In 41 divisional games, White Sox starters have an ERA of 4.63 and the bullpens ERA is 3.27.

The Chicago offense has produced 4.1 runs per contest, including 4.1 per game against divisional foes and 5.8 per game over its last five. The team has hit .266/.321/.514 over its last five matchups and is 2-3 SU during that span.

The White Sox batters have been led by first baseman Jose Abreu and third baseman Yolmer Sanchez. Abreu is hitting .260/.322/.460 with 16 home runs, 59 RBIs and 52 runs scored, and Sanchez’s line is .249/.305/.392 with six homers, 43 RBIs, 37 runs and 10 steals.

The Royals have lost 24.7 units and are 28-42 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has hit in 30 of those games, compared to 35 that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the White Sox have lost 8.8 units and are 11-14 ATS when facing a left-handed starting pitcher. The overs hit in 13 of those games, compared to 12 that’ve gone under.

Kansas City Royals at Chicago White Sox MLB Tip

Predictions: SU Winner – White Sox, ATS Winner – White Sox, O/U – OVER

Betting Trends

  • The over has cashed in just two of Kansas City’s last seven contests.
  • Chicago has posted 22.0 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 24.2 over its last five.
  • The Royals have hit 10 home runs in their last 10 games, including six over their last five.