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Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals Free Preview 07/04/18

Mariners vs Royals
Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

The struggling Kansas City Royals will look to avoid losing their sixth in a row when they play host to the Cleveland Indians at Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium. SportsTime Ohio will be showing the matchup and the first pitch is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET.

Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals Odds

Cleveland (-230) is favored over Kansas City (+210) and Vegas has the Over/Under for this night game at 9 runs. Odds for wagering on the game’s total sit at -110 for both the over and the under. The game’s current runline odds stand at -155 for picking the Indians -1.5 runs and +135 for the Royals +1.5 runs.

The Royals are 25-60 straight up (SU) and 38-46 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 23.7 units for moneyline bettors and 15.8 units (ATS). The Indians, on the other hand, have gone 47-37 SU this year and are 40-43 ATS. In total, the team’s lost 7.9 units for moneyline gamblers and 6.8 units ATS.

Royals games have a 32-48-4 over/under record so far in 2018. Cleveland has an over/under record of 43-38-2.

The right-handed Trevor Bauer is getting the nod for the visiting Indians. Bauer (7-6, 2.45 ERA) has recorded 148 punchouts in 113.2 innings so far. He’s 0-1 with 10 strikeouts and a 3.55 ERA against Kansas City this year (two starts).

The Royals are putting the ball in the hands of Trevor Oaks (0-1, 7.45 ERA), who’s got eight strikeouts and two walks as well as a 2.17 WHIP. Oaks has yet to face the Indians this year and did not record any MLB pitching stats last season.

As a unit, Kansas City’s pitchers have given up 5.4 runs per game overall in 2018. The club’s starters have an ERA of 5.22, a WHIP of 1.43 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 7.3. The bullpen has a 5.17 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 6.8 K/9. In 28 divisional games, Royals starters have an ERA of 5.51 and the bullpen’s ERA is 4.63.

The Kansas City hitters have put up 3.5 runs per outing, including 3.9 per game against divisional foes and 2.4 per game over their last five. The team has a slash-line of .226/.262/.323 over its last five matchups and is 0-5 SU during that stretch.

Whit Merrifield has helped lead the Royals’ offense this season with five home runs, 26 RBIs, 34 runs and 16 stolen bases.

For the visitors, Cleveland’s pitchers have allowed 4.2 runs per game and its starters own a 3.43 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 9.08 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 5.04, along with a WHIP of 1.13 and a K/9 of 8.66.

The Indians offense has slashed .256/.328/.441 on its way to 5.0 runs scored per game in 2018, including 5.5 runs per game against divisional foes and 6.6 per game over the team’s last five contests (3-2 SU).

Francisco Lindor has led Cleveland’s offense and is slashing .300/.376/.580 with 23 home runs, 55 RBIs, 74 runs and 10 steals.

The Indians are coming off a 6-4 win in the prior game of this series.

Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals MLB Prediction

Predictions: SU Winner – Indians, ATS Winner – Indians, O/U – OVER

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Notes

Betting Notes

The over has cashed in three of Kansas City’s last seven games.

The Indians have hit 14 home runs in their last 10 games. The Royals have hit seven over their last 10.

Kansas City has recorded 16.0 runs + hits + errors per game over its last 10 outings and 17.2 over its last five.

The Royals have lost six of their last seven games SU.

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Written by GMS Previews

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