The Cleveland Guardians (70-64) looks to complete a 3-game road sweep of the Kansas City Royals (55-82) Wednesday. First pitch from Kauffman Stadium is at 8:10 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Guardians vs. Royals odds with MLB picks and predictions.
Season series: Cleveland leads 8-4
The Guardians had lost 5 games in a row and 8 of their previous 10 before taking the first 2 games of this series. Cleveland has scored 10 runs in this series; it had scored 4 runs total over its previous 5 games.
The Royals are just 8-16 since Aug. 12. Kansas City pitching has especially had trouble on the mound of late. The Royals own a 5.83 ERA over their last 11 games.
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Guardians at Royals projected starters
RHP Cody Morris vs. RHP Zack Greinke
Morris (0-1, 9.00 ERA) is penciled in for his 2nd start since making his MLB debut Friday at home vs. the Seattle Mariners. The rookie is expected to serve as an opener Wednesday.
- Friday vs. Seattle: Loss, 2 IP in opener role, 3 R (2 ER), 4 H, 1 HR, 2 BB, 3 K in 6-1 defeat
- Rookie LHP Kirk McCarty, (5.55 ERA, 24 1/3 IP, 15 ER, 1.48 WHIP, 10 BB, 17 K, 7 games, 2 starts) is expected to get bulk innings behind Morris
Greinke (4-8, 4.14 ERA) makes his 22nd start of the season. He has a 1.35 WHIP, 1.7 BB/9 and 5.3 K/9 through 108 2/3 IP. The veteran is coming off a short IL stint to start this one.
- Hasn’t pitched since Aug. 21 due to a forearm injury
- Owns 3.34 ERA (35 IP, 13 IP) over last 7 starts
- Held current Cleveland batters to aggregate .548 OPS
- Owns a 1.98 ERA (54 2/3 IP, 12 ER), 1.12 WHIP at home in 10 starts
Guardians at Royals odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 3:14 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Guardians -145 (bet $145 to win $100) | Royals +120 (bet $100 to win $120)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Guardians -1.5 (+120) | Royals +1.5 (-145)
- Over/Under (O/U): 0.5 (O: +100 | U: -125)
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Guardians at Royals picks and predictions
Prediction
Royals 5, Guardians 4
Money line
There are some club analytics leaning slightly toward Kansas City and slightly fading Cleveland. That will have to do here, where one pitcher is coming off an injury and the other is making his 2nd big-league appearance. There just isn’t much input from that (important) part of the betting equation.
Peg the ROYALS (+120) as being worth a partial-unit play.
Run line/Against the spread
KANSAS CITY +1.5 (-145) makes for a small-to-moderate lean. Consider splitting a play half and half (and maybe a quarter unit each) on the Royals ML and Royals RL.
Over/Under
Signals line up shading this number higher and lower. With the recent injury stuff for Greinke, just STEER CLEAR and fight the totals elsewhere.
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