The Detroit Tigers (22-34) are playing the Kansas City Royals (25-33) Saturday in the third of a four-game series. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET at Kauffman Stadium. Below, we analyze the Tigers-Royals MLB betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Season series: Kansas City leads 5-3.
Playoff picture: Both teams are eliminated.
Tigers at Royals: Projected starting pitchers
RHP Matthew Boyd vs. RHP Carlos Hernandez
Boyd: 2-7 with a 6.96 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 9.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 54 1/3 IP over 11 GS.
- Last start: Loss, 7-4, with 5 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 K and 1 BB against the Cleveland Indians on Sept. 20.
- Career vs. Royals: 6-9 with a 6.14 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 85 K and 26 BB in 102 2/3 IP over 21 GS.
- Career in Kauffman Stadium: 3-5 with a 7.10 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 43 K and 13 BB in 52 IP over 10 GS.
Hernandez: 0-0 with a 3.46 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 6.9 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 13 IP over 4 G (2 GS).
- Last start: No-decision with 3 2/3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 K and 3 BB in a 4-1 win versus the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 21.
- This is Hernandez’s rookie season and he’s never faced the Royals.
Place your legal baseball wagers in CO, IN, NJ and WV at BetMGM. Terms and conditions apply. Bet now!
Tigers at Royals: Key injuries
(Get the latest injury news here.)
Tigers
- CF JaCoby Jones (hand) out
- 2B Jonathan Schoop (wrist) out
- 1B C.J. Cron (knee) out
Royals
- OF Jorge Soler (oblique) out
Tigers at Royals: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 9:50 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Royals 5, Tigers 3
Money line (ML)
The Royals (-129) picked up their third consecutive win over the Tigers (+115), Friday, 3-2. There’s nothing at stake in this one aside from good juju to take into the offseason.
Detroit has the worst record in MLB against division opponents (11-27) and is just 8-19 as road underdogs. Kansas City is 5-0 with a +3.4 run margin in the rare occasions they are home favorites. Plus the Tigers are 1-4 in the last five games in Kansas City.
Hernandez is a relatively unknown commodity for the Royals (-129), but Boyd has been bad all season for the Tigers (+115). Boyd has the third-worst ERA of any starter with more than 10 starts this season. He hasn’t been terrible in his two starts this year against Kansas City (1-0 with 10 2/3 IP and four earned runs) but both of those starts were in Detroit.
BET ROYALS (-129) on the money line. New to sports betting? A $129 bet on the Royals (-129) pays a $100 profit if Kansas City beats Detroit.
Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
The Royals (-1.5 +150) lineup’s slash line and stats are exciting if you’re on Kansas City in this game. Royals hitters are slashing .331/.376/.560 with 6 HR and 28 RBI in 175 at-bats against Boyd.
However, I am going to PASS ON THE RUN LINE in Tigers-Royals. Four of the eight Tigers-Royals meetings this season have been decided by one run.
Despite being reliable as a home favorite straight up, the Royals are just 2-3 on the run line as a home favorite. Furthermore, while it hasn’t paid to bet the Tigers +1.5 (-182) on the road, they are 15-12 RL as a road dog.
Over/Under (O/U)
I lean UNDER 9 (-110) for a bunch of trendy reasons. First, the Under is 6-1 in the last seven meetings. Second, the Under is 4-0 in Royals’ last four home games versus a left-handed starter. Third, the Under is 5-0 in Boyd’s last five starts as a road underdog.
Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow @Geoffery_Clark on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1372]