Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Kansas City Royals MLB Picks, Odds, Predictions 5/31/2021
Pittsburgh Pirates (20-32) vs. Kansas City Royals (25-26)
May 31, 2021 8:10 pm EDT
The Line: Kansas City Royals -155 / Pittsburgh Pirates +143; Over/Under: -8.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals meet Monday in MLB action at Kauffman Stadium.
The Pittsburgh Pirates need a win after losing seven of their last nine games. The Pirates have scored 14 runs in their last three games and three or less runs in six of their last eight games. The Pirates have lost nine straight games when scoring three or less runs. Adam Frazier leads the Pirates with 68 hits and 18 RBI while Bryan Reynolds and Kevin Newman have combined for 88 hits and 30 RBI. Chad Kuhl gets the ball, and he is 0-1 with a 6.32 ERA and 14 strikeouts this season. This will be Kuhl’s second career game against the Royals.
The Kansas City Royals look for a win after winning five of their last eight games. The Royals have scored 19 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in six of their last 10 games. The Royals have won six of their last eight games when scoring four or more runs. Salvador Perez leads the Royals with 55 hits and 32 RBI while Whit Merrifield and Andrew Benintendi have combined for 98 hits and 46 RBI. Mike Minor gets the ball, and he is 3-2 with a 4.83 ERA and 61 strikeouts this season. Minor is 0-1 with a 5.64 ERA and 26 strikeouts in his career against the Pirates.
The Pirates are 21-45 in their last 66 games as an underdog and 8-21 in their last 29 overall. The Royals are 4-1 in their last 5 home games and 8-17 in their last 25 overall. The under is 6-1-1 in Pirates last 8 overall. The over is 3-0-1 in Royals last 4 overall. The Pirates are 0-5 in the last 5 meetings in Kansas City and 1-4 in the last 5 meetings.
The Pittsburgh Pirates simply are not playing good baseball right now and are becoming harder and harder to back with confidence. Chad Kuhl hasn’t looked good this season either in limited innings. Mike Minor has his issues as well, but he has a hot Royals lineup behind him and they’re coming off a strong week overall. At home, this is a game the Royals should win. I’ll lay the juice.
