In this article we will formulate a Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Guardians prediction for this MLB game on Thursday, June 27th at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game one in this series.
Royals Looking for Back to Back Wins
The Kansas City Royals are 44-38 this year and they have lost four of their last six games. Kansas City is coming off of a series win against Miami, where they won two out of three games. Prior to that series, the Royals lost all three against the Rangers, lost two out of three against the Athletics, and lost two out of three against the Dodgers. Kansas City is just 5-12 in their last 17 games and they are now third in the AL Central.
The Kansas City pitching staff has a 3.80 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and a .241 opponent batting average. The Royals offense has scored 372 runs with a .243 batting average and a .305 on base percentage. Bobby Witt is batting .311 with 12 home runs and 53 RBI’s for the Royals this season. Kansas City has scored two runs or fewer in six of their last ten games.
Guardians are Pulling Away in the AL Central
The Cleveland Guardians are 51-27 this season and they have won seven of their last eight games. Cleveland is coming off of a series win against Baltimore, where they won two out of three games. Prior to that series, the Guardians swept the Blue Jays, won two out of three against the Mariners, and lost two out of three against the Blue Jays. Cleveland is currently leading the AL Central by eight games over the Minnesota Twins.
The Cleveland pitching staff has a 3.51 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and a .229 opponent batting average. The Guardians offense has scored 394 runs with a .245 batting average and a .319 on base percentage. Jose Ramirez is batting .275 with 21 home runs and 72 RBI’s for the Guardians this season. Cleveland has scored at least six runs in six of their last eight games.
Starting Pitchers
The projected starting pitcher for Kansas City is Michael Wacha, who is 4-6 with a 4.07 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP over 73.0 innings pitched this year. Wacha has allowed two earned runs or fewer in five consecutive starts. The projected starting pitcher for Cleveland is Ben Lively, who is 7-3 with a 3.03 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP over 65.1 innings pitched this season. Lively has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his last five outings.
Why the Royals will beat the Guardians
- The Royals have won each of their last eight home games against AL Central opponents.
- The Guardians have lost six of their last eight games as road favorites against AL Central opponents.
- The Royals have covered the run line in seven of their last eight home games against AL Central opponents.
- The Guardians have failed to cover the run line in seven of their last eight night games against AL Central opponents following a loss.
- The Royals have led after 3 innings in three of their last four games as underdogs against AL Central opponents.
- The Royals have led after 5 innings in three of their last four games as underdogs against AL Central opponents.
Why the Guardians will beat the Royals
- The Royals have lost each of their last six night games against American League opponents.
- The Guardians have won 13 of their last 14 games at Kauffman Stadium against AL Central opponents that held a winning record.
- The Guardians have covered the run line in 15 of their last 16 road games against AL Central opponents that held a winning record.
- The Royals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six games against American League opponents.
- The Royals have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last four night games against American League opponents that held a winning record.
- The Guardians have led after 5 innings in each of their last seven Thursday games against American League opponents that held a winning record.
- The Royals have lost the first inning in each of their last four night games against American League opponents that held a winning record.
Total Runs Facts
- Eight of the Royals’ last nine games after playing the previous day have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- Six of the Guardians’ last seven road games against AL Central opponents have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Royals’ last seven games as underdogs.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Guardians’ last three road games against AL Central opponents.
Kansas City Royals Player Prop Facts
- Austin Nola has recorded at least one RBI in each of his last five appearances with his team as a home underdog against AL opponents.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has recorded at least one hit in each of the Royals’ last 21 home games.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has scored at least one run in six of the Royals’ last seven games as home underdogs against AL Central opponents.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has recorded at least one Single in each of the Royals’ last eight games as underdogs against AL Central opponents.
- Michael Wacha has recorded four or more strikeouts in nine of his last 10 home appearances against AL Central opponents.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has hit a home run in three of the Royals’ last five home games against AL Central opponents that held a winning record.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has recorded at least one total base in each of the Royals’ last 21 home games.
- Michael Wacha has recorded a win in each of his last four home appearances against AL Central opponents.
- Salvador Perez has recorded a Double in each of the Royals’ last four night games against AL Central opponents that held a winning record.
Cleveland Guardians Player Prop Facts
- Josh Naylor has recorded a Double in three of the Guardians’ last four games as favorites against AL opponents.
- Jose Ramirez has recorded at least one hit in each of the Guardians’ last eight night games against AL Central opponents that held a winning record.
- Jose Ramirez has scored at least one run in each of the Guardians’ last 11 games as favorites against AL opponents.
- Jose Ramirez has recorded at least one RBI in seven of the Guardians’ last eight night games against opponents that held a winning record.
- Jose Ramirez has recorded at least one Single in each of the Guardians’ last eight Thursday games against AL Central opponents that held a winning record.
- Jose Ramirez has recorded at least one total base in each of the Guardians’ last eight night games against AL Central opponents that held a winning record.
- Steven Kwan has hit a home run in each of the Guardians’ last two games as favorites.
Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Guardians Prediction
Cleveland rolls into this series with a very comfortable lead in the AL Central and they have been one of the best teams in baseball so far this season. The Guardians are coming off of a very impressive series win against the Orioles on the road, and they are 25-18 away from home. Kansas City started the season playing very well, but they have struggled over the last few weeks. The Royals are 27-15 at home and will have Wacha on the mound, who has been great when healthy. The Guardians are going with Ben Lively, who has been one of the biggest surprises for Cleveland this year. This should be a great pitching matchup and I think we are going to see a lower scoring game. My Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Guardians prediction is for this game to go under the total.