LA Angels vs Kansas City Royals Prediction 5-9-24 Picks

In this article we will formulate a LA Angels vs Kansas City Royals prediction for this MLB game on Thursday, May 9th at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game one in the series. 

LA with a Big Series Win 

The LA Angels are 14-23 this season and they have lost three of their last five games. LA is coming off of a series win against the Pirates, where they won two out of three games and scored 14 runs in the last two games. Prior to that series, the Angels lost two out of three against Cleveland, lost two out of three against Philadelphia, and were swept by the Twins in three games. Los Angeles has lost nine of their last 13 games and they are fourth in the AL West behind the Rangers, Mariners, and Athletics. 

The Los Angeles pitching staff has a 4.73 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and a .237 opponent batting average. The Angels offense has scored 154 runs with a .244 batting average and a .306 on base percentage. Taylor Ward is batting .273 with seven home runs and 24 RBI’s for the Angels this season. LA has scored one run or fewer in four of their last seven games, but they are still 18th in runs scored so far this season. 

Kansas City Under .500 on the Road

The Kansas City Royals are 22-16 this year and they have lost three of their last five games. Kansas City is coming off of a series win against Milwaukee, where they won two out of three games. KC should have swept the series, but they blew a late lead in game two. Prior to that series, the Royals lost two out of three against the Rangers, won two out of three against Toronto, and lost two out of three against the Tigers. Kansas City is just 7-8 on the road this season, but they are tied for second with the Twins, just 2.5 games behind Cleveland. 

The Kansas City pitching staff has a 3.41 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and a .240 opponent batting average. The Royals offense has scored 175 runs with a .241 batting average and a .307 on base percentage. Bobby Witt is batting .327 with five home runs and 20 RBI’s for the Royals this season. Kansas City has scored at least four runs in seven of their last nine games and they are 10th in runs scored this year. 

Starting Pitchers

The projected starting pitcher for LA is Reid Detmers, who is 3-3 with a 4.24 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP over 40.1 innings pitched this year. Detmers has allowed 16 earned runs and 20 hits over his last three starts (17.2 IP). The projected starting pitcher for Kansas City is Michael Wacha, who is 1-4 with a 5.50 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP over 37.2 innings pitched this season. Wacha has allowed 11 earned runs and 18 hits over his last two starts (9.1 IP). 

Why the Los Angeles Angels will win

• Probable Starting Pitcher: Reid Detmers Record this season: 3-3 ERA: 4.24
• The Royals have lost six of their last eight games as road favorites against AL West opponents following a win.
• The Angels have won each of their last seven Thursday night games against AL Central opponents.
• The Royals have failed to cover the run line in four of their last five games as road favorites following a win.
• The Angels have covered the run line in four of their last five home games against teams that held a winning record.
• The Royals have trailed after 3 innings in five of their last six games as favorites against AL West opponents.
• The Royals have trailed after 5 innings in three of their last four games as favorites against American League opponents.

Why the Kansas City Royals will win

• Probable Starting Pitcher: Michael Wacha Record this season: 1-4 ERA: 5.50
• The Angels have lost each of their last 14 games against American League opponents following a win.
• The Royals have won seven of their last eight night games against AL West opponents.
• The Angels have failed to cover the run line in each of their last eight night games at Angel Stadium of Anaheim following a win.
• The Royals have covered the run line in nine of their last 10 games against American League opponents that held a losing record.
• The Angels have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last four home night games.
• The Angels have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last seven home games.

Total Runs Facts

• Each of the Royals’ last eight games as favorites against American League opponents have gone UNDER the total runs line.
• Six of the Angels’ last seven night games after playing the previous day have gone OVER the total runs line.
• The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Angels’ last nine games as underdogs against AL Central opponents.
• The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Royals’ last seven games as favorites against American League opponents.

LA Angels vs Kansas City Royals Prediction 

Los Angeles comes into this game with a 14-23 record and they are only 4-11 at home, but they are coming off of a series win and their offense has a little momentum. Kansas City is just 7-8 on the road, but they have a much better offensive attack than LA. Both of these starting pitchers have been roughed up recently and I think we are going to see a high scoring game here. My LA Angels vs Kansas City Royals prediction is for this game to go over the total.