In this article, we will formulate a Pittsburgh Pirates vs Kansas City Royals prediction for this MLB game on Friday, September 13th at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game one in the series.
Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Preview
The Pittsburgh Pirates are 70-76 this year and they have won four games in a row. Pittsburgh is coming off of a series win against Miami, where they won all three games. Prior to that series, the Pirates split four games with the Nationals, won two out of three against the Cubs, and lost two out of three against the Guardians. Pittsburgh is 7-3 in their last 10 games and they are tied for last in the NL Central.
The Pittsburgh pitching staff has a 4.12 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and a .252 opponent batting average. The Pirates’ offense has scored 619 runs with a .235 batting average and a .302 on-base percentage. Bryan Reynolds is batting .279 with 22 home runs and 83 RBI’s for the Pirates this season.
Kansas City Royals Betting Preview
The Kansas City Royals are 80-67 this season and they have won five of their last seven games. Kansas City is coming off of a series loss against the Yankees, where they lost two out of three games. Prior to that series, the Royals swept the Twins, lost two out of three against the Guardians, and lost all four against the Astros. Kansas City is 5-9 in their last 14 games and they are second in the AL Central.
The Kansas City pitching staff has a 3.87 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, and a .244 opponent batting average. The Royals offense has scored 693 runs with a .253 batting average and a .310 on-base percentage. Bobby Witt is batting .333 with 30 home runs and 99 RBI’s for the Royals this season.
Starting Pitchers
The projected starting pitcher for Kansas City is Alec Marsh, who is 7-8 with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP over 116.0 innings pitched this season. Marsh has allowed two earned runs in three of his last four starts but hasn’t gone past five innings in any of those outings. The projected starting pitcher for Pittsburgh is Luis Ortiz, who is 6-5 with a 3.26 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP over 118.2 innings pitched this year. Ortiz has allowed a total of three earned runs in his last three starts (17.2 IP).
Why the Pirates will beat the Royals
- The Pirates have won eight of their last nine night games against AL Central opponents.
- The Royals have lost seven of their last eight road games.
- The Pirates have covered the run line in eight of their last nine night games against AL Central opponents.
- The Royals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last four games after going to extra innings.
- The Pirates have led after 5 innings in each of their last five games.
- The Pirates have won the first inning in each of their last five games against opponents that held a winning record at PNC Park.
- The Pirates have led after 3 innings in each of their last five games.
Total Runs Facts
- Each of the Royals’ last four games after going to extra innings have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- Five of the Pirates’ last six games against American League opponents have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Pirates’ last five games.
Pittsburgh Pirates Player Prop Facts
- Andrew McCutchen has recorded at least one RBI in eight of his last nine appearances against opponents that held a winning record.
- Yasmani Grandal has scored a run in seven of his last eight home appearances.
- Andrew McCutchen has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 13 home appearances against AL Central opponents.
- Rowdy Tellez has recorded a Single in each of his last seven home appearances against AL Central opponents.
- Bryan Reynolds has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Pirates’ last 10 home games against AL Central opponents that held a winning record.
- Andrew McCutchen has hit at least one home run in three of his last five appearances after not playing the previous day.
- Andrew McCutchen has recorded a Double in four of his last five appearances against AL Central opponents.
Kansas City Royals Player Prop Facts
- Vinnie Pasquantino has recorded at least one RBI in eight of the Royals’ last nine road games against opponents that held a losing record.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has scored at least one run in each of the Royals’ last eight road games against NL Central opponents.
- Hunter Renfroe has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 16 appearances against opponents that held a losing record.
- Hunter Renfroe has recorded at least one Single in each of his last nine appearances against opponents that held a losing record.
- Hunter Renfroe has recorded at least one total base in each of his last 16 appearances against opponents that held a losing record.
- Salvador Perez has hit at least one home run in four of his last five Friday appearances against NL Central teams that held a losing record.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has recorded a Double in four of the Royals’ last five night games against opponents that held a losing record.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs Kansas City Royals Prediction
Kansas City comes into this series playing pretty well over the last week, but they did just lose a series to the Yankees. KC is 35-37 on the road this season, while the Pirates are 37-38 at home. Pittsburgh is looking for their fifth straight win and they will turn to Luis Ortiz, who has been great just about all season. Kansas City is going with Marsh, who has been better recently but hasn’t pitched very deep into games. I like what the Pirates have going right now and Ortiz has been solid, so give me Pittsburgh here.