The Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals meet Monday in MLB action from Kauffman Stadium. This will be the first installment in a four-game series this week. Here’s a Royals vs Twins prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Royals vs Twins pick.
Minnesota Twins Betting Preview
Minnesota opened their season with a series versus the St. Louis Cardinals. The Twins came up empty in that one, losing all three games 5-3, 5-1 and 9-2. Minnesota would lose their first matchup with the Chicago White Sox 9-0 as well, but came back with victories 8-3 and 6-1 in the next two games to take the set. The Twins fell back into the loss column in their Thursday game versus the Houston Astros, then on Saturday Minnesota posted all of their runs in the fourth inning during a 6-1 victory. Jose Miranda had a three-run homer and Matt Wallner had an RBI with a run. Starter Bailey Ober left after 4.0 innings, one earned, three hits and two walks alongside five strikeouts.
In the Sunday finale versus Houston, the Twins posted a tough loss 9-7 in 10 innings. Chris Paddack lasted 4.0 frames in the start with three earned on seven hits and two walks.
As starting pitcher for Monday’s opener, the Twins are going with Simeon Woods Richardson. In his first start of the season Richardson registered a no-decision with 4.0 innings and two earned runs. Over 31 games (30 starts) in his MLB career, Richardson is 5-6 with a 4.34 ERA and 130 Ks over 147.1 innings of work.
Kansas City Royals Betting Preview
Over on the Royals’ side, they kicked things off with a series versus the Cleveland Guardians. Kansas City won 4-3 in game two but dropped the other pair 7-4 and 6-2. The second series versus the Milwaukee Brewers was a similar outcome: the Royals won 11-1 in the first meeting then fell 5-0 and 3-2 to drop the set. KC did come back with an 8-2 win over Baltimore in their weekend series. In game two the Royals were out-hit 12-5 in an 8-1 defeat. Bobby Witt had the team’s only RBI on a solo home run. Michael Wacha went 5.2 innings in the start, giving up four earned on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts during the loss.
On Sunday Kansas City had a great offensive day, logging 13 team hits on the way to a 4-1 victory. Bobby Witt (run) went 3-for-4, and Michael Massey had two of the RBI. Starting pitcher Kris Bubic came away with 6.2 frames, one earned, five hits, one walk and eight strikeouts.
It’ll be Michael Lorenzen in the starting pitcher role for the Royals on Monday. In his first start of the year, Lorenzen put up 5.1 innings with three earned runs in a loss. Over his career Lorenzen is 47-45 with a 4.00 ERA in 369 games (94 starts).
Why the Kansas City Royals will win
- The Royals have won each of their last 12 home games against AL Central opponents that held a losing record.
- The Twins have lost seven of their last eight games after going to extra innings.
- The Royals have covered the run line each of their last seven home games against AL Central opponents that held a losing record.
- The Twins have failed to cover the run line in seven of their last eight games after going to extra innings.
- The Twins have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last six night games.
- The Twins have trailed after 5 innings in seven of their last eight night games.
Why the Minnesota Twins will win
- The Royals have lost six of their last seven games as home favorites after playing the previous day.
- The Twins have won each of their last eight Monday games against the Royals.
- The Royals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six games against AL Central opponents.
- The Twins have covered the run line in each of their last four night games against AL Central opponents following a home loss.
- The Twins have led after 5 innings in seven of their last eight games against AL Central opponents that held a losing record.
- The Twins have won the first inning in four of their last five night games against AL Central opponents that held a losing record.
- The Twins have led after 3 innings in seven of their last eight games against AL Central opponents that held a losing record.
Total Runs Facts
- Each of the Royals’ last seven night games after playing the previous day have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- Each of the Twins’ last five 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 12 of the Royals’ last 13 games as favorites against AL Central opponents.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in eight of the Twins’ last nine games.
Royals vs Twins Prediction
I may lean toward the Royals here, but Lorenzen has to get it going a little better. In his first start of the season (a loss), Lorenzen put up 5.1 innings with three earned on five hits and two walks with seven Ks on April Fool’s Day versus the Brewers. Provided he can get through the Twins order a couple of times without too much damage though, Kansas City should be in pretty good position for a potential W if the bats and bullpen cooperate. As for Richardson, he’s coming off two earned on five hits and a walk in 4.0 innings versus the White Sox in his most recent outing. Minnesota will be hoping to get a little bit longer of an outing this time.
The Royals played a pretty solid game on both sides Sunday, even though they didn’t score after the second inning. I like KC to stay hot in this opener, especially if the pitching comes through again.