Will The Guardians Stay Red Hot Against Kansas City?

Nobody circled this week’s three-game series between the Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals. However, it’ll undoubtedly be one of the week’s most-watched matchups. The Guardians are currently 39-20 on the season. They lost Shane Bieber at the start of the year due to injury but haven’t missed a beat. As such, the Royals vs Guardians runline has them at -198 when taking 1.5 runs for Game 1 of the series.

Meanwhile, the Royals are 36-25 and have probably been the most improved MLB team this season. Both outstanding teams will duel it out in a three-game series in Cleveland throughout the week.

The Guardians are slight favorites on the road, with Triston McKenzie on the hill. They’re sitting at -115 with the total at 8.

Let’s review the Royals vs Guardians Runline and other odds for this highly anticipated three-game series.

Cole Ragans Is Legit

The Cleveland Guardians in this series won’t have to worry about facing Cole Ragans. The young left-handed pitcher had six innings in six innings on Sunday against the Padres, giving him 89 strikeouts through his first 13 starts of the season.

Only Kevin Appier and Zack Greinke have added 90 or more strikeouts through the first 13 starts in a year. He fell short of the mark by one strikeout.

Guardians Select Contract of Daniel Schneemann

The Guardians sent Johnathan Rodriguez to Triple-A to make room for Daniel Schneeman on the active roster. He’s a 33rd-round draft pick from 2018 but has hit nearly .300 in the minors in Triple-A.

He’s a versatile fielder who can ultimately play any position.

Royals vs Guardians Runline & Other Odds For Game 1:

RL: Royals -1.5 (+164) ML: Guardians -115, O/U 8 -110/-110

In the series’ first game, Seth Lugo will look to keep his name in the AL Cy Young conversation. Lugo is 9-1 with a 1.72 ERA with the Royals this season. While he doesn’t have a high strikeout rate, Lugo has held teams to a .121 ISO and wOBA of .266 with only 5.8% of walks.

Still, he’s not getting many grounders and has allowed 26.7% of fly balls and 25.3% of line drives this season. Ultimately, it’ll be hard for him to keep up this stellar play throughout the season.

Lugo will face a Guardians lineup with just Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor performing over the last 30 days. Tyler Freeman’s getting on base but not hitting for much power. With only two real threats, you’d expect Lugo to put together another strong performance.

Meanwhile, Triston McKenzie will get the start for Cleveland. The right-hander has a 3.77 ERA on the year but hasn’t pitched nearly as good. McKenzie has allowed 13.4% of walks, a .190 ISO, a wOBA of .324, and more than 31% of fly balls, with only 36.3% of ground balls induced. McKenzie has even struck out just 21.9% of batters.

It’s hard to hold onto a 3.77 ERA with these numbers. However, he won’t have much to worry about against the Royals.

Against righties, the Royals’ projected lineup hasn’t hit very well over the last 30 days. Bobby Witt Jr. has done most of the offense against righties. Meanwhile, Vinnie Pasquantino has also put up above-average stats. The Royals’ offense hasn’t struck out at a high rate against righties, but they’re also not hitting for much power.

We’d back the Under 8 (-110) in Game 1.

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On Wednesday, it’ll be Brady Singer. Singer is a righty who has a 2.63 ERA. He hasn’t been as good as Lugo via the ERA, but he’s held batters to a .295 wOBA with 24.7% of strikeouts. He’s done very well, limiting teams to 18.5% of fly balls. He’s also induced over 51% of ground balls.

The right-hander has had his struggles against lefties, allowing a .207 ISO and wOBA of .339. But overall, he’s still been terrific this season.

Meanwhile, Logan Allen will pitch for the Guardians. He’s a lefty who has allowed a .235 ISO and wOBA of .389 to 260 batters faced this year. He’s also struck out just 19.6% of batters this season.

While the Royals have struggled against righties, they’ve been much better against lefties. Maikel Garcia, Witt Jr., Pasquantino, Salvador Perez, and Freddy Fermin have put high ISO and wOBA numbers against lefties over the last 30 days. They’ve got a thrilling matchup against Allen in Game 2. Add the Royals to your MLB picks and parlays on Wednesday.

With Michael Wacha on the shelf, Daniel Lynch will step up and start for the Royals. Lynch is a left-handed pitcher who has only thrown against 46 batters this season. However, those 46 batters have only earned a .143 ISO and wOBA of .234. Lynch has been good so far this season despite a low strikeout rate against righties.

Cleveland has a little more power against lefties, but they’ve struck out at a very high rate toward the bottom of the order against lefties.

They’ll send out Tanner Bibee for the finale. He’s been great against righties, as a righty, but has allowed a .185 ISO and wOBA of .353 to 168 lefties this season. Watch out for Vinnie Pasquantio and the other powerful lefties in Kansas City’s lineup. In Game 3, check out the Royals vs Guardians runline for Kansas City.

Royals vs Guardians Odds

For MLB odds, betting analysis, and more visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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