Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Guardians Betting Pick & Prediction 8/28/24
Both the Royals and Guardians will send a pitcher to the mound on Wednesday that is 75-58. Michael Wacha will be starting for the Royals, while the Guardians are set to go with Tanner Bibee. The game is set to get started at 1:10 PM ET from Progressive Field in Cleveland. The Guardians are the betting favorite, with their money line odds sitting at -141, while the odds for a Royals win are at +120. The over/under line is at 8 runs, and the game will be televised on BSGL.
Kansas City is currently on a three-game winning streak, and the Guardians are looking to get back on track after losing three in a row. In the AL Central, the Guardians are in first place, while the Royals are in second. The rest of the division is well behind, with the White Sox and Twins both sitting at 63-66.
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS VS KANSAS CITY ROYALS BETTING PICK
The Pick: Cleveland Guardians Moneyline -141
This game will be played at Progressive Field at 1:10 ET on Wednesday, August 28th.
HOW TO BET THE ROYALS VS GUARDIANS:
- We have the Guardians winning by a score of 6 to 5
- However, if you’re looking for a run line pick, we like the Royals to cover
- As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 11 runs and like the over
Thanks to a three-run 7th inning for the Royals’ offense, they cruised to a 6-1 win over the Guardians in the most recent game of this series. Heading into the game, the Royals were at +138 on the money line.
The starting pitching matchup for this game featured Michael Lorenzen for the Royals, and he went just 1 2/3 innings while giving up one hit and no earned runs. James McArthur got the win out of the bullpen for the Royals. Gavin Williams only went five innings for the Guardians, giving up two earned runs on three hits.
Kansas City got a huge performance from Paul DeJong, as he went 1/2 with a home run and two RBIs. Salvador Perez also had a two-hit game for the Royals’ offense.
Royals Records & Stats
Kansas City is 2nd in the AL Central, and they trail the Guardians by 2.5 games. The Royals are 75-58 overall and have gone 29-13 in divisional games. The Royals have won three straight games, and they are 7-3 over their last 10.
At home, the Royals are 41-28 this year, and they have gone 34-30 on the road. Kansas City has won seven straight games on the road, and they are 18-21 as the road underdog this year. So far, they have been the favorite, they are 43-25 this year.
When the Royals are on the road, they have a run line record of 36-28, and they have covered the run line in two straight games. As the underdog, they have covered the run line in two straight games as well, and they have a run line record of 40-25 in those games. Their average run margin in winning games is 4.1, while their average run margin in losing games is -3.4.
When the Kansas City Royals play on the road, the over/under line is set at 8 runs, which is lower than their season average of 9 runs per game. The Royals have played 86 games with over/under lines set higher than 8 runs, and their over/under record for the season is 61-68.
Michael Wacha gets the start for the Royals today as he faces off against the Guardians on the road. So far this season, he has made 23 starts and has a record of 11-6 to go along with an ERA of 3.32. Wacha has made 13 quality starts this year and is averaging 7.65 strikeouts per nine innings. In his last outing, he went six innings, giving up two earned runs and picking up the win. Wacha has won each of his last three starts. At home, his ERA is 3.8 compared to 3.54 on the road.
Over the last eight games, Salvador Perez and MJ Melendez have been swinging the bats well for the Royals. Perez has gone 11/30 (.367) with three homers and nine RBIs, while Melendez is also on a hot streak, going 9/26 with three homers and five RBIs. Both players have four-game hitting streaks heading into today’s game. Bobby Witt Jr. has also been one of the league’s top power threats this season, as his 27 homers is 9th in the MLB and leads the Royals.
Overall, the Royals are 8th in the league in scoring at 4.9 runs per game. They have been even better at home, averaging 5.2 runs per contest. As a team, the Royals are batting .258, which is 5th in the league, and are also one of the league’s best teams at avoiding strikeouts.
Guardians Records & Stats
Cleveland is currently 75-58 overall this season, and they are tied with the Royals for the AL Central lead. The Guardians will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak today, and they have dropped three straight in their series vs. the Royals. So far, they have gone 21-20 in divisional games.
At home, the Guardians are 40-24 this year, and they are just above .500 at 35-34 on the road. As the favorite, Cleveland has gone 52-29 this year and 23-29 as the underdog. Looking at their overall series record, the Guardians are 24-13-4.
The Guardians have a run line record of 30-34 at home, with an average run margin of 0.7 runs per game. They have covered the run line in 35 of their 81 games at home this season. Their average run margin in winning games is 3.4 runs per game, while their average run margin in losing games is -3.2 runs per game.
The Cleveland Guardians have an over/under record of 63-61 this season, and their games have had an average combined run total of 8.5 runs per game. When the over/under line has been set at 8 runs, their record is 12-13-5. So far this season, 46.6% of their games have had over/under lines set at 8 runs or higher.
Tanner Bibee will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Rangers, as he gets the start for the Guardians today. In that start, he gave up four earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of work, taking the loss. Before that outing, he had won two straight starts. Bibee’s overall record is 10-6, and he has an ERA of 3.46. Opposing batters are hitting .224 off Bibee this season. Looking at his home/road splits, he is 6-3 with a 2.89 ERA on the road compared to 4-3 with a 4.63 ERA at home.
Heading into today’s game, the Guardians are averaging 4.5 runs per game, which is 13th in the league. At home, they have been even better, averaging 4.9 runs per contest. As a team, they are batting just .236, which is 17th in the league, and their team on-base percentage of .307 is also below the league average. One area where they have been good is in terms of strikeouts, as they are 4th in the league in this category.
José Ramírez has been the Guardians’ top power threat this season, as he is 5th in the league with 33 home runs and is also 2nd in the league with 104 RBIs. Ramírez is batting .275 for the season. Josh Naylor is 2nd on the team with 28 homers but is batting just .233 for the season. Over his last five games, Jhonkensy Noel has two homers but is batting just .235.