Kansas City Royals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Pick & Prediction 9/14/24
The forecast looks good for Saturday’s Royals vs. Pirates interleague matchup, with the temperature sitting in the mid-60s and clear skies in Pittsburgh. First pitch from PNC Park is set for 1:05 PM ET. BSKC is carrying the game on TV, and the money line odds have the Royals at -109 compared to the Pirates at -109. The over/under line is currently at 8 runs.
Kansas City is currently 2nd in the AL Central with a record of 81-67, while the Pirates are 5th in the NL Central at 70-77. Michael Wacha is starting for the Royals, and he is facing off against Mitch Keller for the Pirates.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES VS KANSAS CITY ROYALS BETTING PICK
The Pick: Pittsburgh Pirates Moneyline -109
This game will be played at PNC Park at 1:05 ET on Saturday, September 14th.
HOW TO BET THE ROYALS VS PIRATES:
- We have the Pirates winning by a score of 5 to 4
- If you’re looking for a run line pick, we also like the Pirates to cover
- As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 9 runs and like the over
Thanks to a six-run 2nd inning for the Royals’ offense, they cruised to an easy 8-3 win over the Pirates in the most recent game of this series. Heading into the game, the Royals were at -105 on the money line.
The starting pitching matchup for this game featured Alec Marsh for the Royals, and he went just 5 1/3 innings while giving up one run and striking out 11. Luis L. Ortiz only went four innings for the Pirates, giving up four earned runs on five hits.
Kyle Isbel and Salvador Perez each homered for the Royals, while Oneil Cruz went 2/5 with an RBI for the Pirates.
Royals Records & Stats
Kansas City is 81-67 overall and trails the Guardians by three games in the AL Central. The Royals lead the series vs. the Pirates 1-0 and are 6-4 over their last 10 games. So far, they have been great against other teams in the AL Central, going 33-16 this year.
At home, the Royals have gone 45-30, and they are just one game below .500 on the road (36-37). As the favorite, the Royals are 46-26 this year, and they are 35-41 as the underdog. Kansas City has won three straight games as the favorite.
The Royals have been a solid bet on the run line this season, going 83-65 overall. They have been particularly good on the run line at home, going 43-32. Their average run differential on the road this season is +0.6 runs per game, and they have covered the run line in three straight road games.
The Royals are on the road against the Pirates today, and the over/under line for the game is set at 8 runs. Kansas City’s games have averaged 8.8 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 66-77. When the line is set at 8 runs, their record is 14-14-3. In 62.2% of their games this season, the over/under line has been set at more than 8 runs.
Michael Wacha gets the start for the Royals today as he faces off against the Pirates on the road. So far this season, he has made 26 starts and has a record of 12-7 with an ERA of 3.34. Wacha’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.19. In his last outing, he pitched really well, going seven innings and not giving up a run. He only allowed four hits in that outing. Before that, he had given up at least two earned runs in three straight starts. Wacha has made 14 quality starts this season and is averaging 7.75 strikeouts per nine innings.
Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. have been the top two run producers for the Royals this season, with Perez’s 103 RBIs ranking 4th in the league and Witt Jr.’s 99 RBIs coming in at 7th. Witt Jr. also has the team’s best batting average at .332 and has gone deep 30 times this season, which is 12th in the league. Perez is also among the league leaders in home runs, as he has 27 homers this season.
Salvador Perez has been swinging a hot bat of late, going 12/30 in his last nine games with two homers and nine RBIs. Tommy Pham and Michael Massey have also hit two homers in their last nine games, with Pham batting .324 in that stretch and Massey hitting just .214. Witt Jr. is currently on a six-game hitting streak.
Pirates Records & Stats
Pittsburgh is 5th in the NL Central, trailing the Reds by just one game for the 4th spot in the division. Overall, the Pirates are 70-77 heading into today’s matchup vs. the Royals. They are 15 games behind the Brewers for the NL Central lead.
At home, the Pirates are 37-39 this season, and they have gone 33-38 on the road. So far, they have been the favorite in 60 games, going 33-27 in those matchups. As for their games as the underdog, the Pirates are 37-50 this season.
Despite a run differential of -0.3 runs per game, the Pirates have been a solid bet against the run line this season, going 81-66. They are 43-28 against the run line on the road, where they have a scoring margin of -0.2 runs per game. They are 38-38 against the run line at home, where they have a scoring margin of -0.5 runs per game. They have been a better bet against the run line as the underdog, going 57-30, compared to 24-36 as the favorite.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are playing host to the Kansas City Royals with an over/under line of 8 runs. The combined run average for Pirates games this season is 8.8 runs per game, and their over/under record is 73-72. The average over/under line for Pirates games is 8 runs, and when the line has been set at 8 runs, their record is 16-16. So far this season, 51.0% of Pirates games have had over/under lines set higher than 8 runs.
Mitch Keller will be looking to bounce back from his last outing, where he finished with a no-decision. Against the Nationals, he went six innings, giving up two earned runs, and he allowed seven hits and two walks in the outing. Looking back further, Keller has lost three of his last four starts. His record for the season is 11-9, and he has an ERA of 3.85. Opponents are batting .250 off Keller this season. One positive note for Keller is that he has one complete game and 14 quality starts this year.
For the Pirates to take the series opener, they will need to get some more production out of their lineup, as they are just 19th in the MLB in runs scored this season and are near the bottom of the league in home runs. As a team, they are batting just .236, which is 17th in the league. One thing that has been working in their favor is their collective BABIP of .29, which is 10th in the league.
Andrew McCutchen has been swinging the bat well for the Pirates, going 5/14 in his last four games with two homers. For the season, he is batting just .238, but his 20 homers is 2nd on the team. Bryan Reynolds has been a consistent threat this season, leading the Pirates with a .281 batting average and 84 RBIs. Reynolds is also on a four-game hitting streak.