The Kansas City Royals are one of the worst teams in baseball and they proved so again on Monday against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Royals have struggled out of the gates with a 17-35 record and they have dropped seven of their last eight.
Toronto has mostly been hot of late. Although the Blue Jays got tripped up in Minnesota, losing two of three, they had won eight in a row before that. They’ve still won 10 of their last 12 and have been a great option for those who bet online.
Can the Blue Jays stay hot or will the Royals use their home-field advantage to pick up a much-needed win?
Toronto will start Alek Manoah against the Royals. Manoah has been lights out on the mound. He holds the second-best record in the league at 6-1 and has a strong 1.98 ERA.
It seems like he gets a bit of an easy matchup in this one and if you’re betting the MLB odds, you’re probably better off going with the Jays. They’ve won three straight times that Manoah has been on the mound and seven of his 10 starts.
The Jays’ offense has picked it up of late. They have smashed 64 home runs, tying them for eighth place in league. They also own the ninth-best batting average.
They’re coming off an 8-0 rout of the Royals on Monday. That momentum should carry over to Tuesday.
Royals Eye Turnaround
Kansas City is sending Brad Keller to the mound on Tuesday against the Jays. Keller has had a tough season, posting a 1-6 overall record. His ERA is also much higher than the Royals would like at 4.15.
In the last five games that he has pitched at least four innings, the Royals have lost. During that time, they have allowed an average of 6.8 runs per game.
If Keller doesn’t perform well here, Kansas City will be looking toward its team-wide .236 batting average to carry them to victory. They are 28th when it comes to home runs, so it’s hard to get excited about their prospects versus the MLB betting odds here.
Blue Jays vs Royals Head-to-Head
Monday’s matchup was the first of the season between the teams.
Toronto is currently listed as heavy favorites in the sportsbook. This isn’t all that surprising considering how good the Blue Jays have been as of late.
On top of that, Manoah is compiling numbers like one of the better pitchers in the MLB. As for the Royals, Keller has had trouble pulling out wins.
The Jays seem like a far better pick in this one and should be able to emerge victorious. There’s a lot of juice to lay here but it seems warranted.
Derrick Erickson has been entrenched in sports media over the last decade. From working in fantasy sports to the sports betting side of things, he's been plugged in for quite some time. His favorite teams include the Texas Longhorns, Dallas Cowboys, and Dallas Mavericks.