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Royals Look for Two Straight vs Brewers

Milwaukee Trying to Keep Pace in NL Central

· May 19 - 3 minutes read

The Milwaukee Brewers try to salvage a split of their two-game series with the host Kansas City Royals when the teams clash on Wednesday night. First pitch is set for 8:10 pm ET at Kauffman Stadium.

The Brewers dropped the series opener 2-0 on Tuesday night, falling to 21-21. Milwaukee enters in third place in the NL Central, a half-game behind the second-place Chicago Cubs and one game ahead of the fourth-place Cincinnati Reds.

Andrew Benintendi and Jarrod Dyson of the Kansas City Royals celebrate a 2-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers — Ed Zurga/Getty Images/AFP

Kansas City improved to 19-22. The Royals are in third place in the AL Central, 3½ games behind the Cleveland Indians and 3½ games ahead of the Detroit Tigers.

Looking at the MLB odds for this contest, the Brewers have a moneyline of -185, while the Royals are set at +165. The over/under for the game is set at 7½ runs.

Going For More

Right-hander Corbin Burnes will make the start for Milwaukee as he tries to improve on his 2-3 record and 1.57 ERA. Burnes is making his second start since a stint on the injured list with COVID-19.

Burnes is coming off a loss to St. Louis last Thursday in which he went five innings and allowed one run on five hits, striking out nine and walking just one. It was the second straight start and third overall in which the Brewers failed to score any runs in support of him.

In Burnes’ six starts, Milwaukee has scored a total of 14 runs, 13 coming in Burnes’ two wins, both shutouts thrown by the 26-year-old.

The Brewers offense struggled again Tuesday night, managing just three hits to ruin a solid start by Brandon Woodruff. Milwaukee has the 29th-ranked batting average at .212, and the team’s total of 153 runs ranks 26th.

Outfielder Avisail Garcia leads the team with a .250 average, hitting six home runs and driving in 22 runs. Third baseman Travis Shaw has a team-best 24 RBI, batting .218 and hitting seven doubles and five home runs.

The Brewers did get Christian Yelich back in the lineup, as the designated hitter in an American League ballpark. Yelich went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in his first game since May 3.

“It’s just one of those things. I had to get better,” Yelich said after the loss.

Getting Better

After an 11-game losing streak, winning every other day is certainly a step up, but the Royals want more. Kansas City raised expectations with its 14-7 start.

Catcher Salvador Perez has been leading the offense, hitting nine home runs and batting in 27 runs. Outfielder Andrew Benintendi is batting .282 with three home runs and 12 RBI, including the eventual game-winner on a single on Tuesday night.

Kansas City will send right-hander Brad Keller to the mound in the series finale. The 25-year-old is 3-4 with a 6.75 ERA, striking out 29 and walking 16 in 33 1/3 innings.

Keller got the win on Friday in the opener of a doubleheader with the White Sox, going five innings and allowing two runs on five hits while striking out seven and walking three. That snapped a personal two-game losing streak for Keller.

Brewers Earn Split

Having Burnes on the mound means the Brewers should be in another low-scoring contest. Milwaukee is starting to get healthy, and having Yelich back in the lineup is going to give other players on the team confidence.

Kansas City hasn’t been able to piece two wins together in a while, and it won’t do it on Wednesday either. When making your MLB betting picks, take Milwaukee to win on the road.