Guardians vs Royals Prediction - MLB Picks 9/18/23

Kansas City Royals (48-102) vs Cleveland Guardians (72-78)

Game Info: Monday, September 18, 2023 at 2:10 pm (Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium)

Brady Singer (8-11) (5.51) vs Cal Quantrill (3-6) (5.40)

Betting Odds: Kansas City Royals -102 / Cleveland Guardians -118 --- Over/Under: 9 Click Here for the Latest Odds

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The Cleveland Guardians will play the Kansas City Royals in Game 1 of their series on Monday night at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals come into this game after winning four of their last five games, while Cleveland is coming off of a series sweep against Texas. 

Guardians Preview

The Cleveland Guardians are 72-78 this season and they have won four of their last five games. Cleveland is coming off of a series sweep against Texas, where they won all three games at home. The Guardians out scored Texas by a total of 23-6 in the series sweep. The Cleveland pitching staff has a 3.90 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, and a .244 opponent batting average this season. The Guardians offense has scored 614 runs with a .250 batting average and a .313 on base percentage. Jose Ramirez is batting .278 with 24 home runs and 78 RBI’s for the Guardians. The projected starting pitcher for Cleveland is Cal Quantrill, who is 3-6 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP over 85 innings pitched this year. 

Royals Preview

The Kansas City Royals are 48-102 this season and they have also won four of their last five games. Kansas City is coming off of a series win against Houston, where they won two out of three games at home. The Royals have scored 33 runs in their last five games. The Kansas City pitching staff has a 5.22 ERA, a 1.41 WHIP, and a .264 opponent batting average. The Royals offense has scored 616 runs with a .243 batting average and a .301 on base percentage this year. Bobby Witt Jr. is batting .278 with 29 home runs and 90 RBI’s for the Royals. The projected starting pitcher for Kansas City is Brady Singer, who is 8-11 with a 5.51 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP over 153.2 innings pitched this season.

Kansas City Royals Team Facts

  • The Royals have won four of their last five games as underdogs.
  • The Royals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last four day games against American League opponents.
  • The Royals have led after 3 innings in five of their last six games as underdogs against AL Central opponents.
  • The Royals have led after 7 innings in four of their last five games as underdogs against American League opponents.
  • The Royals have led after 5 innings in four of their last five games as underdogs.

Cleveland Guardians Team Facts

  • The Guardians have lost five of their last six games as road favorites following a win.
  • The Guardians have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six games as favorites against American League opponents following a win.
  • The Guardians have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last four day games against opponents that held a losing record.
  • The Guardians have trailed after 7 innings in six of their last eight games as favorites against American League opponents.
  • The 'Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Guardians' last five road games.

Matchup/League Facts

  • The Kansas City Royals rank 28th in the league for on-base percentage this season (.301).
  • The Kansas City Royals rank T3rd in the league for steals this season (151).
  • The Cleveland Guardians rank 29th in the league for RBI's this season (575).
  • The Cleveland Guardians rank 28th in the league for slugging percentage this season (.381).

Pick

Both of these teams come into this series after winning four of their last five games and both are coming off of nice series wins against teams from the AL West. Cleveland is 33-42 on the road this year, while Kansas City is 28-47 at home. The Royals are starting Brady Singer, who has allowed six earned runs in each of his last two starts. The Guardians are starting Cal Quantrill, who has been lights out since returning from the IL. Quantrill has been very solid in his last three starts and I like the Guardians to get the win. 

David’s Pick Guardians ML

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