Guardians vs Royals Prediction - MLB Picks 9/19/23

Kansas City Royals (49-102) vs Cleveland Guardians (72-79)

Game Info: Tuesday, September 19, 2023 at 7:40 pm (Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium)

Steven Cruz (0-0) (5.14) vs Logan Allen (7-7) (3.60)

Betting Odds: Kansas City Royals +135 / Cleveland Guardians -165 --- Over/Under: 9.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds

The Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians do battle Tuesday night in game 2 of an MLB series at Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.

Cleveland Guardians Betting Preview

The Guardians look for a win after splitting their last 10 games. The Guardians are 7 games back in the AL Central. The Guardians pitching staff is 6th in ERA (3.91), 15th in WHIP (1.28) and 12th in quality starts (55). The Guardians' offense is 27th in runs per game (4.09), 15th in batting average (.252) and 30th in homers (116). Steven Kwan leads the Guardians with 163 hits and 52 RBI, while Jose Ramirez and Andres Gimenez have combined for 287 hits and 135 RBI. Logan Allen gets the ball, and he is 7-7 with a 3.60 ERA and 118 strikeouts this season. Allen is 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA and 10 strikeouts in his career against the Royals.

Cleveland Guardians Team Facts

The Guardians have lost five of their last six games as favorites against AL Central opponents.
The underdogs have covered the run line in each of the Guardians' last nine games.
The Guardians have trailed after 3 innings in four of their last six games as favorites against AL Central opponents.
The Guardians have trailed after 7 innings in three of their last four games as favorites against AL Central opponents.
The Guardians have trailed after 5 innings in three of their last four games as favorites against American League opponents.

Kansas City Royals Betting Preview

The Royals look for a win after winning 5 of their last 6 games. The Royals have the second-worst record in the AL at 49-102. The Royals pitching staff is 28th in ERA (5.22), 24th in WHIP (1.41) and 29th in quality starts (31). The Royals' offense is 26th in runs per game (4.12), 20th in batting average (.242) and 26th in homers (150). Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals with 166 hits and 90 RBI, while Salvador Perez and MJ Melendez have combined for 247 hits and 122 RBI. Steven Cruz gets the ball, and he is 0-0 with a 5.14 ERA and 9 strikeouts this season. This will be Cruz’s first career game against the Guardians.

Kansas City Royals Team Facts

The Royals have won each of their last four games as home underdogs against AL Central opponents.
The Royals have covered the run line in 12 of their last 13 games as home underdogs against AL Central opponents following a win.
The Royals have led after 3 innings in each of their last five night games against American League opponents.
The Royals have led after 7 innings in three of their last four games as home underdogs against AL Central opponents.
The Royals have led after 5 innings in each of their last six night games against American League opponents.

Matchup/League Facts

The Kansas City Royals rank T1st in the league for triples this season (40).
The Kansas City Royals rank 29th in the league for walks this season (380).
The Cleveland Guardians rank 30th in the league for home runs this season (116).
The Cleveland Guardians rank 1st in the league for strikeouts against this season (1062).

Randy’s Pick

The Royals are having probably their best week of the season, but they've been so bad that it's hard to believe these wins will continue. The Guardians need a win if they're going to make these next couple of weeks interesting. Steven Cruz hasn't been good despite just 7 innings under his belt. Logan Allen has had a strong rookie year with a 3.38 ERA and 1.35 WHIP, and he has a 3.23 ERA on the road. This is a game the Guardians should win, but nothing will surprise me with Cleveland this season.