Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals Betting Preview

On Friday night, the Cleveland Indians will visit the Kansas City Royals for the opening game of a 3-game series. The Indians are 8-4 on the season and the Royals have had a rough start, going 2-10.

Indians Looking to Stay Atop Central

The Indians are coming off a 4-0 win over Detroit on Thursday afternoon. The pitching was the story in this one, as starter Shane Bieber went 7 innings allowing just 3 hits and 1 walk to go with 6 strikeouts. The bullpen went 2 perfect innings with 1 strikeout. Leonys Martin led the offensive attack in this one, going 3 for 4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI’s. He hit a double and a solo home run and earned a walk. Carlos Santana went 3 for 3 with 2 walks and Brad Miller went 2 for 4. Three other Indians recorded a hit in this game.
Carlos Carrasco will get the start for Cleveland. He is 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA this season but is coming off a 6 inning, 1-run start his last time out. Last season he went 17-10 with a 3.38 ERA in 30 starts. The Indians have not seen much of Brad Keller since this is just his second season. Jose Ramirez is 1 for 3. Hanley Ramirez, Leonys Martin, and Brad Miller are a combined 0 for 4. Tyler Naquin and Carlos Santana have not faced Keller yet.

Kansas City Big Time Struggles

The Royals are coming off a tough 7-6 loss to the Mariners on Thursday. The Royals led by 2 in the 9th inning with 2 outs before allowing a game-tying double and a game-winning home run in the 10th. Jorge Lopez had a quality start, going 6 innings and allowing just 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. The bullpen was not good, allowing 7 5 runs in just 4 innings of work. Jorge Soler went 2 for 5 with a 2-run home run. Hunter Dozier and Adalberto Mondesi each tallied solo home runs. Whit Merrifield went 0 for 6 snapping his 31-game hitting streak.

Brad Keller will be on the bump for Kansas City. He is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA so far this season. He went 6 innings and allowed 3 runs in his last start. This is just his 2nd year in the majors and went 9-6 with a 3.08 ERA last season. A few Royals have faced Carrasco a good amount in their careers, and Whit Merrifield is the only one with success. He is 7 for 17 off the right-hander which is an impressive .412 average. Lucas Duda is 1 for 6, Alex Gordon is 3 for 18, and Billy Hamilton is 2 for 8.

Indians Win Again

The Indians are -160. Carlos Carrasco has been one of the best pitchers in the American League the past few seasons and has had good success against the Royals. Keller on the other hand, is very inexperienced and has not seen much of the Indians. I think Carrasco will dominate the Royals in this one and the Cleveland bats will get to Keller early in this one and will hammer the weak Royals bullpen. Take the Indians -160.

  • Bet on the Cleveland Indians -160
  • Bet on the Kansas City Royals +140
Up To $3,000 in Bonuses! Play Now
100% up to $3,000 Bonus

Bovada is our most recommended ONLINE CASINO and POKER ROOM for US players with excellent deposit options. Get your 100% signup bonus today.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply