Wednesday, April 23, 7:05 PM on FSKC, STOh

Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio

Kansas City Royals - Vargas, J (2-0) vs. Cleveland Indians - Masterson, J (0-0)

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

Wednesday night, the Kansas City Royals and Jason Vargas will face the Cleveland Indians and Justin Masterson. Both pitchers will be making their 5th starts of the season.

Jason Vargas is coming off a win in his last start that pushed his record to 2 – 0 with an ERA of 1.24. In his 4th start, Vargas pitched 7 shutout innings with a walk and 4 strikeouts. Last season, with the Los Angeles Angels, Vargas was 9 – 8 with a 4.02 ERA in 24 starts. If Vargas continues at this pace, he could post the best results of his career.

In 2013, Vargas didn’t face the Indians but he has enough experience against the Cleveland hitters to know what to expect. Cleveland’s Nick Swisher is a career .357 hitter against Vargas with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs.

Justin Masterson has yet to get a decision in his 4 starts this season. His last outing went 6.1 innings and he allowed 2 runs on 6 hits with 2 walks and 9 strikeouts. There have been some concerns about some loss in velocity from Masterson and that could be why he has yet to register a win. In 2013, Masterson went 14 – 10 with an ERA of 3.45 in 29 starts and 3 relief appearances.

Last season, Masterson was 1 – 1 in 2 starts against the Royals. He allowed 9 runs on 18 hits in 12.2 innings. And if his velocity is down, he will need to stay away from Alex Gordon. Gordon is 12 of 34 with a homer and 5 RBIs when facing Masterson.

Kansas City Royals Betting Trends

Kansas City Royals are 7-9-1 against the Over/Under

Run Differential for Kansas City Royals is -0.3

Cleveland Indians Betting Trends

Cleveland Indians are 10-8-0 against the Over/Under

Run differential for Cleveland Indians is -0.4

Injuries to Watch

Kansas City Royals

04/18/14 CF Lorenzo Cain Groin 15-day DL (4/17)
04/09/14 P Francisley Bueno Finger 15-day DL (4/7)
04/09/14 P Tim Collins Elbow 15-day DL (4/7)
03/30/14 P Luke Hochevar Elbow 15-day DL (3/21)

Cleveland Indians

No injuries to report at this time

Guy's Pick: Take Kansas City

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