Cleveland Indians vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, 8/31/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Cleveland Indians vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Monday, August 31, 2020

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: STOh/FSKC

Odds/Point Spread: Indians (-220) Royals (+200)

Maikel Franco and the Kansas City Royals (13-20, 5th in AL Central) host the Cleveland Indians (21-13, 1st in AL Central) at Kauffman Stadium on Monday. The Royals open this contest at +200 while the Indians are coming in at -220. The total opens at 8. The expected starting pitchers are Shane Bieber and Brad Keller.

Key Cleveland Indians Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Kansas City Royals Injuries

8/30/2020 Ian Kennedy RP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/28/2020 Nick Heath CF Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/28/2020 Salvador Perez C Eye Expected to be out until at least Sep 3
8/16/2020 Daniel Tillo RP Elbow Out for the season
8/15/2020 Foster Griffin RP Elbow Out for the season
8/10/2020 Franchy Cordero RF Wrist Expected to be out until at least Sep 24
8/8/2020 Mike Montgomery SP Lat Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
8/7/2020 Glenn Sparkman RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 18
7/16/2020 Kelvin Gutierrez 3B Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Indians have a 21-13 overall record this season. Bieber (32-13 mark in his career) has a FIP of 3.10 and he has faced 1,519 opposing hitters in the majors. His earned run average is 3.43 (143 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.111. He has surrendered 345 base knocks (8.3 hits per nine innings) and has had 72 walks. Bieber has taken the hill for 375 innings and has accumulated 452 strikeouts so far in his MLB career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 2.38 and they have given up 73 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .174 against the bullpen and they've struck out 117 hitters and walked 33 batters. As a team, Cleveland allows 6.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 10.4 batters per nine innings. They are 1st in the league in team earned run average at 2.75. The Indians pitchers collectively have given up 226 base hits and 91 earned runs. They have allowed 35 home runs this season, ranking them 27th in the league. Cleveland as a pitching staff has walked 83 batters and struck out 343. They have walked 2.5 men per 9 innings while striking out 10.4 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.04 and their FIP as a unit is 3.34.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Cleveland is hitting .224, good for 25th in the league. The Indians hold a .359 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .328, which is good for 13th in baseball. They rank 23rd in MLB with 7.3 hits per game. Franmil Reyes is hitting .297 with an on-base percentage of .354. He has 35 hits this season in 118 at bats with 23 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .508 and an OPS+ of 127. Jose Ramirez is hitting .254 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .351. He has totaled 33 hits and he has driven in 22 men in 130 at bats. His OPS+ is 120 while his slugging percentage is at .485. The Indians have 242 hits, including 46 doubles and 32 home runs. Cleveland has walked 149 times so far this season and they have struck out 299 times as a unit. They have left 239 men on base and have a team OPS of .687. They score 4.24 runs per contest and have scored a total of 140 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Keller (19-21 career mark) has earned a 3.58 earned run average and has surrendered 8.3 hits per 9 innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 1.81 and he has gone up against 1,380 opposing batters in his pro baseball career. During his MLB career, Keller has allowed 301 base hits while accumulating 237 punchouts in 326 frames. He has allowed 130 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.324 and having a FIP of 3.9. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.75 and they have given up 129 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .211 against the Royals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 151 batters and walked 73 opposing hitters. As a team, Kansas City allows 8.7 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.1 batters per nine innings. They are 14th in the league in team earned run average at 4.36. The Royals pitchers as a team have surrendered 269 base knocks and 135 earned runs this season. They have given up 45 home runs this year, which ranks 8th in Major League Baseball. Kansas City as a staff has walked 132 hitters and struck out 283 batters. They give up a walk 4.3 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.1 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.44 while their FIP as a staff is 4.88.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .248, good for 15th in the league. The Royals hold a .420 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .312, which is good for 26th in baseball. They rank 15th in MLB with 8.2 hits per contest. Maikel Franco comes into this matchup batting .244 with an OBP of .282. He has 30 hits this year along with 18 RBI in 123 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .480 with an OPS+ of 101. Whit Merrifield is hitting .290 this season and he has an OBP of .347. He has collected 38 hits in 131 at bats while driving in 20 runs. He has an OPS+ of 123 and a slugging percentage of .489. The Royals as a unit have 270 base hits, including 61 doubles and 41 homers. Kansas City has walked 93 times this year and they have struck out on 280 occasions. They have had 214 men left on base and have an OPS of .732. They have scored 4.15 runs per game and totaled 137 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Indians/Royals MLB game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Indians (-220)

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