Kansas City Royals vs Minnesota Twins Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 8/14/2020

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Minnesota Twins

Date: Friday, August 14, 2020

Location: Target Field in Minneapolis, MN

TV: FSN/FSKC

Odds/Point Spread: Royals (+161) Twins (-175)

Jorge Soler and the Kansas City Royals (8-11, 5th in AL Central) are headed to Target Field on Friday where they'll meet the Minnesota Twins (12-7, 1st in AL Central). The Twins open this matchup at -175 while the Royals are priced at +161. The total has been set at 9. The pitchers taking the mound will be Jakob Junis and Jake Odorizzi.

Key Kansas City Royals Injuries

8/13/2020 Josh Staumont RP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 14
8/12/2020 Bubba Starling CF Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 14
8/12/2020 Randy Rosario RP Arm Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/10/2020 Franchy Cordero RF Wrist Expected to be out until at least Sep 24
 

Key Minnesota Twins Injuries

8/12/2020 Zack Littell RP Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 14
8/9/2020 Homer Bailey SP Biceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 21
8/7/2020 Josh Donaldson 3B Calf Expected to be out until at least Aug 14
8/4/2020 Rich Hill SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 14

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Royals have a 8-11 overall record this season. Junis has taken the ball for 184 innings and is sitting with 168 strikeouts so far in his pro baseball career. His ERA is 5.18 (106 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.439. He has allowed 203 base hits (9.9 hits per nine innings) and has 62 free passes. Junis (9-14 career mark) has a FIP of 4.89 while he has gone up against 810 opposing batters during his time in the major leagues. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.32 and they have given up 79 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .215 against the bullpen and they've struck out 89 hitters and walked 37 batters. As a team, Kansas City allows 8.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.9 batters per nine innings. They are 9th in the league in team earned run average at 4.01. The Royals pitchers collectively have given up 155 base hits and 74 earned runs. They have allowed 28 home runs this season, ranking them 4th in the league. Kansas City as a pitching staff has walked 68 batters and struck out 164. They have walked 3.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.34 and their FIP as a unit is 4.75.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Kansas City is hitting .255, good for 6th in the league. The Royals hold a .429 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .311, which is good for 19th in baseball. They rank 3rd in MLB with 8.7 hits per game. Jorge Soler is hitting .264 with an on-base percentage of .349. He has 19 hits this season in 72 at bats with 10 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .500 and an OPS+ of 132. Ryan O'Hearn is hitting .279 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .333. He has totaled 12 hits and he has driven in 10 men in 43 at bats. His OPS+ is 101 while his slugging percentage is at .395. The Royals have 166 hits, including 41 doubles and 23 home runs. Kansas City has walked 48 times so far this season and they have struck out 165 times as a unit. They have left 125 men on base and have a team OPS of .740. They score 4.42 runs per contest and have scored a total of 84 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

During his career, Odorizzi has allowed 922 hits while he has tallied 985 strikeouts in 1,031 innings pitched. He has given up a total of 446 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.240 and a FIP of 4.2. His SO/W ratio is 2.76 and he has gone up against 4,336 batters during his MLB career. Odorizzi (62-55 career win-loss mark) is the owner of a 3.89 earned run average while giving up 8.0 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.86 and they have given up 67 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .211 against the Twins bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 92 batters and walked 26 opposing hitters. As a team, Minnesota allows 7.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.5 batters per nine innings. They are 4th in the league in team earned run average at 3.48. The Twins pitchers as a team have surrendered 136 base knocks and 64 earned runs this season. They have given up 24 home runs this year, which ranks 7th in Major League Baseball. Minnesota as a staff has walked 54 hitters and struck out 157 batters. They give up a walk 2.9 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.5 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.15 while their FIP as a staff is 4.09.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .241, good for 14th in the league. The Twins hold a .421 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .318, which is good for 12th in baseball. They rank 15th in MLB with 7.9 hits per contest. Eddie Rosario comes into this matchup batting .224 with an OBP of .307. He has 15 hits this year along with 17 RBI in 67 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .522 with an OPS+ of 127. Byron Buxton is hitting .298 this season and he has an OBP of .306. He has collected 14 hits in 47 at bats while driving in 10 runs. He has an OPS+ of 155 and a slugging percentage of .638. The Twins as a unit have 151 base hits, including 17 doubles and 32 homers. Minnesota has walked 64 times this year and they have struck out on 167 occasions. They have had 116 men left on base and have an OPS of .739. They have scored 5.16 runs per game and totaled 98 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Royals (+161)

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