Kansas City Royals vs Minnesota Twins Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 8/17/2020

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Minnesota Twins

Date: Monday, August 17, 2020

Location: Target Field in Minneapolis, MN

TV: FSN/FSKC

Odds/Point Spread: Royals (+188) Twins (-205)

Whit Merrifield and the Kansas City Royals (9-12, 5th in AL Central) travel to Target Field on Monday where they'll meet the Minnesota Twins (13-8, 1st in AL Central). The Royals open this contest at +188 while the Twins are priced at -205. The O/U is set at 9.5. The pitchers who are expected to start will be Kris Bubic and Kenta Maeda.

Key Kansas City Royals Injuries

8/15/2020 Jake Junis SP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 19
8/15/2020 Foster Griffin RP Elbow Out for the season
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
8/8/2020 Mike Montgomery SP Lat Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
8/8/2020 Nick Heath CF Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 21
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

Key Minnesota Twins Injuries

8/14/2020 Josh Donaldson 3B Calf Expected to be out until at least Aug 20
8/14/2020 Rich Hill SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 18
8/13/2020 Cody Stashak RP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 24
8/9/2020 Homer Bailey SP Biceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 21

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Royals have a 9-12 overall record this season. Bubic (0-2 mark) holds a FIP of 5.00 and he has faced 62 hitters. His ERA is 5.40 (9 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.200. He has given up 14 hits (8.4 hits per nine innings) and has had 4 free passes. Bubic has taken the ball for 15 innings and is sitting with 15 K's in his MLB career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.50 and they have given up 86 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .218 against the bullpen and they've struck out 99 hitters and walked 38 batters. As a team, Kansas City allows 8.3 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.3 batters per nine innings. They are 9th in the league in team earned run average at 3.97. The Royals pitchers collectively have given up 165 base hits and 79 earned runs. They have allowed 30 home runs this season, ranking them 6th in the league. Kansas City as a pitching staff has walked 71 batters and struck out 185. They have walked 3.6 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.3 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.32 and their FIP as a unit is 4.67.

Related: How to Bet Parlays

Hitting Statistics

As a team Kansas City is hitting .255, good for 6th in the league. The Royals hold a .428 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .312, which is good for 17th in baseball. They rank 6th in MLB with 8.5 hits per game. Whit Merrifield is hitting .305 with an on-base percentage of .363. He has 25 hits this season in 82 at bats with 16 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .549 and an OPS+ of 146. Alex Gordon is hitting .167 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .242. He has totaled 10 hits and he has driven in 4 men in 60 at bats. His OPS+ is 36 while his slugging percentage is at .250. The Royals have 179 hits, including 43 doubles and 25 home runs. Kansas City has walked 53 times so far this season and they have struck out 184 times as a unit. They have left 133 men on base and have a team OPS of .740. They score 4.29 runs per contest and have scored a total of 90 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Minnesota has a 13-8 overall mark this year. Maeda (50-35 career mark) is the owner of a 3.82 earned run average and has conceded 7.5 hits per 9 innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.64 and he has gone up against 2,517 hitters in his career. During his career, Maeda has allowed 513 hits while totaling 662 strikeouts in 612 innings pitched. He has allowed 260 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.135 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.7. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.58 and they have given up 72 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .212 against the Twins bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 98 batters and walked 27 opposing hitters. As a team, Minnesota allows 7.5 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.8 batters per nine innings. They are 4th in the league in team earned run average at 3.51. The Twins pitchers as a team have surrendered 149 base knocks and 70 earned runs this season. They have given up 26 home runs this year, which ranks 12th in Major League Baseball. Minnesota as a staff has walked 59 hitters and struck out 176 batters. They give up a walk 3 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.8 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.16 while their FIP as a staff is 4.10.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .239, good for 16th in the league. The Twins hold a .418 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .314, which is good for 15th in baseball. They rank 19th in MLB with 7.7 hits per contest. Jorge Polanco comes into this matchup batting .308 with an OBP of .349. He has 24 hits this year along with 8 RBI in 78 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .397 with an OPS+ of 108. Nelson Cruz is hitting .342 this season and he has an OBP of .412. He has collected 26 hits in 76 at bats while driving in 21 runs. He has an OPS+ of 185 and a slugging percentage of .632. The Twins as a unit have 161 base hits, including 19 doubles and 34 homers. Minnesota has walked 67 times this year and they have struck out on 188 occasions. They have had 125 men left on base and have an OPS of .732. They have scored 4.95 runs per game and totaled 104 runs this season.

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

Parlays Pundit's Pick: Take the Twins (-205) and over 9.5 runs

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