Pittsburgh Pirates vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, 9/13/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Sunday, September 13, 2020

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: ATPT/FSKC

Odds/Point Spread: Pirates (+130) Royals (-140)

Adam Frazier and the Pittsburgh Pirates (14-28, 5th in NL Central) go to Kauffman Stadium on Sunday where they'll meet the Kansas City Royals (18-28, 5th in AL Central). The line on this contest has the Pirates coming in at +130 and the Royals are at -140. The total has been set at 9. The pitchers who are expected to start are Chad Kuhl and Brad Keller.

Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

9/11/2020 Tyler Bashlor RP Back Expected to be out until at least Sep 21
9/9/2020 Yacksel Rios RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 25
9/6/2020 Anthony Alford CF Elbow Out for the season
9/5/2020 Keone Kela RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 14
9/2/2020 Mitch Keller SP Oblique Expected to be out until at least Sep 14
8/19/2020 Phillip Evans 3B Jaw Out for the season
8/11/2020 Clay Holmes RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 21
8/6/2020 Nick Burdi RP Elbow Out for the season
8/6/2020 Michael Feliz RP Forearm Out for the season
7/23/2020 Luke Maile C Finger Out for the season
6/30/2020 Kevin Kramer RF Hip Out for the season
6/30/2020 Chris Archer SP Shoulder Out for the season
2/13/2020 Jameson Taillon SP Elbow Out for the season

Key Kansas City Royals Injuries

9/8/2020 Jorge Soler DH Oblique Expected to be out until at least Sep 24
9/2/2020 Ian Kennedy RP Calf Out for the season
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

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Pirates have a 14-28 overall record this season. Kuhl (19-21 mark in his career) sits with a FIP of 4.49 and he has gone up against 1,486 hitters in the majors. His ERA is 4.28 (164 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.412. He has given up 345 base hits (9.0 hits per 9 innings) with 142 free passes. Kuhl has taken the ball for 345 innings and has accumulated 304 strikeouts in his career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.45 and they have given up 160 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .200 against the bullpen and they've struck out 199 hitters and walked 92 batters. As a team, Pittsburgh allows 8.3 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.2 batters per nine innings. They are 21st in the league in team earned run average at 4.86. The Pirates pitchers collectively have given up 340 base hits and 198 earned runs. They have allowed 62 home runs this season, ranking them 11th in the league. Pittsburgh as a pitching staff has walked 180 batters and struck out 373. They have walked 4.4 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.2 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.42 and their FIP as a unit is 5.02.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Pittsburgh is hitting .222, good for 28th in the league. The Pirates hold a .348 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .286, which is good for 30th in baseball. They rank 26th in MLB with 7.4 hits per game. Adam Frazier is hitting .230 with an on-base percentage of .295. He has 35 hits this season in 152 at bats with 15 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .329 and an OPS+ of 68. Bryan Reynolds is hitting .177 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .272. He has totaled 23 hits and he has driven in 12 men in 130 at bats. His OPS+ is 58 while his slugging percentage is at .315. The Pirates have 309 hits, including 54 doubles and 36 home runs. Pittsburgh has walked 121 times so far this season and they have struck out 370 times as a unit. They have left 252 men on base and have a team OPS of .634. They score 3.88 runs per contest and have scored a total of 163 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Kansas City has a 18-28 overall mark this year. Keller (19-22 mark in his career) has earned a 3.58 ERA and has surrendered 8.3 hits per 9 innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 1.82 and he has faced 1,432 hitters in his pro baseball career. So far in his pro baseball career, Keller has given up 312 base knocks while he has earned 242 punchouts in 339 innings. He has conceded a total of 135 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.311 and having a FIP of 3.9. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.13 and they have given up 178 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .217 against the Royals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 205 batters and walked 89 opposing hitters. As a team, Kansas City allows 8.9 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.8 batters per nine innings. They are 13th in the league in team earned run average at 4.49. The Royals pitchers as a team have surrendered 389 base knocks and 197 earned runs this season. They have given up 62 home runs this year, which ranks 9th in Major League Baseball. Kansas City as a staff has walked 168 hitters and struck out 386 batters. They give up a walk 3.8 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.8 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.41 while their FIP as a staff is 4.77.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .242, good for 18th in the league. The Royals hold a .399 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .305, which is good for 27th in baseball. They rank 16th in MLB with 8.0 hits per contest. Whit Merrifield comes into this matchup batting .263 with an OBP of .313. He has 49 hits this year along with 26 RBI in 186 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .446 with an OPS+ of 104. Maikel Franco is hitting .277 this season and he has an OBP of .317. He has collected 48 hits in 173 at bats while driving in 30 runs. He has an OPS+ of 115 and a slugging percentage of .486. The Royals as a unit have 370 base hits, including 76 doubles and 52 homers. Kansas City has walked 127 times this year and they have struck out on 399 occasions. They have had 298 men left on base and have an OPS of .704. They have scored 4.02 runs per game and totaled 185 runs this season.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Royals (-140)

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