Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Indians Prediction, 9/20/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Indians

Date: Monday, September 20, 2021

Location: Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH

TV: SportsTime Ohio

Odds/Point Spread: Kansas City (+145) Cleveland (-196)

Ervin Santana and the Kansas City Royals (67-82, 4th in AL Central) head to Progressive Field on Monday where they'll take on the Cleveland Indians (73-74, 2nd in AL Central). The Indians open this matchup at -196 while the Royals are priced at +145. The total opens at 7. The pitchers taking the mound are Ervin Santana and Triston McKenzie.

Kansas City owns a slugging percentage of .395 and have been called out on strikes 1,168 times, while taking a walk on 387 occasions. They have accounted for 598 runs batted in in addition to 1,239 hits on the season, and their batting average is sitting at .249. The Royals have hit 218 doubles as a team and have hit 155 balls out of the stadium. They have accounted for 633 runs while holding a team on-base percentage of .307. As a team, the Kansas City Royals are knocking in 4.3 runs per game, which has them sitting at 22nd in baseball.

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The Royals have an earned run average of 4.69 over the course of the season (21st in the league), and their staff has rung up 1,251 hitters. Their K/BB ratio is 2.25 and their pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.40. Royals pitchers have yielded 177 home runs in addition to 726 runs in total (22nd in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 555 opposing hitters and their FIP sits at 4.41 as a team on the campaign.

The Royals relief pitchers have compiled a save rate of 60.7% and has stepped onto the mound in 134 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 230 runners for the season with 32.6% of them ended up scoring. Royals relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on base 149 times as well as having 149 appearances in high leverage situations. The Royals have sent 510 relievers to the mound over the course of the season. The relievers have notched 76 holds this year (11th in MLB). They have earned 34 saves this year and have blown 22 out of their 56 save opportunities.

The Kansas City Royals have notched a total of 3,895 putouts this year, in addition to 1,292 assists and 77 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .985 which puts them in 13th in baseball, and have a total of 1,014 double plays. The Royals have turned 68.5% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 11,685 innings on the diamond, ranking them 27th in pro baseball.

Santana has pitched in 2,482 frames and has accumulated 1,974 strikeouts in his career. His earned run average is 4.11 (1,133 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.272. He has given up 2,384 base hits (8.6 hits per nine innings) and has 773 walks. Santana (151-129 career mark) has a FIP of 4.31 while he has gone up against 10,460 opposing hitters in the majors.

Cleveland has a total of 187 home runs this season as well as 617 runs batted in. They have recorded 223 doubles, while getting a free base 422 times as well as putting up 643 runs. The Cleveland Indians have earned an OBP of .303 as well as a batting average of .236 on the campaign. The Indians hold a team slugging % of .407 and they are scoring 4.40 runs per game (18th in MLB). They have been rung up on 1,255 occasions (21st in MLB) and have totaled 1,136 base hits.

The Indians have a team WHIP of 1.285 with a FIP of 4.46 as a squad on the season. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.61 (1,276 strikeouts against 488 walks). They rank 11th in baseball as a staff in total hits relinquished with 1,150. They have given up 198 long balls and they concede 4.69 runs per 9 innings (15th in baseball). The Cleveland pitching staff have conceded 665 runs this season while having a team ERA of 4.36 (618 earned runs yielded).

Cleveland relief pitchers hold an inherited score rate of 37.4% out of their 187 inherited runners. Their relief pitchers have taken the field 151 times in high leverage situations and also on 134 occasions with runners on base. Sitting with 120 save situations, the Indians have accumulated 62 holds in addition to 17 blown saves. They are ranked 3rd in the league with a save rate of 69.1%, and they have sent 483 bullpen pitchers onto the diamond this season. Cleveland has called on relievers to enter the game in 55 save chances and they have walked away with 38 saves.

The Cleveland Indians have turned 121 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .984 (17th in pro baseball). The Indians have recorded 1,270 assists, 81 errors and have notched a total of 3,825 putouts on the season. In their 11,475 innings on the field, the Indians hold a efficiency on defense of 70.4% (6th in MLB).

McKenzie (7-7 win-loss mark in his career) has a 4.04 earned run average while giving up 5.5 hits per 9 innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.86 and he has faced 566 hitters so far in his MLB career. He has allowed 64 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.023 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.1. In his pro baseball career, McKenzie has given up 87 hits while totaling 169 punch outs in 142 innings pitched.

Who will win tonight's MLB game ATS?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Cleveland (-196)

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