Pittsburgh Pirates vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, 5/31/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Monday, May 31, 2021

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: Bally Sports Kansas City

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (+155) Kansas City (-168)

Wil Crowe and the Pittsburgh Pirates (20-32, 5th in NL Central) go to Kauffman Stadium on Monday where they'll meet the Kansas City Royals (25-26, 3rd in AL Central). The Pirates open this contest at +155 while the Royals are priced at -168. The over/under has been set at 8.5. The starting pitchers will be Wil Crowe and Mike Minor.

As a squad, the Pittsburgh Pirates are earning 3.4 runs per outing, which has them sitting at 30th in the league. They have accumulated 172 runs while holding a team on-base percentage of .301. The Pirates have accrued 80 doubles as a unit and have hit 36 baseballs out of the park. They have accumulated 162 RBI's and 386 hits on the year, while their team batting average comes in at .229. Pittsburgh is slugging .352 and have been called out on strikes 437 times, while being walked on 156 occasions.

The Pirates hold a team ERA of 4.67 this season (25th in baseball), and their staff has rung up 432 batters. They have accrued a K/BB ratio of 2.48 and the pitching staff has a team WHIP of 1.32. Pirates pitchers have conceded 64 home runs and 245 total runs (23rd in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 174 batters and their FIP is 4.38 as a unit this year.

The Pirates bullpen have recorded a save percentage of 85.7% and has come into the game in 30 save situations. The relievers have inherited 60 base runners so far this year and 28.3% of those players crossed the plate. Pirates relief pitchers have gone to the mound with players on base 38 times as well as having 40 appearances in high leverage situations. The Pirates have dispatched 176 relievers to the mound for the season. The relief pitchers have racked up 21 holds for the season (22nd in baseball). They have earned 6 saves this year and have blown 1 of 7 chances to save the game.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are sitting with 1,317 putouts at this point in the season, in addition to 455 assists and 31 errors. Their fielding rate sits at .983 which puts them in 20th in MLB, and they have twisted 362 double plays. The Pirates have turned 69.6% of balls hit into play into outs out of 3,951 innings, which has them sitting 16th in the majors.

Crowe has thrown 34 innings and is sitting with 32 K's during his MLB career. Crowe (0-4 win-loss record in his career) sits with a FIP of 6.83 while going up against 159 batters in the majors. His earned run average is 6.62 (25 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.765. He has given up 39 base hits (10.3 hits per 9 innings) with 21 walks.

The Kansas City Royals have compiled an on-base percentage of .300 and a team batting average of .234 for the season. They have been called out on strikes on 419 occasions (26th in MLB) and have 380 hits. Kansas City has tallied 46 long balls so far this year as well as 193 RBIs. The Royals hold a team SLG% of .374 and they are recording 4.10 runs per contest (18th in baseball). They have tallied 69 doubles, while walking 146 times as well as scoring 205 runs.

The Kansas City pitching staff have surrendered 231 runs over the course of the season while having a team ERA of 4.41 (212 earned runs yielded). They have given up 46 homers and they relinquish 4.81 runs per 9 innings (21st in MLB). The Royals are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.402 and have a FIP of 3.95 as a unit for the season. They currently have a K/BB ratio of 2.22 (449 strikeouts against 202 walks). They are sitting at 16th in MLB as a staff in total hits conceded with 404.

Kansas City relievers have an inherited score percentage of 32.2% out of their 87 inherited runners. Their relief pitchers have taken the field 54 times in high leverage situations in addition to 56 occasions with runners on base. Sitting with 44 save situations, the Royals have compiled 25 holds and 7 blown saves. They rank 14th in baseball with a save percentage of 63.2%, and they have sent 170 bullpen pitchers to the hill this year. Kansas City has had relievers enter the contest in 19 save opportunities and they have walked away with 12 saves.

The Kansas City Royals have turned 39 double plays and own a fielding percentage of .983 (19th in MLB). The Royals have 420 assists, 29 errors and have earned a total of 1,298 putouts on the season. In 3,894 innings on the field, the Royals have a defensive efficiency of 67.9% (28th in pro baseball).

Minor (74-68 career win-loss record) has a 4.03 earned run average and has allowed 8.4 hits per nine innings. His K/BB ratio is 3.13 and he has faced 4,987 hitters during his career. He has allowed 538 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.224 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.0. In his career, Minor has allowed 1,118 base hits while he has earned 1,100 punch outs in 1,201 frames.

Who will win tonight's baseball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+155)

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