Kansas City Royals vs Boston Red Sox Prediction, 9/16/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Boston Red Sox

Date: Friday, September 16, 2022

Location: Fenway Park in Boston, MA

TV: NESN

Odds/Point Spread: Kansas City (+185) Boston (-215)

The Boston Red Sox (69-74) will play the Kansas City Royals (57-86) at Fenway Park on Friday. The moneyline on this matchup has Kansas City at +185 while Boston opens at -215. The over/under is set at 8. The starting pitchers will be Jon Heasley and Michael Wacha.

As a unit, the Kansas City Royals are knocking in 3.9 runs per game, which puts them at 24th in the league. They have 556 runs and hold an OBP of .305. The Royals have hit 213 doubles as a unit and have smacked 120 balls out of the stadium. They have accrued 534 runs batted in as well as 1,153 base knocks so far this year, and their team batting average is at .241. Kansas City has a slugging rate of .375 and have struck out 1,149 times, while taking a walk on 414 occasions.

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The Royals are sitting with a team earned run average of 4.72 on the campaign (27th in MLB), and the staff has struck out 1,044 batters. They have walked 525 players from the other team and their FIP is 4.51 as a squad this season. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 1.99 and their pitching staff has recorded a WHIP of 1.48. Royals pitchers have relinquished 162 long balls and 720 total runs (27th in baseball).

The Royals relief pitchers have a save rate of 62.2% and has entered the game in 120 save situations. The relievers have inherited 257 runners on the season and 28.8% of them crossed the plate. Royals bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on base 159 times in addition to having 152 appearances in high leverage situations. The Royals have sent 494 relievers to the mound on the year. The relief pitchers have a total of 71 holds on the season (17th in baseball). They have accumulated 28 saves this year and have blown 17 out of their 45 chances to get a save.

The Kansas City Royals have earned a total of 3,709 putouts so far this season, as well as 1,316 assists and 74 errors. Their fielding rate is at .985 which has them ranked 17th in pro baseball, and have earned 125 double plays. The Royals have converted 67.8% of baseballs in play into outs in their 11,127 innings, which has them sitting 27th in pro baseball.

Heasley (4-9 career mark) holds a FIP of 6.01 while he has faced 430 batters during his time in the major leagues. He has given up 104 hits (9.7 hits per 9 innings) and has 42 free passes. His earned run average is 5.42 (58 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.516. Heasley has pitched in 96 innings and has accumulated 63 punch outs so far in his pro baseball career.

The Boston Red Sox have accounted for an OBP of .320 and a team batting average of .259 on the campaign. They have been rung up on 1,224 instances (11th in MLB) and have notched a total of 1,278 hits. Boston has hit 136 home runs for the year to go along with 624 runs batted in. The Red Sox hold a team SLG% of .410 and they are earning 4.57 runs per game (8th in MLB). They have tallied 320 two-baggers, while walking 413 times as well as notching 653 runs.

The Boston pitching staff have surrendered 689 runs for the year while holding a team ERA of 4.45 (630 earned runs yielded). They have surrendered 154 home runs and they relinquish 4.87 runs per 9 innings (25th in MLB). The Red Sox are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.329 in addition to having a FIP of 4.05 as a squad on the campaign. Their strikeout to walk ratio comes in at 2.59 (1,199 strikeouts against 463 bases on balls). They are sitting at 25th in MLB as a staff in total hits given up with 1,229.

Boston bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 38.4% out of 219 inherited base runners. Their relief pitchers have taken the field 167 times in high leverage situations and on 148 occasions with runners on base. With 138 save situations, the Red Sox have recorded 78 holds and 27 blown saves. They are ranked 27th in MLB holding a save percentage of 55.0%, and they have dispatched 516 relievers to the hill for the year. Boston has had bullpen pitchers take the mound in 60 save opportunities and they have earned 33 saves.

The Boston Red Sox have turned 114 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .986 (13th in the majors). The Red Sox have recorded 1,269 assists, 71 errors and have a tally of 3,762 putouts so far this year. Out of their 11,286 innings on the field, the Red Sox have earned a defensive efficiency of 68.7% (26th in pro baseball).

So far in his career, Wacha has surrendered 1,111 base hits while totaling 1,005 K's in 1,133 frames. Wacha (74-49 win-loss mark in his career) is the owner of a 4.00 ERA while allowing 8.8 hits per 9 innings. He has given up a total of 504 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.302 and having a FIP of 4.0. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.75 and he has gone up against 4,804 hitters during his career.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Boston (-215)

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