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Right at the trade deadline, the Kansas City Royals acquired Johnny Cueto for moments exactly like this. He's going to have the ball in his hand with a chance to pitch his team into the ALCS in Game 5 against the Houston Astros on Wednesday night.
PITCHING MATCHUP
For the most part, Cueto has been looked upon as a bust for the Royals. He has only led his team to a 5-9 record in his 14 starts, and his four runs in six innings allowed to the Astros in Game 2 of this series didn't do anything to endear him to the Kauffman Stadium faithful in spite of the fact that the Royals did win the game.
However, all will be forgotten if Cueto twirls a gem on Wednesday.
Pardon live bettors though, if they aren't all that optimistic.
The big problem that we have with Cueto is that he allowed an eye-popping 10 home runs in his 13 starts in the regular season with the Royals, and he gave up another homer in Game 2 as well. No team in baseball has more explosive bats than do the Astros, and there won't be such a thing as an inning where two or three guys can't go yard.
Collin McHugh was brilliant in Game 1 of this series, and he's back with a chance to close it all out. He too had problems with the long ball earlier, allowing a pair of solo shots to Kendrys Morales in his six innings, but aside from that, the Royals had no chance whatsoever. The rest of the lineup had just two hits off of McHugh. That should have live bettors salivating about getting this second chance to profit off of the 19-game winner.
ADVANCED STATS
We've got some real concern here for the Royals. Yes, Morales was awesome in that game against McHugh, but the rest of the stats for these batters are mind-boggling. Alex Rios slugging just .273? Mike Moustakas with one extra base hit in 14 at bats and a .143 average? Lorenzo Cain with five strikeouts in four games?
These things just don't happen with these Royals. On one hand, you could certainly argue that better times are sure to be had. However, there's no sign for live bettors that any of these batters are going to turn it around, especially after such a poor day this lineup had against McHugh just a handful of days ago.
TALKING BULLPENS
Now is when we are going to learn just how ready for the playoffs these Astros really are. Their bullpen imploded at home with a chance to finish off this series in Game 4, and you just know that some, if not all of these pitchers who were rattled on Monday are going to have to come back out there on Wednesday.
You know the scenario from the eighth and ninth innings in Game 4. A 6-3 lead became a 9-3 loss with six hits and three walks yielding seven runs, five of which were earned against four relievers. Will Harris kept giving up singles. Tony Sipp was throwing too many balls over the plate. Luke Gregerson had no control whatsoever and walked two men.
How will these vital role players respond? If the answer is well, live bettors could pick up a big victory on the Astros. If the answer is poorly, the Royals will be headed to the ALCS.
The baseball betting odds for this game were first available at BookMaker Sportsbook. The Kansas City Royals were favored at -122 along with a total of 8. BookMaker is going to have multiple betting options available for this baseball matchup. Live wagering during commercials offers and adjusted moneyline, individual inning run totals and next hitter results. Log in, and start gambling during the game now!
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! Game 5 of the ALDS between the Kansas City Royals and the Houston Astros will start at 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at Kauffman Stadium. The matchup will be televised nationally on FOX Sports 1.
