American League heavyweights are set to collide in ESPN’s Sunday night game of the week with Eric Hosmer and the Royals ( 17-10, $687) looking to close their three-game set on a high against Miguel Cabrera and the Tigers (17-11, $482).
ODDS ANALYSIS
With only a half-game separating these heated rivals in the AL Central standings, the betting lines are sure to be extremely competitive through the weekend. Save for the series opener Friday night, don’t expect to see the home team laying much chalk over the weekend.
KC has made its wagering supporters some green on the road in scoring seven wins in 12 tries ($286) while averaging 5.6 runs per game; the third highest run total in the league.
Detroit’s made a bulk of its money on the road (10-6, $415), but what else can you expect when oddsmakers have lined them as chalk in all but one of their 13 home games. They went off the board as negligible +100 underdogs in the game they weren’t favored.
With the best bullpen in the American League and second best in the league, it comes as quite the surprise to see the ‘over’ 16-10-2 for the Royals thus far. On the road, the ‘over’ has cashed at a 7-4-1 clip. Regression is surely down the road as we get deeper into the season.
As for Detroit, the ‘over’ has cashed in just 15 of their 29 overall played games, but the ‘under’ holds the upper hand at Comerica where it’s 7-6 to date.
PITCHING MATCHUP
The pairing for tonight is by no means as sexy as the one going Friday between Yordano Ventura and David Price, but it’s still intriguing.
Jason Vargas has some extremely pedestrian stats entering his sixth start of the year, but April has routinely been unkind evidenced by his career 4.35 ERA and .265 batting average against. May’s been much nicer, and he enters this spot off his best showing since early April after limiting the Cleveland Indians to just 2 ERs and 2 hits through 6 innings pitched to log his second straight victory.
He has however had an extremely rough go of it versus Detroit in his career in going 3-4 overall with a 5.37 ERA & .299 BAA through 10 starts. He’s given up 32 hits and 17 ERs through 29.2 innings pitched at Comerica.
Opposing the southpaw is the embattled Shane Green. The Tigers offseason acquisition got out to a stellar start for his new team in tossing 23 innings of 1 ER ball, but his last three trips to the bump have been catastrophic.
Green’s been ripped to the tune of 23 hits and 20 ERs and failed to get through the 5th inning in each. Each of his last two starts occurred on the road, so he should be psyched to return to Comerica where he’s 2-1 with a 4.26 ERA with each win of quality.
QUOTE TO NOTE
Manager Brad Ausmus believes he might be on to what’s been ailing the once streaking Green after getting the hook early in Chicago on Tuesday.
"He just starts moving to the plate and his arms ends up being behind him," Ausmus said. "That's really all it is. Like I mentioned last night, he gets a little quick sometimes. If somehow we can slow him, keep his weight over his back side, I think it'll fix itself."
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Tigers have held the upper hand in the recent rivalry winning 12 of the last 20 overall meetings which includes splitting a four game series at Kauffman Stadium last weekend. Neither Vargas nor Greene pitched in that series, so tonight will mark the first time either offense gets to dig in against them this season.
Now I get that Green has been terrible, but I feel the regression monster decided to humble him in a big time way. The Royals have only seen him once, so he certainly has the lack of familiarity going for him. That’s not the case for Vargas who has a rich history of getting blown up by the Tigers’ unforgiving bats.
Detroit’s won six of nine against lefties to date, and has also taken nine of its last 12 against +.600 opponents. Kansas City has struggled mightily in Motown winning just eight of their last 26 visits. With first place on the line under the ESPN Sunday night lights, look for the home team to make a statement in the series finale.
Detroit Tigers 9, Kansas City Royals 3
The MLB odds for this game will be available first at BookMaker Sportsbook. Since this game can be seen by anyone with a TV, BookMaker will have a multitude of wagering options available for it. Outside of the normal lines, you can gamble on real-time moneylines, player props and inning totals. Live betting is open during every commercial break!
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! First pitch for the game between the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers is scheduled for Sunday, April 10, 2015, at 8:05 p.m. ET at Comerica Park. The matchup can be seen live on ESPN.
