The Royals and Indians both did their part last week to knock AL Central rival Chicago out of first place. Now the two have a battle of their own to determine who takes over the division lead. The Tribe will run Danny Salazar, one of the best in the league, to the bump in the first of four.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The relentless Royals of the past few years appear to be back. The team proved as much during a weekend series with the White Sox. After completing an incredible comeback down 7-1 in the ninth inning Saturday, the Royals managed another tremendous come-from-behind victory against the Sox bullpen on Sunday. When the series started the Sox were in first place in the AL Central. By the time it ended, Kansas City had climbed to the top spot.
The winning ways continued Monday with a 6-2 victory over the Rays, giving Kansas City 11 wins in 14 games and putting them up 9.03 units on the moneyline in that stretch. The Indians took two of three from the Royals when the teams met in Cleveland in early May with each club totaling 12 runs. They cashed the over twice in that series, including the game on May 6 when starters Yordano Ventura and Danny Salazar faced each other.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Yordano Ventura (4-3, 5.17 ERA) hung in there for 107 pitches but had his share of struggles against the White Sox last time out. Six of the seven runs he surrendered were earned, along with nine hits, including a pair of home runs, while taking a no-decision in a game KC would rally to win. Ventura will attempt to come back from another rough outing after posting a 6.59 ERA in five May starts.
Ventura took the loss giving up six hits and five runs along with a pair of long balls in a 7-1 Indians victory on May 6. He’s faced Cleveland more than any team with 4-2 record and 3.33 ERA in eight career starts against them.
Danny Salazar (5-3, 2.39 ERA) has been solid all year and bounced back from his worst outing of the season to hold the Orioles to two runs and six hits over six innings in an 11-4 win on Saturday. He fanned five and has 72 strikeouts in 60.1 innings, putting him near the top of the league leaders in that category.
He continues to be one of the best pitchers in the AL with his 2.39 ERA second in the league among qualified starters. He started opposite Ventura on May 6, blanking the Royals on four hits with nine strikeouts over 7.2 innings in his longest outing of the season. Salazar is 5-5 with a 4.05 ERA in 10 career starts against Kansas City.
LIVE BETTING
Don’t count the Royals out of any game, especially considering what they’ve done during a four-game winning streak that vaulted them to the top of the AL Central. KC had an amazing weekend even by their standards, with one stunning victory followed by another and then another.
The Royals trailed the White Sox 5-2 in the seventh inning on Friday, 7-1 in the ninth inning on Saturday and 4-2 in the eighth inning on Sunday. They rallied to win all three games, outscoring the Sox 15-1 in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. And to prove the weekend series was no fluke, KC did it again in Monday’s win over Tampa Bay. After the Rays tied the game 2-2 in the top of the eighth, the Royals threw up a four-spot in the bottom half to pull out a 6-2 victory. That’s 19 runs after the sixth inning in four games, all of which were wins.
QUICK PICK
The magic is back in Kansas City and a stirring win streak with three straight comeback wins over Chicago has the Royals perched atop the AL Central. But with Mike Moustakas out for the year with a torn ACL, Alex Gordon on the disabled list with a broken bone in his wrist and Sal Perez shelved with a thigh injury, the magic is bound to run out eventually.
Facing one of the top hurlers in the AL in Salazar, who silenced a full Royals lineup in early May, the comeback kids won’t be able to do it this time around. Ventura has been a disappointment, not developing into the top starter the club envisioned a few years back. His problems will persist as the Indians try to grab a piece of first place in the AL Central.
MLB Odds: Cleveland 5, Kansas City 3
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