At 8:10 PM ET, the Diamondbacks and Royals will square off in an interleague matchup. This one is taking place at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, and the Royals are favored on the money line, with their odds sitting at -130. The money line odds for the Diamondbacks are at +111, and the over/under line is at 9 runs.
Wednesday's forecast in Kansas City calls for clear skies and temperatures in the low 90s. Ryne Nelson is starting for the Diamondbacks, and he is facing off against Michael Wacha. Arizona is 3rd in the NL West, and the Royals are 2nd in the AL Central.
Arizona vs. Kansas City Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Diamondbacks at Royals
- Where: Kauffman Stadium Kansas City
- Date: Wednesday, July 24th
- Betting Odds KC -130 | ARI +111 O/U 9
Diamondbacks vs Royals Last Game Recap
Arizona cruised to a 6-2 win over the Royals in the most recent game of this series. The Diamondbacks had a huge 1st inning, scoring three of their six runs. As for the Royals, they scored their only two runs in the 5th. Heading into the game, the Diamondbacks were the slight underdogs at -105.
Ketel Marte and Gabriel Moreno each had two RBIs for the Diamondbacks' offense. Marte, Freddy Fermin, and Josh Rojas each scored three times for Arizona. As for the Royals, Andrew Benintendi went 2/4 with an RBI.
Jordan Montgomery pitched well for the Diamondbacks in this one, going five innings and striking out two without giving up a run. He picked up a win in the game, while Alec Marsh took the loss for Kansas City. Marsh went five innings and gave up five earned runs.
Diamondbacks Preview
Arizona is 52-50 overall, which puts them nine games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. They are just a half-game behind the Padres for the 2nd place in the division. The Diamondbacks have a 15-13-4 series record this year, and they have won two straight series.
On the run line, the Diamondbacks are 30-22 as the road underdog and 34-23 overall as the underdog. Their over/under record is 53-46, and their average total line is 9. The O/U record in games with a total of 9 is 11-11-2 this season.
Ryne Nelson gets the start for the Diamondbacks today as he faces the Royals on the road. So far this season, he has made 16 starts and six of them have been quality starts. Nelson's ERA for the season is 4.78, along with a record of 7-6. In his 18 appearances, he has a WHIP of 1.39 and is coming off a game in which he only allowed one earned run in 5 2/3 innings of work. Nelson has done a better job of limiting the damage on the road, coming in with an ERA of 3.8 compared to 7.83 at home.
Arizona comes into today's game as one of the league's best offensive teams, averaging 4.9 runs per game, which is 4th in the MLB. They have been especially good at home, where they are also averaging 4.9 runs per contest. As a team, the Diamondbacks are batting .252, which is 7th in the league, and are also near the top of the league in on-base percentage and slugging. Arizona's offense is also one of the league's best at avoiding strikeouts.
Christian Walker and Ketel Marte have been the team's top power hitters so far, with Walker's 22 homers leading the team and Marte's 21 homers coming in as the 2nd most on the team. Marte has been especially hot of late, batting .375 over his last six games with three homers and eight RBIs. He is also 15th in the league with 61 RBIs.
Royals Preview
As the favorite, the Royals have a 30-16 record and they are 26-30 as the underdog. Kansas City has an overall series record of 15-16-1 and they have a +0.7 run margin per game this season. At home, their run line record is 33-21, and as the underdog, they are 34-22 on the run line.
Kansas City is 2nd in the AL Central, five games behind the Guardians, with a 56-46 overall record. They have been playing well, going 7-3 in their last ten games, and are coming off a series win over the Tigers.
Michael Wacha is coming off a strong outing for the Royals, as he didn't give up a run in his last start. Against the White Sox on July 19th, he pitched seven innings, picking up the win in the outing. Looking back further, Wacha has won three straight starts. His overall record for the season is 7-6, and he has an ERA of 3.55. For the year, Wacha has made eight quality starts and is averaging 7.94 strikeouts per nine innings. Overall, he has allowed nine home runs. Wacha's ERA at home is 3.81, compared to 4.11 on the road.
So far this season, the Royals are averaging 4.6 runs per game, which is 12th in the league. At home, they are averaging 5.2 runs per contest, which is the 2nd best mark in the league. Kansas City's team batting average is .249 (8th) and they are 2nd in the league in fewest strikeouts per game. However, they are just 24th in the league in walks.
Both Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez come into the game with 18 home runs, which is the best mark on the team and 12th in the league. Witt Jr. has been on fire of late, going 14/27 in his last seven games, with two homers and seven RBIs. Witt Jr. is batting .340 for the season, while Perez is hitting .279.
Diamondbacks vs. Royals Prediction: Royals ML -130
Our prediction for today's Diamondbacks vs. Royals matchup is to take the Royals on the money line at -130. We have the Royals winning this one by a score of 6-5, giving us a little bit of wiggle room with the over/under line sitting at 9 runs.
Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Michael Wacha picking up five strikeouts compared to Ryne Nelson with four. However, Nelson is projected to go five innings, while Wacha is projected to go six.
Offensively, we have the Diamondbacks finishing with nine hits compared to the Royals with nine. However, the Royals are projected to finish with seven strikeouts compared to the Diamondbacks with nine.
Another option could be to take the Royals to win and then look to pair that with some of our other projections for player props.
