The forecast for Wednesday's matchup between the Royals and Orioles calls for overcast skies and temperatures in the mid to upper 60s. This one is getting started at 4:38 PM ET from Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, and the Orioles are favored on the money line, with their odds sitting at -158. The money line odds for the Royals are at +134, and they are +139 on the run line.
Wednesday's over/under line is at 7.5 runs, and the under is paying out at -111 compared to -110 for the over. Seth Lugo is starting for the Royals, and they are facing the Orioles, who will be sending Zach Eflin to the mound. Both teams are 2nd in their respective divisions, and the Orioles are currently on a three-game win streak.
Kansas City vs. Baltimore Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Royals at Orioles
- Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards Baltimore
- Date: Wednesday, October 2nd
- Betting Odds BAL -158 | KC +134 O/U 7.5
Royals vs Orioles Last Game Recap
Thanks to a good outing from Cole Ragans, the Royals were able to pick up a 1-0 win over the Orioles in the most recent game of this series. Heading into the game, the Royals were at +124 on the money line.
Ragans went six innings and didn't give up a run or a hit. He finished the game with eight strikeouts but issued five walks. As for the Orioles, Corbin Burnes gave up just one run in eight innings of work.
Kansas City's only run came in the 6th inning, as they were able to scratch across a run against Burnes. As for the Orioles, they had their best chance to score in the 7th but left the bases loaded.
Royals Preview
Leading their best-of-three series against Baltimore 1-0, the Royals are on the road for game two, looking to close out the series. Kansas City finished the regular season with an 86-76 record, going 45-36 at home and 41-40 on the road. They’ve won two straight as road underdogs and as underdogs overall.
During the regular season, the Royals posted a run line record of 90-73, with a +0.7 run-scoring margin on the road and +0.5 at home. They’ve covered the run line in three straight road games. The under has hit in four consecutive Royals games, and their overall over/under record is 69-89. Today’s 7.5-run line is below their season average of 8.5 runs.
Seth Lugo gets the start for the Royals today as he faces off against the Orioles on the road. So far, he has made 33 starts and has a record of 16-9 with an ERA of 3.00. Lugo's WHIP for the season is currently 1.09. In his 33 appearances, he has turned in 22 quality starts and is coming off an outing in which he went just two innings and didn't give up a run. He finished with a no-decision in that outing. Before that, he had gone at least 4 2/3 innings in three straight starts. Lugo's last outing was on September 28th.
So far this season, the Royals are averaging 4.5 runs per game, which is 13th in the league. At home, they have been even better, averaging 4.8 runs per contest. As a team, they are batting .248, which is 7th in the league, and have the 11th best slugging percentage in the league. One area they have struggled is in the walk department, as they are 25th in the league in walks.
Bobby Witt Jr. has been one of the league's top hitters this season, as he is batting .332 with 32 homers and 109 RBIs. This is good for 5th in the league in RBIs and 12th in homers. Witt Jr. is also on a four-game hitting streak. Salvador Perez is also near the top of the league in RBIs, as he has driven in 104 runs while batting .271.
Orioles Preview
Facing a must-win situation in game three of this series, the Orioles look to even things up against Kansas City. Baltimore finished the regular season with a 91-71 record, going 44-37 at home and 47-34 on the road. They’ve dropped three straight at home and as the favorite.
During the regular season, the Orioles posted an 87-76 run line record, with a home run margin of +0.3 per game. They’ve also lost three consecutive home games against the run line. Baltimore’s over/under record is 87-64, while 79.6% of their games had higher totals than today’s 7.5 line.
Zach Eflin gets the start for the Orioles today and comes in with a record of 10-9 and an ERA of 3.59. So far this year, he has made 28 starts, and opponents are batting .252 off the right-hander. Eflin has made 13 quality starts this year and is averaging 7.29 strikeouts per nine innings. In his last outing, Eflin finished with a no-decision, giving up three earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work. Before that, he had gone six straight starts without giving up more than two earned runs. Eflin has given up at least one homer in each of his last four outings.
Coming into the game, the Orioles are 2nd in the league in home runs and are also one of the top-scoring teams in the league, averaging 4.9 runs per game. They have been even better on the road, putting up 5.1 runs per contest. Overall, they are 6th in batting average and 3rd in slugging percentage.
Gunnar Henderson comes into the game with a team-high 37 home runs and is batting .281 overall. Anthony Santander has also been a big power threat, as he is 3rd in the league with 44 homers and has driven in 102 runs. Over his last five games, Emmanuel Rivera is 5/9 with two homers and five RBIs.
Royals vs. Orioles Prediction: Royals ML +134
Our prediction for today's Royals vs. Orioles matchup is to take the Royals on the money line at +134. We have the Royals winning this one by a final score of 4-3.
There are a few reasons we like the Royals to pick up the win today, and one of them is that we have Zach Eflin picking up a loss and Seth Lugo finishing with a no-decision. Looking at the starting pitchers, Eflin has the worst strikeout projection among starters, and we have him finishing with five K's.
