Guardians vs. Royals Prediction and Odds for Friday, July 8 (Why Backing Kansas City is Worth It)
By Reed Wallach
The Guardians have come back down to Earth for a bit, but can they beat up on a lowly AL Central foe and get back in the divisional race?
Cleveland is sitting at .500, 40-40, and more than four games out of the AL Central lead, held by the Minnesota Twins, but have an opportunity to take care of business against the Kansas City Royals and pad their place in the standings. But will they? The offense has tailed off and Kansas City is seeing the ball well right now.
Here are the odds from consensus sportsbooks for this projected coin flip:
Guardians vs. Royals Odds, Run Line, Total
Run Line:
- Guardians: -1.5 (+155)
- Royals: +1.5 (-180)
Moneyline:
- Guardians: -110
- Royals: -110
Total: 8.5 (Over -110/Under -110)
Guardians vs. Royals Prediction and Pick
The Royals have been the better offense over the past two weeks, ranking eighth in wRC+ since June 19th. In that same timeframe, the Guardians rank 27th.
Meanwhile on the mound, the Guardians will turn to Aaron Civale, who has a 7.02 ERA this season. While his FIP indicates he has been unlucky, there is enough of a sample size to have rightful concerns. His FIP is at 4.72, but he is still allowing more than 10 hits per 9 innings.
The Royals will counter with young right hander Brady Singer, who has been fine in his 2022 campaign, posting a 4.30 ERA while sporting excellent control. He has struggled with the long ball (allowing 1.5 per 9 innings this season), but otherwise has been decent for a rebuilding Royals team.
The biggest edge in this one is the KC offense that has been firing on all cylinders for about a month now. Civale can't be trusted and I'll take advantage of the reputation of the Guardians, who have slid to .500, and back the Royals in a toss up.
LEAN: Royals ML (-110)
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