Royals vs. Guardians Prediction and Odds for Tuesday, May 31 (Predicting a Rare win for Kansas City)

Two struggling AL Central teams clash on Tuesday when the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians do battle at Progressive Field. Don’t let the gap in the standings fool you, the Guardians could easily be in last place in this division the way they have been playing. In the lead-up to this series, the Guardians went 4-11 straight up with series losses to the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, and Houston Astros. Losing to the Tigers and Reds is a bad look for any team and I have to look at Cleveland as a bottom-tier team moving forward. 

This is a good sign for the Royals who are unequivocally one of the worst teams in the league right now after entering this series at 16-30. There isn't much to say about the Royals. They entered this series 2-8 in their previous 10 games and will probably finish last in the division. But, can they steal a game from the home favorites? 

Here are the odds for this game, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook. 

Royals vs. Guardians Odds, Run Line, and Total

Run Line

• Royals: +1.5 (-150)
• Guardians: -1.5 (+130)

Moneyline:

• Royals: +145
• Guardians: -155

Total:

• Total 8.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

Royals vs. Guardians Prediction and Pick

Despite the lack of wins between these two teams, I think this game could end up being really good. This is based solely on the pitching duel I think we are in store for. Daniel Lynch suits up for the Royals and will face off against Cal Quantrill in Game 2 of this series. 

Lynch is 2-3 with a 3.92 ERA and 1.41 WHIP over 39 innings of work. He’s only had two bad games as far as I can see and has three scoreless starts under his belt this year. Sadly he plays for the Royals and KC still managed to lose a couple of those games. 

Quantrill has also been let down by a bad team with a 1-3 record despite a solid 3.42 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 47 ⅓ innings. Quantrill’s issues continue to revolve around his strikeout rate which, to say the least, is low. The 27-year-old righty has 28 strikeouts in 192 chances this season. Adding to this issue is his walk rate which has been all over the place. He walked four batters in Houston on Wednesday compared to three strikeouts.

This has been a concerning trend as Quantrill has walked more batters than he struck out several times this year. Because of this, and other issues, the Guardians are 2-6 in games Quantrill starts. I’m willing to bet on that trend to continue with the Royals getting very reasonable underdog odds on the road. 

Pick: Royals +145 to win

Follow all of Matt De Saro’s betting picks HERE