Kansas City Royals (0-1) vs Minnesota Twins (1-0)
March 30, 2024 at 04:10 PM EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: Kansas City Royals +115 / Minnesota Twins -135 — Over/Under: 8.5
The Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals meet Saturday in MLB action from Kauffman Stadium. Here’s a Twins vs Royals prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for the game. We will examine:
• The Minnesota Twins recent form and player performance
• The Kansas City Royals recent form and player performance
• Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Minnesota Twins
• Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Kansas City Royals
• Recent betting trends in games played between the Twins and Royals
• A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Twins vs Royals game
Minnesota Twins Betting Preview
The Twins were able to power out a victory in the Thursday opener of this set. Minnesota notched a pair of runs in the ninth inning to cap off a 4-1 win. Leading the charge on offense was Carlos Correa with three hits and two RBI. Pablo Lopez pitched 7.0 frames with one earned on four hits.
In the Saturday starting pitcher role for the Twins, it’ll be Joe Ryan. Last year over his 29 starts, Ryan went 11-10 with a 4.51 ERA and 197 strikeouts over 161.2 innings. Ryan is a 26-19 career pitcher with a 4.05 ERA in 61 total starts. The Twins will take on the Brewers in the series following this one.
Kansas City Royals Betting Preview
Over on the Royals’ side, they had the game tied briefly on Thursday but couldn’t score after the first inning. Maikel Garcia notched the lone run on a solo homer, while starter Cole Ragans went 6.0 innings with five hits, three walks, two earned runs and nine strikeouts.
Seth Lugo will take the mound on Saturday and attempt to change the Royals’ fortunes. Last season Lugo went 8-7 overall with a 3.57 ERA in 26 games. He struck out 140 batters in 146.1 total innings. In his career, Lugo is 40-31 with a 3.50 ERA in 301 games (64 starts). The Royals will play against the Orioles after this series.
Kansas City Royals Player Prop Facts
- Bobby Witt Jr. has hit a home run in three of his last five home appearances after not playing the previous day.
- Salvador Perez has scored a run in four of his last five appearances against opponents that held a winning record.
- Salvador Perez has recorded at least one RBI in each of his last seven appearances against AL opponents that held a winning record.
- Seth Lugo has recorded seven strikeouts in each of his last three appearances.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has recorded two or more total bases in each of his last nine home appearances after not playing the previous day.
- MJ Melendez has recorded at least one hit in each of his last nine Saturday appearances at Kauffman Stadium.
- MJ Melendez has recorded a Single in each of the Royals’ last seven Saturday games at Kauffman Stadium.
- Seth Lugo has recorded a win in four of his last five appearances with his team as a home underdog against AL opponents .
- Maikel Garcia ranks T3rd in the league in Home Runs (1) this season.
Minnesota Twins Player Prop Facts
- Max Kepler has scored at least one run in each of his last 10 appearances against opponents that held a losing record.
- Joe Ryan has recorded six or more strikeouts in each of his last five appearances against the Royals.
- Carlos Santana has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 13 appearances after not playing the previous day.
- Carlos Santana has recorded at least one total base in each of his last 13 appearances after not playing the previous day.
- Trevor Larnach has hit a home run in two of the Twins’ last three games against opponents that held a losing record.
- Joe Ryan has recorded a win in five of his six previous appearances against the Royals.
- Manuel Margot has recorded at least one RBI in seven of his last nine appearances with his team as a road favorite.
- Carlos Correa has recorded at least one Double in each of the Twins’ last three road games against AL opponents.
- Manuel Margot has recorded at least one Single in each of his last seven appearances with his team as a road favorite against AL Central opponents.
- Carlos Correa ranks T2nd amongst qualified players for Batting Average (.750) this season.
Twins vs Royals Prediction
I’ll lean toward Minnesota in game two. The Twins had a nice all-around game in the Thursday opener, bagging 10 team hits. Eight different batters got on base at least once, which helped out a nice pitching performance by Lopez. The bullpen combo of Brock Stewart and Griffin Jax contributed 2.0 innings, one hit, one walk and one strikeout combined. If Ryan can start things off well the Twins will be in a great spot.
As for the Royals, they went able to cash in very well on their five team hits Thursday. Chris Stratton (1.0 innings; two earned) had a rough finish on the mound as well. I like this one to be pretty close most of the way, with the Twins powering out another victory.