Saturday, March 11, 2017

Goodyear Ballpark

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Probable Pitchers: Jason Vargas vs. Danny Salazar

The Kansas City Royals visit Goodyear Ballpark on Saturday, March 11, 2017 to play the Cleveland Indians in a Spring Training matchup. The probable starters are Jason Vargas for the Royals and Danny Salazar for the Indians.

The opening line for this matchup has Kansas City at -135 and Cleveland at +115. The Royals had a 75-78-9 over/under record and a 85-77-0 run line mark last season, meaning they covered 53% of the time. The Indians were 75-86-0 against the run line and had a 80-70-11 over/under record. They covered the spread 47% of the time.

The Royals are coming off a 81-81 record in 2016, including 34-47 on the road. Starting pitcher Jason Vargas had a 0-0 record with an earned run average of 2.25 and a WHIP of 0.92. He had 11 strikeouts over his 12 innings pitched and he gave up 8 hits last season. He allowed 6 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 3.15. The bullpen last year had an earned run average of 3.45 and they gave up 505 base hits on the year. Teams hit .244 against the bullpen while being struck out 509 times and walking 188 times last season. As a team, Kansas City allowed 8.96 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.04 batters per nine innings. They were 17th in the league in team earned run average at 4.21. The Royals pitchers collectively gave up 1,433 base hits and 674 earned runs. They allowed 206 home runs last season and they allowed 1.3 homers per nine innings as a staff. Kansas City as a pitching staff walked 517 batters and struck out 1,287. They walked 3.2 men per 9 innings while striking out 8 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.35 and their FIP as a unit was 4.42.

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As a team Kansas City batted .261, good for 7th in the league while putting together a .252 average away from home. The Royals held a .400 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .312 which was good for 26th in baseball. They ranked 6th in baseball with 8.96 hits per game. Alcides Escobar is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .261 with an on-base percentage of .292. He had 166 hits last season along with 57 runs scored and 55 runs batted in. He struck out 96 times and walked 27 times. Eric Hosmer hit .266 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .328. He totaled 161 hits while scoring 80 runs and he drove in 104. He walked 57 times and struck out on 132 occasions. The Royals had 1,450 hits, including 264 doubles and 147 home runs. They stole 121 bases and were thrown out stealing 35 times. Kansas City walked 382 times last season and they struck out 1,224 times as a unit. They left 1,049 men on base and had a team OPS of .712. They scored 4.17 runs per contest and scored a total of 675 runs last year.

Cleveland had a 53-28 home record and a 94-67 overall mark in 2016. With an earned run average of 3.87, Danny Salazar had a 11-6 record and a 1.34 WHIP last season. He had 161 strikeouts over the 137.1 innings he pitched during which he gave up 121 hits. He allowed 7.9 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 3.74. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 3.45 and they gave up 443 base hits on the year. Teams hit .231 against the Indians bullpen while being struck out 514 times and walking 190 times last season. As a team, Cleveland allowed 8.28 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.71 batters per nine innings. They were 7th in the league in team earned run average at 3.84. The Indians pitchers as a team surrendered 1,330 base knocks and 617 earned runs last season. They gave up 186 home runs last year and they gave up 1.2 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Cleveland as a staff walked 461 hitters and struck out 1,398. They gave up a walk 2.9 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8.7 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.24 while their FIP as a staff was 3.91.

As a team, they batted .262, good for 6th in the league while putting together a .288 average at home. The Indians held a .430 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .329 which was good for 8th in baseball. They ranked 9th in baseball with 8.91 hits per contest. Jason Kipnis comes into this matchup after batting .275 with an OBP of .343. He had 168 hits last year along with 91 runs scored and 82 RBI. He struck out 146 times and walked on 60 occasions. Francisco Lindor hit .301 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .358. He collected 182 hits while scoring 99 runs and driving in 78. He earned a walk 57 times and punched out 88 times. The Indians as a unit had 1,435 base hits, including 308 doubles and 185 homers. They had 134 stolen bases and were thrown out 31 times. Cleveland as a team walked 531 times last year and they struck out 1,246 times. They had 1,084 men left on base and had an OPS of .759. They scored 4.83 runs per game and totaled 777 runs last season.

Kansas City Royals Betting Trends

The Kansas City Royals were 75-78-9 against the over/under last season

The Kansas City Royals were 85-77-0 against the run line last season

Cleveland Indians Betting Trends

The Cleveland Indians were 80-70-11 against the over/under last season

The Cleveland Indians were 75-86-0 against the run line last season

Injuries to Watch

Kansas City Royals

No key injuries to report

Cleveland Indians

No key injuries to report

Guy's Pick: Take the Royals -135

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