Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox 5/1/2018 Free MLB Picks and Predictions

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Fenway Park

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Jakob Junis vs. Chris Sale

The Kansas City Royals head to Fenway Park on Tuesday, May 1, 2018 to take on the Boston Red Sox. The expected starting pitchers are Jakob Junis for the Royals and Chris Sale for the Red Sox.

The odds for this matchup have Kansas City at +255 and Boston at -280. The Royals have a 9-16-2 over/under mark and a 9-18-0 run line record. The Red Sox are 12-15-0 against the run line and have a 14-12-1 over/under record.

Valuable Kansas City Royals Betting Trends

The Kansas City Royals are 9-16-2 against the over/under

The Kansas City Royals are 9-18-0 against the run line

Important Boston Red Sox Betting Trends

The Boston Red Sox are 14-12-1 against the over/under

The Boston Red Sox are 12-15-0 against the run line

Key Kansas City Royals Injuries

04/29/18 SS Alcides Escobar Hand is "?" Monday vs Boston Red Sox
04/25/18 P Justin Grimm Back 10-day DL (04/22)
03/30/18 SS Adalberto Mondesi Shoulder 10-day DL (03/26)
03/30/18 P Nathan Karns Elbow 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 CF Bubba Starling Oblique 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 P Jesse Hahn Elbow 60-day DL (03/06)

Key Boston Red Sox Injuries

04/29/18 RF Mookie Betts Hamstring is "?" Monday vs Kansas City Royals
04/27/18 P Joe Kelly Suspension 6-game suspension
03/30/18 P Austin Maddox Shoulder 10-day DL (03/29)
03/30/18 P Tyler Thornburg Shoulder 10-day DL (03/29)
03/29/18 2B Dustin Pedroia Knee 10-day DL (03/29)
03/26/18 SS Marco Hernandez Shoulder 60-day DL (03/29)
03/26/18 P Steven Wright Knee 10-day DL (03/26)

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Royals have a 7-20 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Jakob Junis has a 3-2 record with an earned run average of 3.34 and a WHIP of 0.87 this year. He has 25 strikeouts over his 32.1 innings pitched and he's given up 21 hits. He allows 5.8 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 5.78. The bullpen has an earned run average of 6.57 and they have given up 100 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .288 against the bullpen and they've struck out 62 hitters and walked 42 batters. As a team, Kansas City allows 9.3 hits per nine innings while striking out 6.9 batters per nine innings. They are 28th in the league in team earned run average at 5.18. The Royals pitchers collectively have given up 247 base hits and 138 earned runs. They have allowed 35 home runs this season, ranking them 7th in the league. Kansas City as a pitching staff has walked 89 batters and struck out 183. They have walked 3.3 men per 9 innings while striking out 6.9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.40 and their FIP as a unit is 4.83.

Hitting Statistics

As a team Kansas City is hitting .243, good for 14th in the league. The Royals hold a .366 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .313, which is good for 20th in baseball. They rank 16th in MLB with 8.3 hits per game. Mike Moustakas is hitting .302 with an on-base percentage of .331. He has 35 hits this season in 116 at bats with 19 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .578 and an OPS+ of 142. Whit Merrifield is hitting .250 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .325. He has totaled 26 hits and he has driven in 8 men in 104 at bats. His OPS+ is 91 while his slugging percentage is at .375. The Royals have 224 hits, including 41 doubles and 22 home runs. Kansas City has walked 83 times so far this season and they have struck out 187 times as a unit. They have left 205 men on base and have a team OPS of .679. They score 3.3 runs per contest and have scored a total of 89 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Boston has a 20-7 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 2.31, Chris Sale has a 2-1 record and a 0.97 WHIP this season. He has 45 strikeouts over the 35 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 26 hits. He allows 6.7 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 2.87. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.56 and they have given up 76 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .224 against the Red Sox bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 95 batters and walked 35 opposing hitters. As a team, Boston allows 7.6 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.3 batters per nine innings. They are 4th in the league in team earned run average at 3.24. The Red Sox pitchers as a team have surrendered 209 base knocks and 89 earned runs this season. They have given up 24 home runs this year, which ranks 25th in Major League Baseball. Boston as a staff has walked 77 hitters and struck out 255 batters. They give up a walk 2.8 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.3 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.16 while their FIP as a staff is 3.40.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .270, good for 2nd in the league. The Red Sox hold a .445 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .338, which is good for 5th in baseball. They rank 2nd in MLB with 9.5 hits per contest. Mookie Betts comes into this matchup batting .344 with an OBP of .439. He has 31 hits this year along with 18 RBI in 90 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .733 with an OPS+ of 205. J.D. Martinez is hitting .330 this season and he has an OBP of .374. He has collected 32 hits in 97 at bats while driving in 22 runs. He has an OPS+ of 146 and a slugging percentage of .567. The Red Sox as a unit have 257 base hits, including 71 doubles and 30 homers. Boston has walked 90 times this year and they have struck out on 211 occasions. They have had 191 men left on base and have an OPS of .783. They have scored 5.52 runs per game and totaled 149 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Royals/Red Sox MLB game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Royals +255

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