Boston Red Sox at Kansas City Royals Expert MLB Picks 6/6/2019

Thursday, June 6, 2019

Kauffman Stadium

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Ryan Weber vs. Danny Duffy

Mookie Betts and the Boston Red Sox (31-29, 3rd in AL East) head to Kauffman Stadium on Thursday where they'll take on the Kansas City Royals (19-41, 5th in AL Central). The odds on this game have the Red Sox coming in at -122 and the Royals are at +112. The O/U is set at 9.5.

The Red Sox have been a pretty good pick for baseball bettors, having gone 31-29-0 SU. Kansas City is covering 31.7% of the time, going 19-41-0 straight up. The Red Sox have been hot and cold for Vegas oddsmakers oddsmakers as the favorite, going 27-24-0 SU. Kansas City has gone 16-38-0 straight up as an underdog, so they cover 29.6% of the time.

Valuable Boston Red Sox Betting Trends

The Red Sox have been an awful Under pick for O/U bettors, having gone 34-24-2.

The Red Sox cover 50.0% of the time away from home, having gone 17-17-0 straight up.

Important Kansas City Royals Betting Trends

The Royals cover 37.9% of the time at Kauffman Stadium, going 11-18-0 SU.

The Royals have been a good Over pick for O/U bettors, having gone 30-26-4.

Key Boston Red Sox Injuries

6/4/2019 Mitch Moreland 1B Back Expected to be out until at least Jun 7
6/2/2019 Nathan Eovaldi SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Jun 15
6/1/2019 Steve Pearce 1B Back Expected to be out until at least Jun 11
6/1/2019 Blake Swihart C Oblique Expected to be out until at least Jun 15
5/30/2019 Hector Velazquez RP Back Expected to be out until at least Jun 9
5/30/2019 Tzu-Wei Lin 2B Knee Expected to be out until at least Jun 6
5/29/2019 Brian Johnson RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Jun 7
5/28/2019 Dustin Pedroia 2B Knee Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
5/23/2019 Tyler Thornburg RP Hip Expected to be out until at least Jun 18
11/1/2019 Austin Maddox RP Shoulder Out for the season

Key Kansas City Royals Injuries

6/4/2019 Lucas Duda DH Back Expected to be out until at least Jun 5
6/3/2019 Hunter Dozier 3B Side Expected to be out until at least Jun 10
6/1/2019 Jesse Hahn SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Jun 15
3/28/2019 Trevor Oaks SP Hip Expected to be out until at least Aug 1
3/11/2019 Salvador Perez C Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Red Sox have a 31-29 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Ryan Weber has a 1-1 record with an earned run average of 4.50 and a WHIP of 1.22 this season. He has 13 strikeouts over his 18 innings pitched and he's given up 19 hits. He's allowed 9.5 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 4.15. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.07 and they have given up 190 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .223 against the bullpen and they've struck out 257 hitters and walked 97 batters. As a team, Boston allows 8.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.8 batters per nine innings. They are 16th in the league in team earned run average at 4.43. The Red Sox pitchers collectively have given up 485 base hits and 264 earned runs. They have allowed 76 home runs this season, ranking them 19th in the league. Boston as a pitching staff has walked 197 batters and struck out 583. They have walked 3.3 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.27 and their FIP as a unit is 4.07.

Hitting Statistics

As a team Boston is hitting .261, good for 5th in the league. The Red Sox hold a .444 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .340, which is good for 4th in baseball. They rank 5th in MLB with 9.1 hits per game. Mookie Betts is hitting .275 with an on-base percentage of .387. He has 63 hits this season in 229 at bats with 27 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .459 and an OPS+ of 122. J.D. Martinez is hitting .301 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .378. He has totaled 63 hits and he has driven in 33 men in 209 at bats. His OPS+ is 137 while his slugging percentage is at .536. The Red Sox have 544 hits, including 112 doubles and 87 home runs. Boston has walked 239 times so far this season and they have struck out 493 times as a unit. They have left 431 men on base and have a team OPS of .785. They score 5.38 runs per contest and have scored a total of 323 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Kansas City has a 19-41 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 4.05, Danny Duffy has a 3-2 record and a 1.35 WHIP. He has 33 strikeouts over the 40 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 40 hits. He's allowing 9 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 4. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.95 and they have given up 218 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .266 against the Royals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 206 batters and walked 94 opposing hitters. As a team, Kansas City allows 9.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 8 batters per nine innings. They are 28th in the league in team earned run average at 5.27. The Royals pitchers as a team have surrendered 547 base knocks and 307 earned runs this season. They have given up 72 home runs this year, which ranks 23rd in Major League Baseball. Kansas City as a staff has walked 227 hitters and struck out 468 batters. They give up a walk 3.9 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.48 while their FIP as a staff is 4.66.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .246, good for 19th in the league. The Royals hold a .411 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .313, which is good for 22nd in baseball. They rank 20th in MLB with 8.3 hits per contest. Whit Merrifield comes into this matchup batting .293 with an OBP of .347. He has 73 hits this year along with 28 RBI in 249 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .494 with an OPS+ of 122. Adalberto Mondesi is hitting .285 this season and he has an OBP of .320. He has collected 68 hits in 239 at bats while driving in 42 runs. He has an OPS+ of 111 and a slugging percentage of .485. The Royals as a unit have 498 base hits, including 97 doubles and 62 homers. Kansas City has walked 183 times this year and they have struck out on 520 occasions. They have had 394 men left on base and have an OPS of .724. They have scored 4.32 runs per game and totaled 259 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Royals +112

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