Toronto Blue Jays at Kansas City Royals Expert MLB Picks 7/31/2019
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Kauffman Stadium
Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.
Probable Pitchers: Jacob Waguespack vs. Jakob Junis
Justin Smoak and the Toronto Blue Jays (41-67, 4th in AL East) are headed to Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday where they'll take on the Kansas City Royals (40-68, 4th in AL Central). The Royals open this matchup at -133 while the Blue Jays are priced at +123. The over/under opens at 10.
The Blue Jays have been terrible for baseball bettors, having gone 41-67-0 SU. The Royals cover 37.0% of the time, going 40-68-0 straight up. The Royals have been a decent bet for baseball bettors as the favorite, going 9-8-0 SU. Toronto has went 27-52-0 straight up as the underdog, so they cover 34.2% of the time.
Valuable Toronto Blue Jays Betting Trends
The Blue Jays have been a hot and cold Under option for over/under baseball bettors, having gone 53-52-3.
Toronto is covering 38.9% of the time as the road team, having gone 21-33-0 straight up.
Important Kansas City Royals Betting Trends
The Royals cover 40.0% of the time at Kauffman Stadium, going 22-33-0 SU.
The Royals have been a hot and cold Under option for over/under baseball bettors, having gone 54-48-6.
Key Toronto Blue Jays Injuries
7/29/2019 Freddy Galvis SS Back Probable for Jul 30
7/29/2019 Ken Giles RP Elbow Probable for Jul 30
7/28/2019 Trent Thornton SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Aug 9
7/27/2019 Luke Maile C Oblique Expected to be out until at least Aug 21
7/24/2019 Clay Buchholz SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 12
7/23/2019 Clayton Richard SP Lat Expected to be out until at least Aug 6
7/23/2019 Devon Travis 2B Knee Expected to be out until at least Aug 16
7/22/2019 Matt Shoemaker SP Knee Out for the season
6/17/2019 Elvis Luciano RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Aug 13
6/13/2019 Ryan Tepera RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Aug 10
Key Kansas City Royals Injuries
7/26/2019 Adalberto Mondesi SS Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 5
7/25/2019 Jesse Hahn SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Aug 8
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 Blue Jays have a 41-67 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Jacob Waguespack has a 1-1 record with an earned run average of 5.63 and a WHIP of 1.54 this season. He has 22 strikeouts over his 24 innings pitched and he's given up 30 hits. He's allowed 11.3 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 4.15. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.23 and they have given up 423 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .244 against the bullpen and they've struck out 477 hitters and walked 189 batters. As a team, Toronto allows 9.3 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.4 batters per nine innings. They are 21st in the league in team earned run average at 4.87. The Blue Jays pitchers collectively have given up 995 base hits and 518 earned runs. They have allowed 150 home runs this season, ranking them 12th in the league. Toronto as a pitching staff has walked 397 batters and struck out 891. They have walked 3.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.4 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.45 and their FIP as a unit is 4.77.
Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games
Hitting Statistics
As a team Toronto is hitting .233, good for 29th in the league. The Blue Jays hold a .412 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .300, which is good for 28th in baseball. They rank 30th in MLB with 7.9 hits per game. Justin Smoak is hitting .215 with an on-base percentage of .357. He has 63 hits this season in 293 at bats with 46 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .427 and an OPS+ of 110. Lourdes Gurriel Jr is hitting .290 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .336. He has totaled 76 hits and he has driven in 44 men in 262 at bats. His OPS+ is 138 while his slugging percentage is at .576. The Blue Jays have 852 hits, including 165 doubles and 154 home runs. Toronto has walked 333 times so far this season and they have struck out 983 times as a unit. They have left 657 men on base and have a team OPS of .712. They score 4.38 runs per contest and have scored a total of 473 runs this year.
Useful Pitching Statistics
Kansas City has a 40-68 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 5.03, Jakob Junis has a 6-9 record and a 1.42 WHIP. He has 120 strikeouts over the 125.1 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 133 hits. He's allowing 9.6 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 4.84. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.76 and they have given up 386 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .267 against the Royals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 352 batters and walked 168 opposing hitters. As a team, Kansas City allows 9.5 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.8 batters per nine innings. They are 23rd in the league in team earned run average at 4.98. The Royals pitchers as a team have surrendered 1,007 base knocks and 528 earned runs this season. They have given up 141 home runs this year, which ranks 17th in Major League Baseball. Kansas City as a staff has walked 384 hitters and struck out 831 batters. They give up a walk 3.6 times per 9 innings while they strike out 7.8 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.46 while their FIP as a staff is 4.80.
Hitting Statistics
As a team, they are batting .248, good for 18th in the league. The Royals hold a .401 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .312, which is good for 23rd in baseball. They rank 19th in MLB with 8.4 hits per contest. Alex Gordon comes into this matchup batting .285 with an OBP of .358. He has 109 hits this year along with 60 RBI in 383 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .444 with an OPS+ of 111. Whit Merrifield is hitting .302 this season and he has an OBP of .356. He has collected 137 hits in 453 at bats while driving in 55 runs. He has an OPS+ of 120 and a slugging percentage of .486. The Royals as a unit have 912 base hits, including 191 doubles and 102 homers. Kansas City has walked 310 times this year and they have struck out on 929 occasions. They have had 708 men left on base and have an OPS of .713. They have scored 4.33 runs per game and totaled 468 runs this season.
Who will win tonight's Blue Jays/Royals MLB game against the spread?
Josh's Pick: Take the Royals -133
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