Kansas City Royals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 4/28/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: Kansas City (-128) Pittsburgh (+108)

PNC Park is the venue where Mitch Keller and the Pittsburgh Pirates (11-11, 2nd in NL Central) will take on the Kansas City Royals (14-7, 1st in AL Central) on Wednesday. The Pirates open this contest at +108 while the Royals are priced at -128. The over/under has been set at 8. The expected starting pitchers are Mike Minor and Mitch Keller.

As a unit, the Kansas City Royals are notching 4.5 runs per game, which is 11th in baseball. They have notched a total of 94 runs and have an OBP of .303. The Royals have hit 31 two-baggers as a unit and have hit 21 baseballs out of the park. They have accounted for 88 RBI's as well as 161 base knocks on the year, while their batting average is sitting at .237. Kansas City is slugging .393 and have been called out on strikes 165 times, while drawing a walk on 62 occasions.

The Royals are sitting with a team earned run average of 4.01 for the year (14th in the league), and the staff has struck out 190 batters. They have walked 74 players from the other team and their FIP sits at 3.68 as a unit on the year. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.57 and the pitching staff sits with a WHIP of 1.32. Royals pitchers have allowed 19 long balls and 90 runs in total (13th in baseball).

Royals bullpen pitchers have entered the game with runners on base 24 times in addition to having 29 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have tallied 16 holds this year (4th in baseball). The Royals bullpen have compiled a save rate of 72.7% and has entered the game in 27 save situations. They have accumulated 8 saves this season and have blown 3 of their 11 chances to get a save. The relievers have inherited 40 base runners this year and 20.0% of those runners ended up crossing the plate. The Royals have sent 77 relievers to the hill over the course of the season.

The Kansas City Royals are sitting with 552 putouts over the course of the season, as well as 166 assists and 15 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .980 which has them sitting 26th in the majors, and have earned 142 double plays. The Royals have converted 67.8% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 1,656 innings, ranking them 27th in baseball.

Minor (73-67 record in his career) has earned a FIP of 4.00 and he has gone up against 4,870 opposing batters during his time in the majors. He has allowed 1,093 hits (8.4 hits per nine innings) with 342 walks. His earned run average is 4.00 (521 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.223. Minor has taken the mound for 1,173 innings and has totaled 1,069 K's thus far in his career.

Pittsburgh has accounted for 18 home runs this season as well as 84 runs batted in. They have recorded 38 doubles, while walking 73 times and recording 86 runs. The Pittsburgh Pirates have recorded an on-base percentage of .308 in addition to a team batting average of .229 so far this season. The Pirates have a team slugging percentage of .364 and they are earning 3.91 runs per outing (22nd in MLB). They have struck out on 195 occasions (18th in the league) and have earned 166 hits.

The Pirates have a WHIP of 1.251 and have a FIP of 4.26 as a squad on the year. Their K/BB ratio comes in at 2.64 (195 strikeouts vs 74 bases on balls). They sit at 9th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits allowed with 160. They have surrendered 27 homers and they concede 4.62 runs per 9 innings (18th in MLB). The Pittsburgh pitching staff have relinquished 96 runs so far this year while holding a team ERA of 4.33 (90 earned runs surrendered).

Sitting with 19 save situations, the Pirates have earned 13 holds and also 1 blown save. Pittsburgh has called on bullpen pitchers to enter the game in 4 save chances and they have come away with 3 saves. Their relievers have stepped onto the hill 16 times in high leverage situations and on 18 occasions with runners on. Pittsburgh bullpen pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 17.9% out of their 28 inherited base runners. They rank 6th in baseball holding a save rate of 75.0%, and they have sent 80 relievers to the hill on the season.

In their 1,683 innings on the field, the Pirates hold a efficiency on defense of 70.7% (11th in professional baseball). The Pittsburgh Pirates have turned 19 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .984 (13th in professional baseball). The Pirates have 191 assists, 12 errors and have a total of 561 putouts on the campaign.

Keller (3-8 record in his career) has a 6.07 ERA while allowing 10.7 hits per 9 innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.33 and he has gone up against 391 hitters so far in his career. He has surrendered a total of 58 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.674 and a FIP of 4.4. So far in his career, Keller has given up 102 base knocks while earning 98 strikeouts in 86 frames.

Who will win tonight's MLB game ATS?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+108)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here