Cleveland Guardians vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, 4/9/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Cleveland Guardians vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Saturday, April 9, 2022

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: Bally Sports Kansas City

Odds/Point Spread: Cleveland (+105) Kansas City (-125)

The Kansas City Royals (74-88 last year) will play the Cleveland Guardians (80-82 last season) at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday. The moneyline on this contest has Cleveland at +105 while Kansas City is sitting at -125. The total is set at 7.5. The men taking the mound will be Zach Plesac and Brad Keller.

As a squad, the Cleveland Guardians recorded 4.4 runs per outing, which ranked them 18th in MLB. They had 717 runs and held an on-base percentage of .303. The Guardians tallied 248 two-baggers as a unit and hit 203 balls out of the park. They accumulated 686 RBI's as well as 1,269 base knocks for the previous season, and their average at the plate was .238. Cleveland had a slugging % of .407 and struck out 1,387 times, while taking a walk on 453 occasions.

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Guardians pitchers surrendered 216 long balls and 727 runs in total (15th in baseball). They walked 522 opposing batters and their FIP was 4.43 as a unit over the course of the prior season. They had a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.66 and their pitching staff recorded a WHIP of 1.28. The Guardians compiled a team earned run average of 4.34 over the course of last season (18th in the league), and they rung up 1,391 batters.

The Guardians had sent 535 relief pitchers to the hill over the course of last year. The bullpen inherited 202 runners for the prior year and 36.1% of them earned a run for their team. They recorded 39 saves last year and blew 19 out of their 58 save chances. The Guardians relief pitchers had a save percentage of 67.2% and stepped onto the mound in 127 save situations. The relief pitchers had 66 holds for the prior year (27th in MLB). Guardians relief pitchers entered the contest with runners on 142 times in addition to having 155 games in high leverage situations.

The Guardians transformed 70.3% of balls in play into outs out of their 12,672 innings, which had them sitting 8th in baseball. The Cleveland Guardians had a total of 4,224 putouts over the course of last year, in addition to 1,400 assists and 86 errors. Their fielding percentage held at .985 which ranked 16th in baseball, and they twisted 138 double plays.

Plesac has taken the mound for 313 innings and has earned 245 punch outs during his pro baseball career. Plesac (22-14 career record) has earned a FIP of 4.57 while he has gone up against 1,279 opposing hitters during his time in the major leagues. His ERA is 3.93 (137 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.138. He has conceded 277 base knocks (7.9 hits per 9 innings) with 80 free passes.

Kansas City accounted for 163 home runs over the course of last season in addition to 647 RBIs. They notched 251 doubles, while taking a walk 421 times and putting up 686 runs. The Kansas City Royals accumulated an OBP of .306 as well as a batting average of .249 in the previous season. The Royals held a team slugging percentage of .396 and they averaged 4.23 runs per outing (24th in MLB). They were called out on strikes on 1,258 occasions (28th in MLB) and earned 1,349 base hits.

The Kansas City pitching staff given up 788 runs in the prior season while holding a team ERA of 4.65 (732 earned runs relinquished). They surrendered 189 HR's and they conceded 5.00 runs per 9 innings (21st in MLB). The Royals had a WHIP of 1.387 in addition to having a FIP of 4.39 as a pitching staff for the prior year. Their K/BB ratio came in at 2.27 (1,344 strikeouts vs 591 free passes). They were sitting at 22nd in baseball as a staff in total hits surrendered with 1,375.

Kansas City had bullpen pitchers step onto the hill in 62 save chances and they tallied 37 saves. They were ranked 20th in baseball holding a save rate of 59.7%, and they dispatched 556 bullpen pitchers to the hill last season. Their relievers came in 165 times in high leverage situations in addition to 163 occasions with base runners. Kansas City relief pitchers held an inherited score percentage of 32.1% out of their 252 inherited base runners. With 147 save situations, the Royals tallied 83 holds in addition to 25 blown saves.

Kansas City Royals twisted 152 double plays and had a fielding percentage of .985 (14th in MLB). The Royals recorded 1,422 assists, 84 errors and had 4,252 putouts over the course of last year. In their 12,756 innings on the diamond, the Royals had a defensive efficiency of 68.5% (26th in the majors).

Keller (29-35 record in his career) has earned a 4.01 ERA while conceding 8.8 hits per nine innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 1.86 and he has faced 2,120 opposing hitters thus far in his career. He has given up a total of 220 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.387 and having a FIP of 4.1. In his pro baseball career, Keller has allowed 484 base hits while tallying 373 K's in 494 innings pitched.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Cleveland (+105)

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