Kansas City Royals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 9/20/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Sunday, September 20, 2026

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: Kansas City (+106) Pittsburgh (-128)

PNC Park is the location where the Pittsburgh Pirates (76-77) will try to defeat the Kansas City Royals (67-86) on Sunday. The moneyline on this contest has the Royals at +106 while the Pirates are coming in at -128. The total is 8. The starting pitchers will be Michael Wacha and Bubba Chandler.

As a squad, the Kansas City Royals are scoring 4.2 runs/g, which has them at 24th in the league. They have racked up 643 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .314. The Royals have tallied 273 two-baggers as a team and have hit 158 balls out of the stadium. They have 611 runs batted in in addition to 1,251 base knocks on the season, while their average at the plate is .244. Kansas City is slugging .397 and have been rung up 1,198 times, while drawing a walk on 492 occasions.

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They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.05 and their pitching staff has a team WHIP of 1.39. Royals pitchers have conceded 190 home runs and also 740 total runs (25th in the league). Kansas City has surrendered 1,326 base hits (8.9 per 9 innings) and 692 earned runs. The Royals hold a team earned run average of 4.63 on the year (25th in the league), and their staff has rung up 1,107 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 541 batters and their FIP is 4.63 as a unit on the campaign.

Royals pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on 108 times as well as having 149 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have 79 holds on the campaign (19th in the league). The Royals relievers have earned a save percentage of 60.0% and have stepped onto the mound in 142 save situations. They have compiled 36 saves so far this year and have missed out on 24 of 60 chances to get a save. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 155 base runners on the campaign with 40.0% of them crossing the plate. The Royals have sent 498 relievers to the hill on the year.

The Royals have transformed 69.8% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 12,117 innings on the diamond, ranking them 14th in the majors. The Kansas City Royals have a tally of 4,039 putouts for the season, in addition to 1,388 assists and 67 errors. Their fielding percentage is currently at .988 which is 7th in pro baseball, and they have turned 135 double plays.

Wacha has pitched in 1,815 innings and has accumulated 1,565 strikeouts during his MLB career. Wacha (120-84 career win-loss mark) has earned a FIP of 3.77 and he has faced 7,606 opposing batters in the majors. His earned run average is 3.83 (773 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.257. He has surrendered 1,729 base knocks (8.6 hits per nine innings) and has had 552 walks.

The Pirates have a team slugging % of .402 and they average 4.77 runs per outing (5th in MLB). They have 229 two-baggers, while taking a walk 541 times as well as putting up 730 runs. Pittsburgh has 175 home runs on the campaign to go along with 697 RBIs. They have been called out on strikes on 1,429 occasions (4th in the league) and have totaled 1,331 hits. The Pittsburgh Pirates are sitting with a team on-base percentage of .330 as well as a team batting average of .253 this year.

The Pirates hold a team WHIP of 1.304 in addition to having a FIP of 3.85 as a staff for the season. Their strikeout to walk ratio comes in at 9.20 (1,398 strikeouts vs 558 free passes). They sit at 12th in the league as a staff in total hits given up with 1,222. They have allowed 146 HR's and they relinquish 4.65 runs per 9 innings (20th in the league). The Pittsburgh pitching staff have surrendered 706 runs this season while having an ERA of 4.19 (635 earned runs given up).

They sit at 21st in the league with a save percentage of 59.3%, and they have dispatched 498 relief pitchers onto the diamond on the year. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill 146 times in high leverage situations and on 128 occasions with runners on. With 134 save situations, the Pirates have recorded 73 holds and also 24 blown saves. Pittsburgh has called on relievers to step onto the mound in 59 save opportunities and they have walked away with 35 saves. Pittsburgh relievers have an inherited score percentage of 32.4% out of 188 inherited base runners.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have turned 124 double plays and have a fielding rate of .983 (26th in professional baseball). The Pirates have accrued 1,214 assists, 93 errors and have earned a total of 4,096 putouts so far this season. In their 12,288 innings on the diamond, the Pirates have a defensive efficiency of 69.0% (25th in baseball).

Chandler (12-10 career win-loss record) holds a 4.24 earned run average while giving up 7.5 hits per nine innings. His K/BB ratio is 2.06 and he has gone up against 760 opposing hitters during his pro baseball career. He has allowed 84 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.279 and a FIP of 4.2. During his pro baseball career, Chandler has given up 149 hits while he has tallied 163 K's in 178 frames.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Kansas City (+106)

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