Kansas City Royals vs Chicago Cubs Preview
Chicago and Kansas City are set to face off in an interleague matchup at 7:10 PM ET on Saturday. This one is being played at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO. The Cubs are 49-56, and they are starting Shota Imanaga. The Royals are 57-47 and their money line odds are currently at -120. Seth Lugo is starting for Kansas City.
BSKC is carrying this game on TV, and the over/under line is currently at 8 runs. Chicago is the slight money line favorite, with their odds sitting at +101. The Royals are 3rd in the AL Central, while the Cubs are 5th in the NL Central.
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Kansas City Royals vs. Chicago Cubs Trends and Key Stats
- Across their last five road games, the Cubs are 2-3. This includes going 3-2 vs. the runline.
- In the Royals’ five most recent home games, their record stands at 3-2 (SU) with 4-1 against the spread.
- Over their last ten games as the favorite, the Royals have a straight-up record of 7-3, while going 7-3 against the runline.
- The Cubs have a 5-5 straight-up record and a 7-3 record vs. the runline over their previous ten games as the underdog.
Thanks to a six-run 5th inning for the Royals’ offense, they cruised to an easy 6-0 win over the Cubs in the most recent game of this series. Heading into the game, the Royals were favored at -156 on the money line.
The starting pitching matchup for this game featured Brady Singer for the Royals, and he went seven innings while giving up just two hits and no earned runs. Singer finished the game with five strikeouts but issued two walks. On the other side, Kyle Hendricks got the start for the Cubs, going five innings and giving up six runs on eight hits.
Kansas City got a huge performance from Salvador Perez, as he went 1/4 with a home run and three RBIs. Both Vinnie Pasquantino and Nick Loftin each had two hits and an RBI for the Royals’ offense.
Kansas City Royals vs Chicago Cubs Prediction
With an overall record of 49-56, the Cubs are 5th in the NL Central, 11 games behind the Brewers for the division lead. The Cubs have dropped three straight games, and they are 13-23 against other teams in the NL Central. Chicago lost the series opener vs. the Royals and have an overall series record of 11-19-3 this year.
At home, the Cubs are 27-25 this season, and they are just under .500 at 22-31 on the road. Chicago has dropped seven of their last ten games overall, and as the favorite, they are 23-25 this year. As the underdog, the Cubs are 26-31 this season.
The Cubs have been a better bet on the run line on the road this season, going 31-22, compared to 19-33 at home. Their average run margin is -0.2, and they have a run line record of 50-55 overall. They have been an underdog in 57 games and have gone 37-20 on the run line in those contests. Their average run margin in winning games is 3.3, while it’s -3.2 in losing games.
Chicago Cubs games have gone under the total in seven straight games, and their games have gone under the total in 58% of their games this season. Their games have had an average combined run total of 8.2 runs per game this season, and the over/under line for today’s game is set at 8 runs.
Through 18 starts, Shota Imanaga has a record of 8-2 and an ERA of 2.86. He has made 12 quality starts this year and is coming off an outing in which he went seven innings, giving up just one earned run. In that start vs. the Diamondbacks, he gave up two hits and one walk. Imanaga has been especially tough on the road, coming in with a record of 5-1 and an ERA of 2.89. At home, his ERA is 4.47. The last time he gave up a homer was on July 21st.
Chicago’s offense has been one of the league’s worst this season, as they are averaging only 4 runs per game, which is 25th in the MLB. Their home and road splits are nearly identical, with the Cubs averaging 4.1 runs per game on the road and 4 runs per contest at home. As a team, they are batting just .232 and have the 19th ranked home run total in the league.
Currently, Ian Happ leads the Cubs in RBIs (60) and is 2nd on the team with 16 homers, but he is hitting just .235 for the season and has gone only 3/24 in his last seven games. Christopher Morel has a team-high 18 homers but is batting just .199 for the season. Nico Hoerner has been a bright spot in the lineup, hitting .254 with an OBP of .332.
The Royals are 57-47 overall this season, and they are 5.5 games behind the Guardians for the AL Central lead. So far, they have gone 19-10 in divisional games. Kansas City is coming off a win over the Cubs and are 6-4 in their last 10 games overall.
At home, the Royals have gone 36-20 this season compared to a 21-27 mark on the road. As the underdog, the Royals are 26-30 this year and 31-17 when favored. Kansas City has dropped two straight games as the underdog.
When the Royals win, they win big, with an average run margin of 3.9 runs per game. That’s helped them to a 60-44 run line record this season. They’ve been especially good at home, going 34-22 against the run line, compared to 26-22 on the road. They’ve also been a solid bet as the underdog, going 34-22 against the run line in those games.
When the Kansas City Royals are at home, the over/under line is set at 8 runs per game. The combined run average for their games this season is 8.5 runs per game, and their over/under record is 42-59. The average over/under line for their games this season is 8 runs per game. When the over/under line is set at 8 runs, their record is 10-10-2. So far this season, 58.7% of their games have had over/under lines set higher than 8 runs, while 20.2% of their games have had lower lines.
Seth Lugo gets the start for the Royals today and is coming off a strong outing vs. the White Sox. In that July 21st start, he went nine innings, picking up the win and giving up just one earned run. Looking at his overall numbers, Lugo has made 21 starts, and his record for the season is 12-4. Lugo’s ERA is 2.38, along with a WHIP of 1.04. This year, he has one complete game and 16 quality starts. Lugo’s ERA at home is 2.31, compared to 2.76 on the road.
Heading into today’s game, the Royals are averaging 4.6 runs per game, which is 11th in the league. At home, they are averaging 5.2 runs per contest, which is the 2nd best mark in the league. As a team, the Royals are batting .251 (6th) and have the fewest strikeouts in the league. Kansas City’s team on-base percentage of .309 is 16th in the league.
Bobby Witt Jr. has been on fire for the Royals of late, going 18/35 in his last nine games with two homers and seven RBIs. For the season, he is batting .343 with 18 homers and 70 RBIs. Salvador Perez also has 19 homers this season and is batting .278. Perez has three homers in his last nine games but is hitting just .257 over that stretch.
Our prediction for today’s Cubs vs. Royals matchup is that the Royals will pick up the win at home by a score of 5-4. Given that the Royals are at -120 on the money line, this is the bet we would recommend making.
Looking at the starting pitcher’s, we have Seth Lugo finishing with five strikeouts, and he has the ninth best chances of giving up the fewest earned runs among starters today. As for Shota Imanaga, we have him finishing with six strikeouts and ranking 17th in terms of hits allowed.
Kansas City Royals vs Chicago Cubs Betting Tips
- Take the Royals on the moneyline
- The Royals should also cover at +1.5
- Projecting a combined 9 runs, we like the over
Kansas City Royals Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Dan Altavilla | Out | Oblique |
| Josh Taylor | Out | Biceps |
| MJ Melendez | Out | Ankle |
| Kyle Wright | Out | Shoulder |
Chicago Cubs Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Cody Bellinger | Out | Finger |
| Yency Almonte | Out | Shoulder |
| Colten Brewer | Out | Hand |
| Tomás Nido | Out | Knee |
| Keegan Thompson | Out | Ribs |
| Adbert Alzolay | Out | Forearm |
| Ben Brown | Out | Neck |
| Hayden Wesneski | Out | Forearm |
| Luke Little | Out | Shoulder |
| Caleb Kilian | Out | Teres Major |
| Jordan Wicks | Out | Oblique |
