Kansas City Royals vs Philadelphia Phillies Preview
At 8:10 PM ET, the Phillies and Royals square off in an interleague matchup. This one is being played at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, and the Royals are favored on the money line, with their odds sitting at -142. The money line odds for a Phillies win are at +120, and the over/under line is at 9 runs.
Michael Wacha is starting for the Royals, and he is facing off against Taijuan Walker for the Phillies. Philadelphia is currently 1st in the NL East, and they have a record of 74-53. The Royals are 2nd in the AL Central at 71-56.
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Kansas City Royals vs. Philadelphia Phillies Trends and Key Stats
- 1-4 is the record of Phillies in their last five road games. They have also gone 0-5 vs. the runline.
- On the other side, the Royals have gone 4-1 (SU) and 4-1 in their previous five home contests.
- Over their last ten games when playing as the favorite, the Royals have won 7-3 straight-up, and have a 6-4 record vs. the runline.
- Looking at the Phillies’ previous ten games as the underdog they are 5-5 straight-up and 6-4 vs. the runline.
Kansas City Royals vs Philadelphia Phillies Prediction
The Phillies will be looking to get back on track after closing out their series vs. the Braves with a 3-2 loss. This was especially tough, as they held a lead going into the 7th inning before the Braves scored a run in the bottom of the 7th to tie things up. Philadelphia was the -101 favorite on the money line going into the game.
Cristopher Sánchez put together a good start for the Phillies, going six innings and giving up just three runs on nine hits. He only had one strikeout in the outing and took the loss. The Phillies also wasted a big game from Ronald Torreyes, who went 2-3 with a run scored.
Philadelphia is on the road today to take on the Royals, with the Phillies leading the NL East by six games over the Braves. This season, the Phillies are 20-14 in the division and have an overall record of 74-53. The Phillies lost two of three in their most recent series vs. the Braves.
At home, the Phillies have gone 42-23 this season, and they are just over .500 at 32-30 on the road. As the underdog, the Phillies are 11-13 this season, with an overall record of 63-40 as the favorite. The Phillies have an overall series record of 21-16-6 this season.
When betting the Phillies on the run line this season, it’s been a coin flip. They’re 62-65 overall, including 31-34 at home and 31-31 on the road. They’ve been favored in 103 games, going 49-54 against the run line. In games they’ve won, they’ve won by an average of 3.9 runs, while in losses, they’ve lost by an average of 3.6 runs.
The Philadelphia Phillies are on the road today to face the Kansas City Royals. The O/U line for the game is set at 9 runs, which is slightly higher than the combined run average of 8.9 runs per game for these teams. The Phillies have a 58-63 O/U record on the season, and when the line is set at 9 runs, their O/U record is 5-12-1. The O/U line of 9 runs is higher than the average line for Phillies games this season, which has been set at 8 runs. The under has hit in the last three games for the Phillies.
Right-hander Taijuan Walker gets the start for the Phillies today as he faces the Royals on the road. He has made 12 starts this year and has a record of 3-4 with a 5.69 ERA. Walker’s WHIP for the season is 1.51, and he has turned in two quality starts. In his last outing, Walker finished with a no-decision, giving up three earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work. Before that, he had lost three straight starts. Walker has given up at least one home run in each of his last three outings.
Philadelphia comes into the game as one of the league’s top offensive teams, averaging 4.8 runs per game. They have been even better at home, putting up 5.3 runs per contest. Overall, the Phillies are 5th in team batting average, hitting a combined .256. This has helped them to the 8th best on-base percentage in the league.
Over the past five games, both Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott have struggled at the plate, with Marsh going 2/10 and Stott at 3/16. However, Trea Turner has been hot, going 7/23 in his last six games. Alec Bohm has been the Phillies’ most consistent hitter this season, batting .295 with 13 homers and a league-leading 85 RBIs.
The Royals’s offense was hot right out of the gates in their most recent game vs. the Angels, closing out their series with a 3-0 win. After allowing one run to the Angels in the top of the first, the Royals responded with two runs of their own. Kansas City went on to add another run in the 2nd inning.
Starting for the Athletics was Michael Lorenzen, who picked up the win while tossing seven scoreless innings. He also finished with five K’s and issued just two walks. The Royals’s offense was carried by MJ Melendez, who went 1/4 with a homer and scored a run.
Kansas City is 71-56 overall, putting them 2nd in the AL Central, two games behind the Guardians for the division lead. They have an overall division record of 26-13. The Royals will host the Phillies today with an overall record of 40-26 at home this season.
The Royals have been good as the favorite this year, going 41-24, and they are 30-32 as the underdog. So far, they have an overall series record of 19-20-2, and they have won two straight series. Kansas City has won two straight series, taking two of three from the Angels in their most recent series.
When the Royals win, they tend to do so by a comfortable margin, as they have an average run differential of +4.1 in those games. Their run line record in those games is 72-55, and they are 38-28 against the run line at home. As the underdog, they are 38-24 against the run line, while as the favorite they are 34-31.
Today’s over/under line of 9 runs is higher than the average line for Kansas City games this season, which is set at 8 runs. The Royals have played 83 games with lower lines than 9 runs, and their over/under record in those games is 57-66. When the line has been set at 9 runs, their record is 13-12-1. The Royals’ games have averaged 8.9 runs per game this season.
Michael Wacha gets the start for the Royals today and will be looking to build off his last outing, where he didn’t give up a run. In that start against the Reds, he went six innings and didn’t give up a homer, something he had done in three straight outings. Wacha has made 22 starts this season and has a record of 10-6 with a 3.33 ERA. Opposing batters are hitting .240 off Wacha this season, and he has a total of 12 quality starts. Looking at his home/away splits, Wacha is 5-1 at home with a 3.88 ERA compared to 5-5 on the road with a 3.54 ERA.
So far this season, the Royals are the 7th highest-scoring team in the league at 4.9 runs per game. They have been even better at home, averaging 5.2 runs per contest. Overall, they are batting .257 as a team (4th) and have the 7th best slugging percentage in the league. The Royals have also been tough to strike out, as they have the 2nd fewest strikeouts in the league.
Bobby Witt Jr. has been on a tear of late, going 16/38 in his last 10 games with three homers. For the season, he is hitting .352 and is 6th in the league with 92 RBIs. Vinnie Pasquantino has been the league’s top run producer, with 95 RBIs, and has 18 homers this season.
Our predicted final score for this one is 6-5 in favor of the Royals, which means there is some good value on them to win straight up at -142. Offensively, we have the Royals finishing with nine hits compared to the Phillies with nine.
Looking at the starting pitchers, Michael Wacha is projected to pick up five strikeouts compared to Taijuan Walker with just four. If you’re looking for a parlay, you could look to the over/under, and we would recommend taking the over at nine runs.
Kansas City Royals vs Philadelphia Phillies Betting Tips
- Take the Royals on the moneyline
- On the run line we like the Phillies (+1.5)
- Projecting a combined 11 runs, we like the over
Kansas City Royals Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Hunter Harvey | Out | Back |
| Dan Altavilla | Out | Oblique |
| Josh Taylor | Out | Biceps |
| Kyle Wright | Out | Shoulder |
Philadelphia Phillies Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Dylan Covey | Out | Shoulder |
| Luis F. Ortiz | Out | Forearm |
| Spencer Turnbull | Out | Lat |
| Austin Hays | Out | Hamstring |
| Ranger Suárez | Out | Back |
| José Rodríguez | Out | Suspension |
