Pittsburgh Pirates vs Kansas City Royals Prediction & Betting Tips 9/15/2024

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Kansas City Royals Preview

Brady Singer will start for the Royals on Sunday, as they look to keep their two-game winning streak alive. They are 82-67 this season and their money line odds are -108. The Pirates are 70-78 and they will have Jared Jones on the mound. Pittsburgh comes into the game having lost two straight, and they are the slight favorite on the money line (-110).

BSKC will be televising Sunday’s interleague matchup, which is set to get started at 1:35 PM ET from PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA. The over/under line is currently at 8 runs.

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Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Kansas City Royals Trends and Key Stats

• The Royals are 3-2 in their five most recent road games, including a 4-1 runline record.
• In the Pirates’ five most recent home games, their record stands at 3-2 (SU) with 3-2 against the spread.
• The Royals are 8-2 in their last ten games as the favorite and 2-8 as the underdog.
• The Pirates hold a 7-3 record as the favorite and a 3-7 record as the underdog.

Thanks to a two-run 5th inning for the Royals’ offense, they cruised to a 5-1 win over the Pirates in the most recent game of this series. Heading into the game, the Royals were favored at -118 on the money line.

The starting pitching matchup for this game featured Michael Wacha for the Royals, and he went just five innings while giving up one run and picked up the win. Mitch Keller got the start for the Pirates, going six innings and giving up three earned runs.

Kansas City got a huge performance from Bobby Witt Jr., as he went 2/3 with a home run and three RBIs. Both Jarrod Dyson and Hunter Dozier each drove in two runs for the Royals’ offense.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Kansas City Royals Prediction

Kansas City is 82-67 overall this season, and they are three games behind the Guardians in the AL Central. The Royals have gone 33-16 against other teams in the AL Central this year. The Royals have won two straight games, and they are 7-3 over their last 10 games.

So far, the Royals have been good at home, going 45-30, and they are just above .500 at 37-37 on the road. As the favorite, the Royals are 47-26 this year and 35-41 as the underdog. Kansas City’s overall series record is 21-24-2, and they are looking to close out the series with a win today vs. the Pirates.

The Royals have been a solid bet on the run line this season, going 84-65 overall. They are 43-32 on the run line at home and 41-33 on the run line on the road. Kansas City has covered the run line in each of its last four road games and is 45-31 on the run line as an underdog. The Royals’ average run differential for the season is +0.7 runs per game.

In a matchup of two teams with a combined run average of 8.8 runs per game, the Kansas City Royals are on the road to face the Pittsburgh Pirates. The over/under line for today’s game is set at 8 runs. The Royals have an over/under record of 66-78 on the season, and when the line is set at 8 runs, they have gone 14-15-3. Overall, 61.7% of their games this season have had over/under lines set at over 8 runs.

Through 29 starts, Brady Singer has a record of 9-10 and an ERA of 3.42. He has made 12 quality starts this year, and his ERA at home is 3.1 compared to 4.53 on the road. Singer’s most recent outing came against the Yankees, where he finished with a no-decision. In that outing, he gave up three earned runs in five innings of work. Before that, he had given up at least two earned runs in three straight starts. The right-hander will look to get back on track today against the Pirates.

Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. have been two of the most productive hitters in the league this season, as they are both in the top 15 in home runs and have driven in 102 runs apiece. Witt Jr. is batting .333 for the season, and Perez is not far behind at .276. Perez has been swinging a hot bat of late, going 9/28 in his last eight games with two homers and eight RBIs. Witt Jr. is currently on a seven-game hitting streak.

As a team, the Royals are averaging 4.7 runs per game and have been even better at home, putting up 5 runs per contest. Overall, they are the 6th best hitting team in the league and have the 10th best slugging percentage. Kansas City is also one of the toughest teams to strike out in the league.

Pittsburgh is 5th in the NL Central with a record of 70-78, putting them 16 games behind the Brewers for the division lead. Overall, they are 22-20 against other teams in the NL Central. The Pirates have dropped two straight games, and these two losses have come in their series vs. the Royals.

At home, the Pirates are 37-40 this season compared to 33-38 on the road. As the underdog, the Pirates are 37-51 this season, and they are 33-27 when favored. Pittsburgh’s overall series record is 20-21-6, heading into today’s matchup vs. the Royals.

When betting the run line on the Pirates, it’s best to take them as the underdog. They are 57-31 vs. the run line in those games. Their overall run line record is 81-67, but they are just 24-36 vs. the run line as the favorite. They have covered the run line in 43 of their 71 road games.

Today’s over/under line for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ game against the Kansas City Royals is set at 8 runs. The Pirates have played to an over/under record of 73-73 this season, and their games have averaged a combined 8.8 runs per game. When the over/under line is set at 8 runs, Pittsburgh has gone 16-17, and 50.7% of their games have had higher lines than 8 runs.

Jared Jones will be looking to build off his last outing, where he picked up the win vs. the Nationals. In that September 8th outing, he went seven innings, giving up just two earned runs. Looking at his overall numbers, Jones has made 19 starts and has a record of 6-7. His ERA for the season is 3.82, along with a WHIP of 1.11. Opposing batters have hit .219 off Jones this season. The right-hander has turned in 11 quality starts and is averaging 9.55 strikeouts per nine innings. For the year, he has allowed 16 homers.

Heading into today’s game, the Pirates are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 21st in the league. They have been slightly better at home, averaging 4.3 runs per game. As a team, they are batting just .236, which is 16th in the league, and are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and slugging percentage.

Bryan Reynolds comes into the game on a five-game hitting streak, and he has been on fire of late, going 9/19 in his last five games. This has helped him take over the team lead in batting average (.282). He also leads the Pirates in homers and RBIs. Andrew McCutchen is 2nd on the team in homers and 5th in RBIs, but he is batting just .239 for the season.

We see the Royals taking this one on the road with a predicted final score of 5-4. If you’re looking for a bet, we would recommend taking the Royals on the money line, where you can get them at -108.

Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Brady Singer going for the Royals and Jared Jones for the Pirates. Singer is projected to finish with five strikeouts compared to Jones, who we have at just four.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Kansas City Royals Betting Tips

• We like the Royals on the moneyline (-108)
• The Royals are also our pick on the spread at -1.5
• Projecting a combined 9 runs, we like the over

Pittsburgh Pirates Injury Report

Kansas City Royals Injury Report