MLB Predictions: M’s vs Royals Lines
The Kansas City Royals host the Seattle Mariners Friday in the opener of a three-game set at Kauffman Stadium.
Seattle Mariners (37-36) at Kansas City Royals (39-33)
Date: Friday, June 20, 2014
Time: 8:10 PM ET
Venue: Kauffman Stadium
City: Kansas City, Missouri
O/U Odds: 7
Money Line: Kansas City -125, Seattle +115
Pitching Matchup: RH Hisashi Iwakuma (5-3, 2.59 ERA) at RH James Shields (8-3, 3.50 ERA)
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The Royals look to get back into the win column after having their 10-game winning streak snapped Thursday, while the Mariners have just three wins in their last 10 contests, and they all game consecutively.
The winning streak was their longest in 20 years for the Royals. They’ll look to start a new streak Friday, though they may have to do it without Alex Gordon, who is dealing with flu-like symptoms. Even still, his teammate should be able to pick him up.
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The Royals hit .327 as a team, scoring 69 runs and hitting .429 with runners in scoring position over the course of their 10-game winning streak. Billy Butler is one player who has really turned his season around after a slow start. He’s hitting .441 with 11 RBI in his last nine games.
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Gordon has been really big for the team of late as well. He’s hitting .346 with seven home runs and 23 RBI over his last 29 games. They could sure use him in the lineup, though flu-like symptoms kept him out of the lineup Thursday. Norichika Aoki is likely to play. He was lifted from Tuesday night’s game with a groin injury, missed Wednesday’s contest, but was back in the lineup on Thursday.
The team may not need much in the way of offense in this one as they will be sending out their ace, James Shields. Shields has gone 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his last three home starts. He’ll be in tough against Robinson Cano, who has a 20-game road hitting streak going, and is batting .395 (32 for 81) with four home runs against Shields in his career.
The Mariners counter with Hisashi Iwakuma. Iwakuma has a 1.61 ERA in June, but has a neck issue that he’s dealing with at the moment. He pitched through the issue in his last start, allowing just one run on five hits in eight innings of work against the Texas Rangers. Eric Hosmer has hits in half of his six career at-bats against Iwakuma.
Additionally, there’s a low total for this contest, and while the Royals should outscore the Mariners, there likely won’t be a ton of runs in this contest, with a pair of premier pitchers going at it.
The Royals are 22-5 in Shields’ last 27 starts as a favorite, and 13-3 in their last 16 games overall.
The under is 5-0 in the Mariners’ last five games versus right-handed starters, and it is 6-1 in Shields’ last seven starts versus A.L. West opponents.
The play: Kansas City -125, Under 7
