Tigers vs Royals Prediction & MLB Odds For Tuesday, September 17th
The forecast from Kansas City on Tuesday calls for clear skies and temperatures in the low 90s. The Tigers and Royals are set to face off at 7:40 PM ET from Kauffman Stadium. In Kansas City, the game will be played in Kansas City, MO.
Detroit is 78-73 and they have won two straight games. They are 4th in the AL Central, while the Royals are 2nd in the division with an overall record of 82-69. Cole Ragans will start for the Royals, and he is facing off against Casey Mize for the Tigers. Kansas City is the heavy favorite on the money line, with their odds sitting at -168 compared to the Tigers at +142. The over/under line is currently 8 runs.
Betting Odds & Lines for this Game
- Spread: Tigers 1.5 (-152) | Royals -1.5 (+126)
- Total: 8
- MoneyLine: Tigers +142 | Royals -168
All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)
Tigers vs. Royals Prediction: Moneyline
Detroit rallied for three runs in the 5th and added three more in the 6th in the most recent game of this Tigers vs. Royals series. The Tigers scored one run in the 1st inning but didn’t score another run until putting up three in the top of the 5th, picking up a 7-6 win. Heading into the game, the Tigers were at +117 on the money line.
Kansas City wasted a good outing from Seth Lugo, as he gave up just four hits and four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work for the Royals. Sam Long took the loss. Jason Foley got the save for the Tigers out of the bullpen.
Reese Olson only went 2 1/3 innings for the Tigers but gave up just four hits and four earned runs. He did not factor in the decision. Brenan Hanifee got the win out of the bullpen.
Detroit is 78-73 overall this season, and they are 4th in the AL Central, trailing the Guardians by nine games. The Tigers have an overall record of 25-22 against other teams in the AL Central. They have won two straight games, and Detroit has gone 7-3 across their last ten games.
So far, the Tigers have been good both at home and on the road, as they are 39-36 at home and 39-37 on the road. As the road underdog, the Tigers are 27-31 this season, and they have won three straight road games overall. Detroit has been the underdog in more games than they have been the favorite, and they are 43-49 as the underdog this year. Their overall series record is 23-19-5, and they have won three straight series.
The Royals are 82-69 overall this season, and they are five games behind the Guardians for the AL Central lead. Kansas City lost the first game of this series vs. the Tigers, and they are overall division record is 33-17 this season.
At home, the Royals have gone 45-31 this season, and they are just above .500 at 37-38 on the road. As the favorite, the Royals are 47-27 this season and 30-18 as the home favorite. Their overall series record is 21-24-2 heading into today’s game vs. the Tigers.
Tigers vs. Royals Prediction: Over/Under
The Detroit Tigers are on the road against the Kansas City Royals today, with the over/under line set at 8 runs. The Tigers have a combined run average of 8.3 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 75-72. When the over/under line is set at 8 runs, their record is 18-20-2. Overall, 54 of their games this season have had over/under lines set above 8 runs, accounting for 35.8% of their games.
Heading into today’s game, the Tigers are averaging 4.3 runs per game, which is 17th in the league. This is a team that has been better on the road (4.4 RPG) than at home (4.1 RPG). As a team, they are batting just .235, which is 18th in the league, and their on-base percentage of .299 is also near the bottom of the league. Detroit’s offense has been led by Riley Greene, who has a team-high 23 home runs and 69 RBIs this season.
Greene has struggled a bit at the plate of late, hitting just .222 over his last five games. However, he does have two home runs during that stretch. Spencer Torkelson is batting .444 over his last five games and comes into the game on a seven-game hitting streak. For the season, Torkelson is batting just .241.
The Kansas City Royals have an over/under record of 67-79 this season, and their games have averaged 8.8 runs per game. When the over/under line is set at 8 runs, their record is 15-15-3. Overall, 60.9% of their games have had higher over/under lines than today’s 8-run total.
So far this season, the Royals are averaging 4.7 runs per game, which is 8th in the league. At home, they have been even better, averaging 5 runs per contest. As a team, they are batting .253, which is the 6th best mark in the MLB right now. Kansas City has also been very good at putting the ball in play, as they have the 2nd fewest strikeouts in the league.
Heading into today’s game, Bobby Witt Jr. is batting .332 for the Royals, and he has gone 7/26 with two homers over his last six games. Witt Jr. also leads the team with 108 RBIs and is 9th in the league with 32 homers. Salvador Perez is also having a good season at the plate, hitting .275 with 27 homers.
Tigers vs. Royals Prediction: Spread
When the Tigers are on the road, the run line has been a strong play, as they are 47-29 against the run line. They have covered the run line in two straight games and are 59-33 as the underdog. Their average run margin in winning games is 3.6 runs, while it is -3.3 runs in losing games.
Casey Mize will be looking to build off his last outing, where he finished with a no-decision. Against the Rockies on September 11th, he went 4 2/3 innings, giving up four earned runs, and six hits. Looking at his overall numbers, Mize has made 19 starts and six of them have been quality starts. His record for the season is 2-6, and he has an ERA of 4.47. Mize’s WHIP for the season is 1.41, and opponents are batting .278 off the right-hander this year. So far, he has allowed a total of 11 home runs. Per nine innings, Mize is averaging 6.75 strikeouts and just 2.19 walks.
When betting the run line in Kansas City Royals games this season, it’s been more profitable to take them as the underdog, as they are 46-31 against the run line in those games. They have an overall run line record of 85-66, and their average run margin for the season is +0.7 runs per game.
Cole Ragans is looking to build off his last outing, where he finished with a no-decision. Against the Yankees, he went six innings, giving up two earned runs, and seven hits. Looking back further, Ragans has finished with a no-decision in three of his last four outings. His ERA for the season is 3.32, along with a record of 11-9. Ragans has made 30 starts, and opponents are batting .209 this season. In total, he has 19 quality starts and one complete game. Ragans’ strikeout per nine innings figure is 10.96, and he has a total of 211 strikeouts, which ranks fourth in the league.
Tigers vs. Royals Pick: Tigers ML +142
Our pick for today’s Tigers vs. Royals matchup is to take the Tigers on the money line, with the payout sitting at +142. We actually have the Tigers winning this one by a final score of 6-5, and with the payout, we see this as a great value.
Looking at some of the starting pitcher projections, Casey Mize is predicted to finish with six strikeouts, and we have him finishing with a line of 6 hits and two earned runs. As for Cole Ragans, he is projected to finish with six strikeouts as well.