Twins vs Royals Prediction & MLB Odds For Sunday, September 8th
Both the Twins and Royals will send out a starting pitcher on Sunday that has been solid this season. Simeon Woods Richardson gets the start for the Twins, and they are 76-66 overall and he will be facing a Royals team that is 78-65. Michael Wacha is starting for the Royals, and he has won three straight games. The money line odds have the Royals favored at -121 compared to the Twins at +102. Today’s over/under line is at 8.5 runs, and the forecasted temperature in Kansas City is 65 degrees with a clear sky.
BSN will be televising this AL Central matchup, and the first pitch from Kauffman Stadium is set for 2:10 PM ET. The Twins are looking to snap a two-game losing streak, while the Royals have won three straight.
Betting Odds & Lines for this Game
- Spread: Twins 1.5 (-195) | Royals -1.5 (+164)
- Total: 8.5
- MoneyLine: Twins +102 | Royals -121
All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)
Twins vs. Royals Prediction: Moneyline
It was a low-scoring game in the most recent game of this Royals vs Twins series. Kansas City went into the matchup as +114 underdogs and squeaked out a 4-2 win. Both teams scored two runs in the 3rd inning, and after that, the Twins could only muster one more run in the 8th inning. As for the Royals, they scored the game’s go-ahead run in the 5th, and both offenses went silent after that.
Edouard Julien was the difference for the Royals, as he homered twice, scored three times, and finished with two RBIs. Alec Marsh pitched well for Kansas City, going five innings and striking out five without giving up a run.
Minnesota wasted a good outing from Bailey Ober, who gave up just one hit and no earned runs in seven innings of work. Ober did not factor in the decision and took the loss. Jhoan Duran struggled on the mound for the Twins, giving up four earned runs in just 3 2/3 innings of work.
Minnesota is five games out of the AL Central lead, with an overall record of 76-66. The Twins have dropped two straight games, and this is part of an overall record of 4-6 in their last 10 games. So far, they have gone 28-19 against other teams in the AL Central.
At home, the Twins are 39-30 this season, and they have gone 37-36 on the road. As the underdog, the Twins are 9-21 this season, and they have lost four straight games as the underdog overall. Minnesota’s overall series record is 24-16-4 this year.
With an overall record of 78-65, the Royals are 3.5 games behind the Guardians for the AL Central lead. Kansas City has won three straight games, and they have gone 32-16 against other teams in the division. The Royals have taken the first two games of this series vs. the Twins and are looking to close the gap on the Guardians.
At home, the Royals are 44-30 this season and have gone 34-35 on the road. Kansas City has dropped seven of their last ten games, and they are just 29-17 as the home favorite this year. As for their overall record as the favorite, the Royals are 45-26 and 33-39 as the underdog.
Twins vs. Royals Prediction: Over/Under
The Minnesota Twins are on the road today against the Kansas City Royals. The over/under line for the game is set at 8.5 runs. The Twins’ games have averaged 9.1 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 71-66. When the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs, their record is 21-21. So far this season, 61.3% of their games have had lower over/under lines than 8.5 runs.
Carlos Santana and Ryan Jeffers are tied for the team lead in home runs this season, with both players having gone deep 20 times. Santana is also the team’s leader in RBIs, with 60. However, he has struggled at the plate of late, hitting just .200 over his last six games. Byron Buxton is batting .275 for the season and has 16 homers, which is 2nd on the team.
Overall, the Twins are averaging 4.7 runs per game and are 7th in the league in home batting average. As a team, they are batting .250, which is 7th in the league. Minnesota comes into the game with three players on four-game hitting streaks, including Carlos Correa, Jose Miranda, and Matt Wallner.
When the Kansas City Royals play at home, the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs. The combined run average in their games this season is 8.8 runs per game, and their over/under record is 64-74. Their games have averaged eight runs per game this season, and their over/under record when the line is set at 8.5 runs is 15-24. The over has hit in 34.3% of their games this season when the line is set at 8.5 runs, and their games have gone under the line in 38.5% of their games this season. The under has hit in their last three games.
For the season, the Royals are averaging 4.7 runs per game, which is 9th in the league. At home, they have been even better, averaging 5 runs per contest. As a team, they are batting .254, which is the 5th best mark in the league, and are also one of the league’s best at avoiding strikeouts. One area they have struggled in is drawing walks, as they are just 26th in the league in that category.
Over his past eight games, Bobby Witt Jr. has gone just 6/30, but he does have two homers in that stretch. For the season, he is batting .336 with 30 homers and 98 RBIs. Salvador Perez has also been a major power threat for the Royals, as he is 2nd on the team with 25 homers and 3rd with 94 RBIs.
Twins vs. Royals Prediction: Spread
Minnesota is 37-36 on the run line on the road this season, but they have failed to cover in their last four road games. Their average run margin on the road is just 0.1 runs per game, and they are 23-21 against the run line as an underdog.
Right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson gets the start for the Twins today as he faces the Royals on the road. He has made 24 starts this season and has a record of 5-3 with a 3.95 ERA. Woods Richardson’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.21, and opponents are batting .228 off him this year. In his 24 appearances, he has turned in seven quality starts. Looking back at his last outing, Woods Richardson finished with a no-decision, giving up three earned runs in 3 2/3 innings of work. He has not taken the loss in any of his last three outings.
When the Royals win, they win big. Kansas City is 42-30 against the run line as an underdog, with an average run margin of -3.4 in their losses. They are 37-34 against the run line as a favorite, with an average run margin of 4.0 in their wins. The Royals are 79-64 overall against the run line, with an average run margin of 0.7 runs per game.
Michael Wacha gets the start for the Royals today as he faces off against the Twins at home. So far this season, he has made 25 starts and has a record of 11-7. Wacha’s ERA for the season is 3.50, along with a WHIP of 1.21. In his 25 appearances, he has turned in 13 quality starts. Looking back at his last outing, Wacha took the loss, going five innings and giving up two earned runs on five hits. Before that outing, he had won two straight starts. So far, he has done a better job of limiting home runs on the road, with 16 total homers allowed compared to 12 at home.
Twins vs. Royals Pick: Royals ML -121
Our predicted final score for this one is 6-5 in favor of the Royals, and with the money line sitting at -121, we see this as a great value pick. Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Michael Wacha finishing with five strikeouts, which has him 19th among starters.
Offensively, we actually have the Twins finishing with more hits than the Royals, and you could look to take the over on their team home run total. However, we have the Twins finishing with the fourth-most strikeouts in the league today.
