Cleveland Guardians at Kansas City Royals
KANSAS CITY (Interstat) — The Cleveland Guardians will visit the Kansas City Royals on Saturday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Cleveland enters with an 87-77 record, while Kansas City is 69-92. The Guardians will be the visiting team, and the Royals will be the home team.
Tanner Bibee is the probable pitcher for Cleveland, holding a 6-15 record. Michael Wacha is slated to start for Kansas City with a 9-9 mark. Cleveland has won five of its last six games. Kansas City has lost five of its last six.
Angel Martínez is a player to watch for Cleveland. In the most recent meeting, a 12-9 Guardians win at Kansas City, Martínez went 2 for 5 with four RBIs. He also produced a four-hit, two-homer, four-RBI game against the Athletics during the recent homestand. Martínez went 1 for 4 with a home run and one RBI at Boston, 3 for 4 at Boston, 2 for 5 with one RBI at Minnesota, and 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs at Minnesota.
Carter Jensen is a player to watch for Kansas City. In the same series opener, Jensen went 2 for 4 with two home runs and five RBIs. He had a three-hit game against the Chicago White Sox, a 2-for-3 game with an RBI at Houston, a 1-for-4 game with a home run and one RBI at Pittsburgh, and a 1-for-4 game with an RBI at Houston.
The Guardians and Royals have met often this season. Cleveland won the most recent matchup 12-9. Cleveland swept a two-game set in April, split a four-game series in May, and Kansas City took two of three in late August. Kansas City has had difficulty holding opponents down, including a 14-11 loss to the White Sox. Cleveland’s pitching staff will aim to build on a 1-0 win at Boston in its previous series. Cleveland’s recent stretch includes a 1-0 win at Boston, a 3-2 win at Boston, a 1-0 win over the Athletics, a 12-6 win over the Athletics, and a 3-2 win over the White Sox. Kansas City’s recent results include a 5-4 win over the White Sox, a 14-11 loss to the White Sox, and a 5-6 loss at Pittsburgh. The weather forecast for game time is 64 degrees.
Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of Cleveland 9, Kansas City 6. Interstat’s ELO system gives Cleveland a 54.6 percent probability to win. Cleveland has been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5, and the over/under for the game is 8.