Royals vs. Guardians Odds & Betting Predictions - August 26, 2024

Follow On X: https://x.com/PicksOffice Cole Ragans, with a season ERA of 3.31, has been one of the few bright spots in the Royals' rotation, posting an impressive 2.95 ERA over his last three starts. Hopefully, his WHIP of 1.15 and strikeout rate of 29.3% illustrate an ability to limit baserunners while also getting chases on out-of-zone offerings. Furthermore, Statcast data for the lefty shows that he holds opponents to a low Hard Hit rate of only 36.8%, which shows how effective he has been at preventing solid contact. On the other sideline, Nick Sandlin has mostly been a reliever, showing some competency with a 3.88 ERA and a WHIP of 1.17. One highly exemplary feature in his Statcast profile is an expected batting average of .220 and a Hard Hit percentage of 42.6%. That tells one that while he does give up some hard contact, he does so in ways that mitigate overall damage effectively. Both bullpens can also play a telling role in this matchup. On the entire season, Royal bullpen pitches to a season-long ERA of 4.32, while the Guardians bullpen has been stellar with a 2.34 ERA. Of late, though, the Royals bullpen has struggled well outside their normal pace with a 7.66 ERA over the last three games. While that obviously affects where they'll be projected in this game compared to their full-season numbers, the overall reliability throughout the year gives credence that they can stabilize in this game. On the other side, however, the Guardians' bullpen keeps getting better and has a 2.76 ERA over its last three outings, making the case for a low-scoring game all the more believable, especially late in the ball game. Offensively, the Royals actually slot in 8th in Runs/G at 4.85, but they will be coming up against a fairly good Guardians pitching staff, so there could be some suppression there. The Guardians are worse offensively, ranking 13th with 4.56 Runs/G, and that fit the trend. Historically, both teams have been toward the under in similar matchups, including Kansas City going under in 4 of their last 5 on grass and Cleveland going under in 6 of their last 8 following a win. Additionally, the fact that it's going to be an evening game in Cleveland can help keep the temperatures cool, further suppressing offense—certainly doesn't hurt this expectation. Trends head-to-head also side with the under, as Kansas City has not fared very well in Cleveland, going just 21-49 in their last 70 meetings. This historical difficulty, paired with as strong as Cleveland is pitching, this goes further to back the likelihood of an under. Ragans and Sandlin, with the ability to limit runs, good bullpen performances, and unsurprising offenses on both sides, this game should be primed for a total under 8.5.

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Game 1. Bet to +104