The Kansas City Royals host the Minnesota Twins on April 1, 2026. First pitch from Kauffman Stadium is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ROYL and MLB.TV.
The Twins are favored by -118 on the moneyline and by -1.5 on the run line (+136). The Royals are +100 on the moneyline and +1.5 on the run line (-164). The total is set at 8.5 runs (-106o / -114u).
Find my MLB picks and Twins vs Royals prediction below, as well as probable pitchers, weather report, and more.
Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, Picks
- Twins vs Royals Pick: Under 8.5 (Play to -120)
My Twins vs Royals best bet is on the under. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live MLB odds page.
Twins vs Royals Odds, Line, Spread
| Twins Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Run Line | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +145 | 8 -105o / -115u | -110 |
| Royals Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Run Line | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -175 | 8 -105o / -115u | -110 |
- Twins vs Royals Run Line: Twins -1.5 (+145), Royals +1.5 (-175)
- Twins vs Royals Over/Under: 8 Total Runs
- Twins vs Royals Moneyline: Twins ML -110, Royals ML -110
Twins vs Royals MLB Kalshi Odds
Twins vs Royals Pitchers
| RHP Joe Ryan (MIN) | Stat | LHP Noah Cameron (KCR – Season Debut) |
|---|---|---|
| 0-0 | W-L | N/A |
| 0.2 | fWAR (FanGraphs) | N/A |
| 0.00/1.69 | ERA /xERA | N/A |
| 1.70/3.64 | FIP / xFIP | N/A |
| 0.56 | WHIP | N/A |
| 26.3% | K-BB% | N/A |
| 20.0% | GB% | N/A |
| 115 | Stuff+ | N/A |
| 111 | Location+ | N/A |
Twins vs Royals MLB Betting Preview
Minnesota Twins
Joe Ryan will look to follow up his fantastic Opening Day performance on Thursday in a matchup versus a Royals side that he has fared well against historically. In his first start of the season versus the Orioles, Ryan allowed just one hit across five 2/3 innings. He also recorded seven strikeouts and allowed an xBA of .123.
Ryan's stuff graded extremely well versus the Orioles, as he held a Stuff+ rating of 115, including a mark of 125 on his fastball. H
e held a K-rate of 28.2% across 171 innings in 2025 with a Stuff+ rating of 108 and appears poised to post similar marks this year in his sixth MLB campaign.
Ryan's strong start was a bright spot for a Twins side that has gotten off to a slow start offensively, as they currently hold a wRC+ of 85 and have struck out 25.5% of the time.
They also rank 25th in expected weighted on-base average. A four-game sample is not overly meaningful, but Minnesota was projected to be in the league's bottom third offensively and has shown nothing to indicate it will outperform the consensus projections thus far.
The Twins brought in Taylor Rogers and Anthony Banda to help mitigate the losses of Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax from the relief staff, and expect to hold a slightly below-average bullpen.
The bullpen is in good shape entering this matchup, as Kody Funderburk is the only reliever who has thrown more than 30 pitches over the last five days.
Kansas City Royals
Like the Twins, the Royals have also been among the league's worst offenses in most key statistical categories to start the season, as they rank 23rd in xBA and 28th in wRC+, while holding the third-lowest hard-hit rate in baseball.
The Royals are expected to offer an altered approach at the plate this season and made a notable addition in hiring hitting coach Marcus Thames. They will opt to hit for more power at Kauffman Stadium, having brought in the fences to add additional seats in right and left field.
Noah Cameron appeared to be an overachiever in 2025, as he pitched to an ERA of 2.99 across 138 1/3 innings pitched, but held a 4.08 xERA and Pitching+ rating of 101.
All projection systems are calling for regression this season, with the more optimistic models expecting a league-average ERA and the less optimistic ones expecting ERA's north of 4.5.
The Royals' bullpen does appear to have some holes and may not prove to be an overly deep unit but is projected to rank in the league's middle third.
Lucas Erceg, Matt Strahm and John Schreiber should provide better-than-average results, with Schreiber taking on the role of closer with Carlos Estevez currently sidelined with an ankle injury.
Twins vs Royals Pick, MLB Betting Analysis
Though there are some arguments that suggest this matchup could be more eventful than Monday's series opener, a total of 8.5 still appears to be fairly high for a matchup featuring Ryan and a Twins offense which may not prove to be overly formidable.
Ryan offered fantastic stuff on Opening Day and could prove to be one of the better starters in the AL this season. The Royals' offense could potentially be improved and should be due for better results soon, but Ryan is far from an ideal matchup to get things in order.
While Cameron is likely to offer below-average results this season, the Twins lineup does not look overly convincing and has not been in good form thus far.
The Royals' bullpen does have a number of convincing options and solid middle-relief guys in particular, which is notable with Cameron making his first start and not likely to work deep into this matchup.
Kauffman is expected to be more hitter-friendly this season which does work against the under, but winds are expected to be blowing in from center-field in this matchup.
At -114, there looks to be value in backing this game to feature under 8.5 runs, and I would bet it down to -120.
Pick: Under 8.5 (Play to -120)
