Wednesday evening features an American League battle between the Toronto Blue Jays (2-3) and the Kansas City Royals (1-4). The Royals will host this one at Kauffman Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 7:40 pm ET.
The Blue Jays are the favorite in this one despite playing on the road. They are -196 to win, while the Royals’ moneyline sits at +164. The runline features Kansas City +1.5 (-102), and the over/under for total runs is 9.
Toronto Looks For Series Edge
After splitting the first two games of this four-game series, the Toronto Blue Jays are looking to take the edge Wednesday night. They will also look to get back to .500 in this first week of baseball.
On Tuesday, they were able to take down Kansas City 4-1. In the win, Yusei Kikuchi went five innings, allowing just one run on three hits.
Offensively, Daulton Varsho hit his first home run of the season, while Matt Chapman had a three-hit night.
Against the Royals’ Wednesday starter Zack Greinke, several Blue Jays hitters have had success against him. In particular, keep an eye on George Springer (.538 in 13 at bats, HR) and Brandon Belt (.300 in 40 at bats, 2 HR).
On the bump for the Blue Jays in the third game of the series will be righty Alex Manoah. He is looking to rebound from an atrocious start in his last outing, when he gave up five earned runs on nine hits in just 3.1 innings of work.
Royals Look For Win Number Two
At +3500, the Kansas City Royals have the worst odds of winning the AL Central this season. Despite the low expectations, Kansas City hopes to surprise some people this season and will try to pick up their second win of the year against the Blue Jays Wednesday.
On the mound for Kansas City will be veteran righty Zack Greinke. The 39-year-old starter went 5.1 innings in his first start, giving up just two earned runs on six hits. He was the hard luck loser in his last outing, but he will hope that his offense can give him a bit more support in this one.
On Tuesday, Kansas City was able to muster just one run, a solo home run from Franmil Reyes. Aside from him, the only other player with a hit was third baseman Matt Duffy, although he did have three of them on the night.
The Royals are really hoping that Bobby Witt Jr. can get his early slump turned around. The young phenom has just two hits in 17 at bats. If Kansas City is to succeed, he needs to be a bit part of the offense.
Against Manoah, no Royals’ hitter has a home run off of him, but Franmil Reyes is two for two against him.
Take The Blue Jays To Win And Cover
Alex Manoah was brutal in his last start, but he gets a really nice matchup against a light-hitting Royals team in this one.
Plus, while Zack Greinke is a crafty veteran that can minimize damage, there are eight Blue Jays’ hitters that have hit .250 or better against him in their careers (five of them hitting .300 or better).
Expect this one to get a bit lopsided. Take Toronto to both win and to cover the -1.5 runline (-118).
