Toronto Blue Jays at Kansas City Royals Betting Preview

Thursday night will feature an American League battle of East versus Central as the Toronto Blue Jays (6-6) will square off with the Kansas City Royals (6-4). The Royals will host this one at Kauffman Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 8:10 pm ET.

This will be the first game of a four-game set between the two teams. Both teams come into this one off of a win on Wednesday. For the Blue Jays, they got a walk-off home run from Bo Bichette to win 5-4 over the New York Yankees. Rafael Dolis picked up the win in relief.

For Kansas City, they were a 6-1 winner over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday. The Royals got home runs from Salvador Perez and Carlos Santana, while Brad Keller went just under six innings on the mound allowing just one run.

As of Wednesday night, the Blue Jays had still not announced their starter for Thursday’s game. The Royals will send Jakob Junis (0-0, 0.00 ERA) to the mound.

By The Numbers

Offensively, Kansas City has been the stronger of the two teams in the early going. They rank 9th in scoring averaging 4.78 runs per game. The Blue Jays rank 13th, averaging 4.45 runs.

Defensively, it is the Blue Jays who hold the advantage. They rank 7th in the majors in runs allowed per game at 3.64. The Royals fall to 19th, allowing opponents 5.11 runs per game.

Blue Jays Look To Get Bats Rolling

Before the season started, many assumed that if the Blue Jays were to have success, it would be because their bats carried them. While they have been average offensively thus far, it has been their pitching that has been strong to start the year.

Still, Toronto has a few bats that are rolling right now, including Bo Bichette. The shortstop actually hit two home runs on Wednesday and is now hitting .327/.358/.653 with four home runs, ten runs batted in, and two stolen bases on the season.

Bichette has also had some success against the Royals’ Jakob Junis, albeit in limited at bats. He is two for four against the righty with a home run. Marcus Semien has also homered against Junis.

While Bichette has hit well, there is room for improvement from some others on the club. Cavan Biggio is hitting just .179 with two home runs, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is hitting just .167, and the biggest offseason acquisition, George Springer, still has yet to make his debut.

Kansas City Turning Heads In The Early Going

A lot of people dismissed the Kansas City Royals before the season ever got going. At 6-4, they are still just +2000 to win the division, fourth-best odds in the A.L. Central.

With so many betting against them, the Royals are out to turn some heads with a nice blend of youngsters and veterans.

Offensively, it has been a couple of those veterans leading the way. Second baseman Whit Merrifield and catcher Salvador Perez have started off hot. Merrifield is hitting .375/.391/.650 with three home runs, eleven runs batted in, and three stolen bases.

Perez is hitting .333/.395/.641 with three home runs and eight runs batted in.

On the pitching side, it will be Jakob Junis taking the mound. In his last start, a 4-2 loss to the Indians, Junis went five innings allowing one hit, no runs, two walks, and struck out six.

Taking Blue Jays On The Road

Keep an eye out for who the Blue Jays decide to start on Thursday, but the walk-off win over the Yankees on Wednesday was huge for Toronto. Expect them to carry over that momentum to Thursday and to take the first game of the four-game set against the Royals.