Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Cleveland Guardians vs Kansas City Royals: A AL Central matchup

The Cleveland Guardians and the Kansas City Royals are closing out their series tonight at Kauffman Stadium.

The Guardians are for real this season

The Cleveland Guardians are on top of the AL Central with a 52-29 record, including 26-20 on the road. After losing three consecutive games, they won 7-2 last night against the Royals. The Guardians have a 3.56 ERA, a .229 batting average, a .302 on-base percentage, and 1.20 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Jose Ramirez is the best player on the team with 88 hits, 64 runs and 23 home runs.

The Royals have split the last ten games

The Kansas City Royals are third in the AL Central with a 46-39 record, including 29-16 at home. After winning three consecutive games, the Royals lost 7-2 last night to the Guardians. Kansas City has a 3.79 ERA, a .239 batting average, a .310 on-base percentage, and 1.26 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Bobby Witt Jr. is the best player on the team with 104 hits, 63 runs and 12 home runs.

Betting Trends

The Royals are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games overall, 6-1 SU in their last 7 home games against Cleveland and 4-10 SU in their last 14 games against teams from the AL. Kansas City has played under the total run line in 6 of their last 8 games overall and 5 of their last 7 home games. The Guardians are 8-3 SU in their last 11 games overall and 7-3 SU in their last 10 games against teams from the AL. Cleveland has played over the total run line in 4 of their last 5 games played on Sunday.

Prediction and Conclusion

Both teams have a promising season and can get even higher in the standings in the following month. The Royals won the first two games of the series by 2-1 and 10-3, while Cleveland won the last one by 7-2. The Guardians will try to add another one today with Logan Allen on the mound, who is 10-2 for the season with an 8-3 record, 5.72 ERA, 64 K, 78.2 IP, and 1.55 WHIP. The Royals have an even better pitcher, as Seth Lugo is 10-2 for the season with a 2.29 ERA, 95 K, 110 IP, and 1.05 WHIP. Both pitchers are in excellent form and will not allow many hits, which will keep the game under 8.5 runs in total.