Monday brings a full 15-game slate of MLB action. During the evening window, the Kansas City Royals take on the Atlanta Braves to kick off a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.
Here’s a Royals vs. Braves prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Monday’s outing.
Royals vs. Braves prediction, preview
This may not look like a marquee matchup as the 52-54 Royals battle the 44-60 Braves, but there’s still plenty of reason to tune in for this series between Bobby Witt Jr. and a fantastic Kansas City pitching staff while they face an Atlanta lineup headlined by superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. The Royals have actually gone 5-4 since the All-Star Game and won their last two series against the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Guardians, so they’ve got some momentum in their favor heading into the new week. The Braves haven’t been as lucky, though, sitting 2-7 over the same span as they endured a gauntlet against three playoff-caliber squads.
The Kansas City offense actually has put up better production since the break than in most of the season’s sample thus far. They’re averaging over five runs a night at the moment, and while that mark is inflated some by a 12-run game, they’ve still put up four or more in seven of their last nine contests. Batting .228 overall since that span with a .292 OBP could look a little bit better, but the Royals do have a pitching staff that can weather even lower-scoring outings. They remain a team to watch in the AL Central at just half a game back of second place, and they’re even an outside contender to earn a Wild Card berth if things break right.
The Braves have dealt with tons of adversity including injuries to major members of their rotation, but the offense has underperformed nearly all season as well. Atlanta dug themselves into a hole they may be unable to climb out of. While they’re batting .226 with a .331 OBP since the All-Star Game, the Braves have little to show for it with 39 runs and just two wins. They surrendered six or more runs in each of their last five games, and with the trade deadline looming later this week, the team may decide to punt on the year and sell some pieces for prospects.
Royals vs. Braves pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Braves as -169 favorites on the Moneyline despite playing on the road. The Royals come in at +143 to win outright with a run total of 9.5 for this contest.
The odds may come as a bit of a surprise, but the pitching matchup puts things in perspective. The Royals start Rich Hill (1.80 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, one SO) in the 45-year-old’s second MLB start of the season. He takes on Spender Strider (3.72 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 89 SO), a young star who largely shines in the Braves’ rotation.
Strider’s strikeout prop looks like a line to smash tonight at 6.5. With +125 odds on the over, I’ll be hammering this pick since the right-hander went over that line in each of his last three starts and six of his last 10 dating back to June 3. His savant profile grades out well with a 94th-percentile whiff percentage, 89th-percentile strikeout percentage and a 61st-percentile chase percentage. Strider has the stuff to go over the 6.5 line pretty easily tonight, so the plus-odds look nice in this one.
Best bet: Spencer Strider over 6.5 strikeouts (+125)
Click the odds on this bet to tail!
