In the MLB’s late slate on Monday night, the San Francisco Giants host the Kansas City Royals for an inter-league showdown on the Bay at Oracle Park. Both of these teams sit in the middle of their division standings, though each could be much higher in the order if their sets of rivals weren’t quite as stacked.
This should be a good one, so here’s a Giants vs. Royals prediction and pick for tonight’s contest.
Giants vs. Royals prediction, preview
The San Francisco Giants sit 28-19 on the campaign with one of the MLB’s best home records at 16-7. Oracle remains a pitcher-friendly park, but the Giants are actually batting .259 with a .330 OBP at home versus a paltry .216 AVG and .296 OBP on the road. Heliot Ramos is on fire over the last two weeks with 19 hits, 12 RBI, and a .500 OBP in his last 43 at-bats. Wilmer Flores also has a hot streak of his own going with a .310 average and .420 OBP along with three homers and 11 RBI in that same span. Notably, Matt Chapman might finally find himself rounding into form after a poor start to the year, batting .283 in his last 46 ABs, though his strikeout rate remains high.
Looking to the Royals, they’re 26-22 with a 9-13 record on the road and 4-6 finish over their last 10 contests. The team falls 20th in team average and 25th in OBP and OPS this season as the offense sputters a bit, especially at 27th out of 30 franchises in runs scored. Bobby Witt Jr. looks excellent as always with 25 RBI to show for his .303 AVG and .879 OPS, while Maikel Garcia’s resurgence with a .301 AVG and career-high .853 OPS certainly makes the front office feel better following last season’s poor showing. Holding them back are a trio of batters with 150-plus ABs batting below .223, including catcher Salvador Perez as Father Time begins to peek his head into the picture.
Giants vs. Royals pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists San Francisco as Moneyline favorites with -135 odds to win outright and +164 odds of covering the -1.5 run line. Kansas City enters the evening as +114 Moneyline favorites with -198 odds of covering at +1.5, while the run line remains at 7.5.
So, who are the starters for this clash? Robbie Ray takes the mound for the Giants with an impressive 3.04 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and 55 strikeouts over a 50.1-inning sample. The veteran lefty is playing great ball with his best season since 2021, at least to this early point. Meanwhile, Kris Bubic gets the start for Kansas City looking like an absolute stud after rejoining the rotation this season. He’s putting up better numbers now than he did as a reliever last year with a 1.66 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 56 strikeouts over 54 innings of work (already a larger sample than all of 2024).
There’s a couple angles to take here depending on if you like pitcher or batter props. On one hand, Bubic’s 6+ strikeouts prop looks solid at +110 odds since he’s hit that mark in six of nine starts this season. However, Giants first baseman Wilmer Flores bats .354 at home on the campaign thus far and logged two or more hits in three of his last five games. That two-hit line is available at +280 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. In short, pick your poison.
Best bet: Kris Bubic 6+ strikeouts (+110)
Slight lean: Wilmer Flores 2+ hits (+280)
Click the odds on either bet to tail!
