The Baltimore Orioles (24-33) hit the road to face the Kansas City Royals (18-37) Thursday in the opener of a 4-game set at Kauffman Stadium. First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Orioles vs. Royals odds with MLB picks and predictions.
Season series: Baltimore leads 2-1 and outscored Kansas City 14-9 in a 3-game home series May 8-9.
The Orioles rolled over the Chicago Cubs Tuesday in a 9-3 rout before rain gave them an extra off-day Wednesday.
K.C. awakened from 2 straight shutouts to throttle the Toronto Blue Jays 8-4 Wednesday. The Royals had won just 2 of their previous 10 outings and are 2-7 against the AL East this season. It’s expected to be 81 degrees with the wind traveling out to left field at 7.4 mph with no rain in sight.
Orioles at Royals projected starters
RHP Jordan Lyles vs. LHP Kris Bubic
Lyles (3-4, 4.50 ERA) makes his 12th start. He has a 1.48 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9 and 7.8 K/9 in 62 IP.
Is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP in his last 3 starts against the Royals over the last 2 years. Has an extreme home-road split with a 6.03 road ERA this year. He’s 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA at home. Current Royals hitters have a .281 batting average and a weak .294 expected weighted on-base average in 67 plate appearances.Bubic (0-3, 9.33 ERA) makes his 7th start (8th appearance) this year. He has a 2.07 WHIP, 6.9 BB/9 and 6.4 K/9 in 18 1/3 IP.
Allowed 2 runs on 6 hits, 1 walk and 4 K in 5 1/3 innings against the Orioles last year. Coming off his best start with 5 scoreless innings, 5 hits and 3 walks allowed while fanning 3 against the Houston Astros Saturday. Current Orioles hitters have a .241 batting average and a .326 weighted on-base average in 33 plate appearances. His .322 BABIP this season suggests he’s a bit unlucky.Orioles at Royals odds and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:10 p.m. ET.
Money line (ML): Orioles -110 (bet $110 to win $100) | Royals -110 (bet $110 to win $100) Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Orioles -1.5 (+145) | Royals +1.5 (-180) Over/Under (O/U): 9.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)Exclusive USA TODAY Network offer: Deposit $10 or more, get $200 in instant bet credits at Tipico Sportsbook! New customer offer in CO and NJ. 21+, see Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. Place your legal, online sports bets at Tipico. Let’s make this interesting. Bet now!
Orioles at Royals picks and predictions
Prediction
Orioles 4, Royals 3
Money line
This is the epitome of a pick ’em between two perennial dumpster fires. The Orioles struggle against lefties, with a .222 batting clip, as opposed to .232 against righties, but they have an edge on the bump.
Baltimore also has a massive advantage in the bullpen with a 4th-best 3.11 ERA, as opposed to KC’s 3rd-worst 4.86 ERA. Baltimore has had 2 of the last 3 days off and has won 5 of its last 10. KC has been shut out in 3 of its last 7. We’re going to LEAN ORIOLES (-110).
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Run line/Against the spread
There’s no way I’m betting -180 on the Royals to stay within 1 run, and I don’t like taking sub-.500 teams to win by 2 runs unless it’s beefier than +145. If you’re tailing with me on the O’s to win this one, let’s double up and run with the value play ORIOLES FIRST 9 INNINGS (+107).
It’s worth mentioning that Orioles OF Cedric Mullins is 3-for-5 with 1 homer and 2 doubles against Bubic in his career. He also homered in their last game. It is a lefty-on-lefty matchup, though, and a small sample size. His prop line is OVER 1.5 total bases (+102). There’s not enough value for me to take it as he’s hitting just .236 this year, but it’s worth consideration.
Over/Under
The Under has cashed in the last 5 games for the Orioles against teams with a sub-.400 winning percentage. The Under hit in 2 of the first 3 games between these teams in 2022, and it has hit in 6 of the last 8 meetings between these sides over the last couple of seasons. LEAN UNDER 9.5 (-110).
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