Boston Red Sox vs. Kansas City Royals Preview
Where: Kaufmann Stadium – Kansas City, MO
When: Monday, June 19, 2017 – 8:15 PM ET
Line: Boston Red Sox (-102) at Kansas City Royals (-108); total: 9.5 – view all MLB lines
TV Broadcast: NESN TV / FS-KC
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Betting on the Boston Red Sox (39-30)
Pitching for Boston in the series opener is Hector Velazquez (1-1, 6.48 ERA). He will be making just the second start (and third appearance) of his Major League career against the Royals. The Mexican right-hander hurled 3.1 innings of scoreless relief against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday when Brian Johnson left the contest injured.
What makes Velazquez such a prime commodity for the Red Sox is his strike-throwing ability. The 28-year-old walked just 16 hitters in 131.1 innings pitched for Monclova of the Mexican League in 2016 and then walked just eight hitters in 49 innings for Triple-A Pawtucket. That was definitely the case in his emergency appearance against Kansas City, wherein he surrendered just one hit and allowed just one walk.
Velazquez will need some help, though, if he is to beat the red-hot Royals tonight. Expected to do the heavy lifting for the Red Sox offense is Mookie Betts. The Nashville native has been on fire of late, going 12-of-33 in his last eight games with three homers and five RBIs. He has yet to face Kansas City starter Jason Hammel in his career. Betts leads the Red Sox in homers this campaign with 12.
Betting on the Kansas City Royals (33-35)
Kansas City’s resurgence continued on Sunday with a resounding 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Jason Vargas became the first pitcher to reach double digits in wins this season, allowing just three runs on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts over six innings. Vargas has now won each of his last five starts for the Royals who only trail the AL-Central leading Indians by just 3.5 games.
The Royals will look to keep the momentum going when they host the Red Sox later tonight. Starting for Kansas City in this American League matchup is Jason Hammel (3-6, 5.05 ERA). The righty has been solid lately, having not allowed more than three runs in any of his last three outings. Hammel has pitched at least six innings in each of those three starts and has walked just one batter since since May 29. He is 2-0 in the month of June with a 2.21 ERA over 20.1 innings.
It isn’t just pitching that’s working wonders for Kansas City nowadays. The Royals’ once problematic offense has finally woken up from its slumber. They have scored a whopping 52 runs over their last nine games. Unsurprisingly, Kansas City has racked up an 8-1 record during this span. Leading the way for the Royals during this hot run is Lorenzo Cain. He is batting .458 (11-of-24) over his last six outings with four homers and six RBIs. Cain leads Kansas City in on-base percentage (.362) this campaign.
Writer’s Prediction
The Royals (-108) edge past the Red Sox, 5-3.
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