Kansas City Royals vs. Seattle Mariners Prediction, Picks and Preview – June 23, 2015

After coming out on top against Felix Hernandez and the rest of the Seattle Mariners (32-39) in the series opener, the Kansas City Royals (40-27) will gun for their second win in a row when they place Jeremy Guthrie on the mound for Game 2. Will Guthrie deliver? Or will the Mariners knock him around to level the series?

Speaking of the American League West division, the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Angels play the second game of their three-game set also tonight. Click here for a full preview of that game.
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Kansas City Royals vs. Seattle Mariners Preview

Where: Safeco Field, Seattle

When: Tuesday, June 23, 2015, 10:10 PM ET

Line:  Kansas City Royals (+105) vs. Seattle Mariners (-115); total: 7.5 – view all MLB lines

Betting on the Kansas City Royals

[sc:MLB240banner ]It’s fair to say that Jeremy Guthrie is having a bad year but at least he’s making little improvements as of late.

Guthrie started this month with a despicable 6.70 ERA but gradually lowered it to 5.55 through his last four outings. Guthrie can make his ERA less of an eye sore if he does well against Seattle later tonight. Guthrie, however, has had troubles in the past against the Mariners.

In fact, Guthrie enters tonight’s ball game with a 2-7 record and 5.40 ERA in 13 career starts versus Seattle. With that said, it’ll be difficult to imagine Guthrie efficiently mowing down the Mariners’ lineup. In any case, the Royals’ offense will have to play like a unit filled with All-Star candidates this season.

The Royals’ offense has been getting a bit better after suffering a major dip back in May when they collectively hit .253/.314/.385—a huge difference from their April triple slashes of .306/.362/.450. So far this June, the Royals are batting .265/.312/.389.

Led by Alcides Escobar, four Royals are averaging at least .360 over their last few games. Escobar is hitting 11-for-25 (.440) over his last six games, while Omar Infante is 10-for-23 (.435) during the same stretch.

Kansas City is 7-3 in its last 10 road games.

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Betting on the Seattle Mariners

Mike Montgomery (1-2, 2.73 ERA) will be in for a tough challenge later tonight, when he puts his stuff to the test against Kansas City’s offense.

After being acquired by Seattle in a trade with the Rays last March, Montgomery has taken the hill four times, coming up with a mildly surprising 2.73 ERA. The rookie, however, got his big-league baptism of fire on Thursday, when he allowed four earned runs on seven hits in seven plus innings in the Royals’ 7-0 defeat at the hands of San Francisco.

Confidence may be an issue for Montgomery following that crushing setback, but it should help him pick up the pieces if Seattle’s hitters can put the barrels on Guthrie’s pitches.

Hopefully for Montgomery, the breathing room that he needs will be provided by the likes of Dustin Ackley, Robinson Cano, and Seth Smith. Ackley is a lifetime .600 hitter (6-for-10 with two homers) against Guthrie. Cano is 11-for-46 (.239) with three home runs, while Smith is 4-for-6 (.667) with two doubles off Guthrie. Overall, Kansas City’s hitters are batting .275/ .320/.500 against the Royals’ starter.

Seattle is 6-4 in its last 10 home games against the Royals.

Writer’s Prediction

Seattle (-115) wins, 4-3.
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