Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Guardians Prediction and Betting Odds July 8

Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Guardians Betting Preview

WagerTalk MLB handicapper Andy Lang offers his analysis of Friday night’s Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Guardians clash in the AL Central. Aaron Civale will be looking to right the ship for Cleveland, while the 25 year-old righty Brady Singer toes the rubber for Kansas City.

Interested in joining WagerTalk at the Westgate’s SuperContest Weekend in Las Vegas? Click here to learn more about the activities (golf, basketball, handicapping panels and more) and the discounted room block as WagerTalk takes over Sin City in August.

Friday, July 8	MLB Betting Notes, Courtesy of Caesars
Moneyline:	Kansas City Royals -125 vs Cleveland Guardians +115
Runline:	Royals -1.5 (+170) / Guardians +1.5 (-190)
Total:	8.5 Runs (Over -120 / Under EV)
Game Time:	8:10pm ET / 5:10pm PT
Where:	Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City
Weather:	86* and Clear with Light Winds Blowing In from Center Field

Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Guardians Analysis

The Cleveland Guardians travel to Kauffman Stadium to begin a three game series with the Kansas City Royals on Friday night. The Royals lost three of four games in their last series in Houston against the Astros. The Guardians suffered a four game sweep in Detroit at the hands of the lowly Tigers.

Guardians Of The .500 Line

The Cleveland Guardians are attempting to gain ground in the American League Central, so a four-game sweep at the hands of the 35-47 Detroit Tigers is unforgivable. They weren’t just swept, but outscored 28-10 across the four games including 8-2 yesterday.

Their stopper Shane Bieber was hammered for five runs on seven hits in only 5.2 innings of work. Franmil Reyes hit a homer and Steven Kwan hit a double & that was about it for offensive production. The Guardians only average 4.26 and it’s becoming apparent that they rely to heavily on Jose Ramirez.

Aaron Civale has been a solid starter at points but he is having a brutal season with 40 runs allowed in only 46 innings pitched. He is 2-5 with a 7.04 ERA and 1.54 WHIP. You can’t be confident in Civale as a stopper at this point.

Royal Pains

The Kansas City Royals lost three of four in their last series against Houston but gave the Astros fits in the process. Even yesterday’s 5-2 loss was a hard fought effort where they held a lead until the fifth inning. Justin Verlander wasn’t particularly sharp early but ended with a solid line of two runs (one earned) on seven hits in six innings. Jose Altuve hit a two run blast and Yordan Alvarez hit a solo bomb for his 26th on the year.

The Royals are still a bottom barrel offense that ranks bottom five across the board. They have been without Salvador Perez for sometime now and now they are also without Bobby Witt Jr after he was hit with a pitch.

Brady Singer draws the start and he has been their second best starter for most of the season. He’s 3-3 on the year with a 4.30 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. However, he has allowed 10 runs on 21 hits across 21 innings pitched.

Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Guardians Prediction

Weeks ago it felt like Cleveland was on a different level than the Kansas City but they have trended more towards equivalents recently. Sure the Guardians have a better overall roster especially when it comes to the bullpen. However, I definitely trust Singer over Civale right now.

The Royals top hitters like Whit Merrifield, Andrew Benintendi and Hunter Dozier have all enjoyed outstanding short term results against Civale. Let’s fade him here and keep the bullpens out of it. I’m going to lay the -0.5 run with the Kansas City Royals at +110 odds in the first five innings.

Prediction: Kansas City Royals -0.5 F5 +110 (first five innings)

First Pitch | MLB Predictions for Friday, July 8

Join Drew Martin and a rotating panel of guests for First Pitch as we break down the daily baseball slate from a betting perspective. Join WagerTalk’s team of MLB betting experts every weekday at 1:45pm ET / 10:45am PT for First Pitch as we discuss the baseball betting slate.

WagerTalk Live Odds Screen

WagerTalk’s Live Odds Screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the MLB moneylines, run lines and betting percentages for all of Friday’s baseball games, including this Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Guardians showdown, from your desktop or phone.

**************************************************

Meet the Author

Andy Lang has lived in Indianapolis his whole life, and like most people from the Hoosier State, he became fascinated with motor sports. That interest in motor sports turned into a desire to make money off the sport through fantasy contests and sports betting. Like most, he took his lumps when he first got started, but now he is one of the most respected NASCAR bettors in the industry. Andy has expanded that sports betting experience to become profitable in a number of other sports, transforming this interest from a side hobby to a major source of income.

Looking for more free sports picks and sports betting tips?

• Latest Betting Odds and Public Action: Vegas lines updated in real time, including who the public is betting on.
• Last Minute Handicapping Advice: Check out our extensive library of handicapping tips and advice from professional Vegas handicappers (we also recommend taking the time to look over our sports betting tips video library)
• Want an expert opinion? Check out the latest Free Sports Picks and Best Bets from our team of expert sports handicappers.

Make sure to bookmark all the above!