Red Sox vs. Royals odds, tips and betting trends

Sportsbook Wire

31 August 2023

Red Sox vs. Royals odds, tips and betting trends

Two squads on losing streaks — the Boston Red Sox (four in a row) and the Kansas City Royals (six straight) — play on Friday at 8:10 PM ET, at Kauffman Stadium.

The Red Sox are the road favorite (-192) versus the Royals (+160). The matchup on the mound for this contest is set with the Boston Red Sox looking to James Paxton (7-4), and Jordan Lyles (3-15) taking the ball for the Kansas City Royals.

The Red Sox lost their most recent game against the Astros by a 7-4 score Friday. Triston Casas went 3-for-4 with a double to lead them offensively. Kutter Crawford picked up the loss after throwing 2 2/3 innings, giving up six earned runs on seven hits while striking out one.

Friday, the Royals lost to the Pirates 4-1. Angel Zerpa was the losing pitcher after he went 5 2/3 innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits while striking out three. Bobby Witt Jr. led the Royals’ offense, going 1-for-4 with a home run and an RBI.

Prepare for the Red Sox vs. Royals with everything you need to know before Friday’s baseball action, including viewing options.

Boston Red Sox vs. Kansas City Royals Odds and Betting Lines

Tipico Sportsbook. Odds updated Thursday at 9:16 AM ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

Favorite: Red Sox (-192, bet $192 to win $100)
Underdog: Royals (+160, bet $100 to win $160)
Over/under: 9.5

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Red Sox Stats and Trends

Red Sox Betting Records

The Red Sox have won 33, or 52.4%, of the 63 games they’ve played as favorites this season.
Boston is 6-4 this season when entering a game favored by -192 or more on the moneyline.
The implied probability of a win from the Red Sox, based on the moneyline, is 65.8%.
Boston and its opponents have hit the over in 71 of its 133 games with a total this season.
The Red Sox are 67-66-0 against the spread in their 133 chances this season.

James Paxton (Red Sox Probable Starter)

Paxton (7-4) gets the starting nod for the Red Sox in his 19th start of the season. He has a 3.99 ERA in 94 2/3 innings pitched, with 101 strikeouts.
In his most recent outing on Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the left-hander went 4 1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs while surrendering four hits.
In 18 games this season, the 34-year-old has put up a 3.99 ERA and 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings, while allowing a batting average of .242 to opposing hitters.
Paxton has eight quality starts under his belt this season.
Paxton will try to collect his 14th matchup of five or more innings pitched this season. He averages 5.2 innings per appearance.
In three of his 18 total appearances this season he has not surrendered an earned run.
The opposing Royals offense has the 24th-ranked slugging percentage (.389) and ranks 27th in MLB play with 128 home runs. It has a collective .240 batting average, and is 21st in MLB with 1084 total hits and 27th in MLB play scoring 530 runs.
Paxton has a 0 ERA and a 1.125 WHIP against the Royals this season in 5 1/3 innings pitched, allowing a .286 batting average over one appearance.

Red Sox Batting Stats

The Red Sox’s 159 home runs rank 14th in Major League Baseball.
Hitters for Boston rank sixth in the majors with a combined .438 team slugging percentage.
The Red Sox have a team batting average of .264 this season, which ranks third among MLB teams.
Boston has scored the seventh-most runs in the majors this season with 665.
The Red Sox are among the best in the league at getting on base, ranking fifth with an OBP of .331.
Boston ranks ninth in MLB in strikeouts per game with an average of 8.1 whiffs per contest.

Royals Stats and Trends

Royals Betting Records

The Royals have won in 36, or 31%, of the 116 contests they have been named as odds-on underdogs this year.
Kansas City has a win-loss record of 11-41 when favored by +160 or worse by sportsbooks this year.
The Royals have an implied victory probability of 38.5% according to the moneyline set by oddsmakers for this matchup.
Kansas City and its opponents have gone over the total this season in 66 of its 134 opportunities.
The Royals are 58-76-0 against the spread in their 134 games that had a posted line this season.

Jordan Lyles (Royals Probable Starter)

Lyles makes the start for the Royals, his 26th of the season. He is 3-15 with a 6.32 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 142 1/3 innings pitched.
In his last time out on Saturday, the right-hander went three innings against the Seattle Mariners, allowing seven earned runs while surrendering six hits.
The 32-year-old has amassed a 6.32 ERA and 6.1 strikeouts per nine innings across 25 games this season, while giving up a batting average of .261 to opposing hitters.
Lyles has four quality starts under his belt this season.
Lyles has pitched five or more innings in a game 22 times this season entering this outing.
He has held his opponents without an earned run in one of his 25 outings this season.
The opposing Red Sox offense has the sixth-ranked slugging percentage (.438) and ranks 14th in home runs hit (159) in all of MLB. They have a collective .264 batting average, and are third in the league with 1217 total hits and seventh in MLB action scoring 665 runs.
Lyles has thrown eight innings, giving up four earned runs on seven hits while striking out six against the Red Sox this season.
The 32-year-old ranks 54th in ERA (6.32), 40th in WHIP (1.300), and 51st in K/9 (6.1) among qualifying pitchers in MLB action this season.

Royals Batting Stats

The Royals are fourth-worst in MLB action with 128 home runs.
So far this season, Kansas City ranks 24th in the majors, slugging .389.
The Royals rank 21st in the majors with a .240 batting average.
The offense for Kansas City is No. 27 in MLB play scoring 3.9 runs per game (530 total runs).
The Royals’ .297 on-base percentage is the second-worst in baseball.

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