Royals vs Twins Predictions, Picks & Odds (April 28)

The struggling Kansas City Royals visit the Minnesota Twins at 4:05 p.m. ET Friday in the second game of a four-game series at Target Field in Minneapolis.

The Royals (6-20, 5-8) road lost 7-1 in the series opener Thursday night for their fourth defeat in the last five games and 11 in the last 13. The Twins (15-11, 8-5 home) have won four of their last five games.

The game will be televised by MLB Network.

Royals vs Twins Odds

The Twins are -245 moneyline favorites over the Royals on Friday in the MLB odds, giving them an implied win probability of 71.01%. Minnesota has +2200 World Series championship odds and Kansas City is listed at +25000.

The weather forecast is ugly as it calls for a 70% chance of rain, a high of 53 degrees and north wind at 5-15 mph.

Odds as of April 27th at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Kansas City vs Minnesota Starting Pitchers

Jordan Lyles (0-4, 4.88) will start for the Royals against Pablo Lopez (1-2, 3.00). Lyles will be pitching on four days of rest and Lopez on five.

Lyles vs Lopez

The Royals have lost all five of Lyles’ starts this year, including last Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels on the road. Lyles took the loss as he gave up four runs on four hits in six innings with five strikeouts and one walk.

Lyles will be making his fifth career start versus the Twins. He is 0-1 with a 3.13 ERA.

Lyles is 0-1 with a 5.84 ERA in two starts on the road this season. In day games, he has an 0-3 mark and a 5.29 ERA over three outings.

Lopez lost to the Washington Nationals last Saturday at home. He was tagged for five runs and eight hits in four innings while striking out six and walking two.

Lopez has split his two career starts against the Royals with a fine 1.54 ERA. His AL Cy Young odds are +4000.

In two starts at home in his first season with the Twins, Lopez is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA. He is 1-2 with a 3.22 ERA in four starts in day games and the Twins are 2-3 when Lopez takes the hill.

Batting Average vs Starting Pitchers

Lopez has held hitters on the Royals’ active roster to a .150 batting average (3 for 20) with nine strikeouts. Twins catcher Christian Vazquez is 6 for 10 (.500) with one home run against Lyles but center fielder Michael A. Taylor is 1 for 8 (.125).

Royals vs Twins Betting Trends

Byron Buxton, whose AL MVP odds are +6500, and Carlos Correa hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning Thursday night to lead the Twins over the Royals. Buxton’s shot came with two runners on base.

Max Kepler and Vazquez had two hits each for the Twins.

Taylor returned to action for the Twins after sitting out a game with back soreness and went 1 for 3 with an RBI. Right-handed reliever Josh Winder (shoulder strain) was activated from the injured list and left-hander Brent Headrick was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul.

Vinny Pasquantino’s home run accounted for the lone run for the Royals, who were limited to three hits.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez is expected to be back in the lineup. He missed his second straight game with a bruised back.

Royals vs Twins Last 10 Games

The Twins have won all four meetings this season and are 16-7 against the Royals since the beginning of last season.

Royals vs Twins Prediction

The Twins are starting to heat up and now lead the American League Central while the Royals are all kind of shades of awful. Let’s roll with the hot team on the runline in this one.

Pick: Twins -1.5 (-115) RL

Season Record: 12-5 (+5.1 units) ML; 1-2 (-1.0 units) RL; 1-0 (+1.0 unit) O/U; 13-7 (+5.1 units) overall