Kansas City Royals vs. Cleveland Guardians Prediction 6-29-23 MLB Picks

The Cleveland Guardians and the Kansas City Royals meet in an AL Central division matchup from Kauffman Stadium on Thursday. Let’s dive into the odds, starting pitching matchup, history and make a prediction for this game.

Odds

Cleveland is a -150 road favorite while Kansas City is a +130 home underdog. The total for this game is set at 9 runs.

Starting Pitching Matchup

Shane Bieber will start here for Cleveland and is 5-5 with a 3.69 ERA and 77 strikeouts this season. Zack Greinke will start for the Royals and is 1-8 with a 5.31 ERA and 61 strikeouts this season.

Matchup History

Cleveland’s 14-1 win over the Royals on Wednesday made it four straight wins for the Guardians in this head-to-head matchup. 

Trends

Cleveland is 4-0 in their last 4 division games and 7-2 in their last 9 games overall while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 games following a win. Kansas City is 19-52 in their last 71 games overall and 17-42 in their last 59 games following a loss while the over is 3-1-1 in their last 5 Thursday games. 

Pick

I’m on the Guardians here. Sure, Cleveland’s offense has a tendency to be inconsistent at times, but they have a clear edge in starting pitching here and while it use to be a safe haven at home for Greinke, he’s really struggled in a lot of his recent outings and I really have no desire to back him without a ton of plus money behind him. Bieber’s had issues of his own, but he’s owned the Royals over the course of his career and I feel like he’s the better option here so give me Cleveland.