Angels Favored to Complete Sweep Over Kansas City on Wednesday

The Los Angeles Angels are 7-1 in their last eight home games against the Kansas City Royals, including two wins so far in this three-game series. The Angels will try to wrap up their home series against the Royals with another win Wednesday night. 

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Angels have received most of the betting action since Sportsbook as a -125 favorite in this matchup to push the line up to Los Angeles -145. Kansas City is paying +135 as a road underdog while the total has remained steady at 9 runs. 

Starting Pitchers Analysis

Brad Keller pitched five innings and allowed only two runs in Kansas City’s 14-5 win over the Minnesota Twins last Friday. Keller’s 5.50 ERA and 1.71 WHIP are heavily weighed down by three bad starts in April. The 25-year-old has allowed three earned runs or less in each of his last eight outings and has led the Royals to wins in his last five.

Griffin Canning failed to get out of the fourth inning in his last start against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, permitting six hits, two walks and four earned runs in 3.1 innings. Canning now owns a disappointing 5.82 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 2021 after recording a 3.99 ERA in 11 starts last year. The right-hander has struggled at home with a 6.52 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched in Anaheim.

Kansas City News & Notes

Kansas City’s offense hit a wall over the weekend against Minnesota and has not been able to get back on track this week vs the Angels. The Royals have now lost four straight games and are averaging only 2.25 runs per game over that stretch. Before this slump, Kansas City was 6-1 over its previous seven games while scoring 8.14 runs per game.

The Royals rank 21st in the majors in pitching with a team ERA of 4.49. This team will go only as far as its offense takes it. Kansas City fell back under .500 on Tuesday night and carries a 29-30 record into Wednesday night’s game.

Los Angeles News & Notes

Shohei Ohtani hit a 470-foot moonshot in the first inning on Tuesday night to give the Angels an early 1-0 lead, setting the tone for the rest of the game. Five different Angels hit home runs as Los Angeles rolled to an 8-1 win just one night after beating the Royals 8-3. 

Los Angeles improved to 4-1 over its last five games and to 29-32 on the season with Tuesday night’s victory. The Angels went 1-5 in their first six games without Mike Trout after their star center-fielder was lost for six to eight weeks with a calf strain, but they have bounced back with a 10-5 record since then.  

Betting Pick: OVER 9 runs

Griffin Canning has not been very good this season and could be just what the doctor ordered for this slumping Royals offense. Los Angeles’s offense is clicking with 16 runs in this series. This one should find its way over the posted total.