The Kansas City Royals host Detroit on Thursday, looking to build on their 58-71 mark against the 69-60 Tigers in MLB betting action at Kauffman Stadium.

Rick Porcello, with a record of 9-9 on the season, gets the ball for the Tigers, while the Royals trot Jeremy Guthrie to the mound in this one. He is 5-11 so far in 2012.



View Detroit vs Kansas City Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Kansas City opened as -101 moneyline favorites in this baseball match, based on the starting pitcher matchup. That pairing made odds makers settle on an Sportsbook over under number of 9.

Power Rankings:
The Royals - Tigers odds would favor the Tigers if the lines were set according to our power ranks. Kansas City is rated No. 6 in the current American League Odds Shark poll, while Detroit is at No. 3 in the American League.



How They Match Up:
Scoring stats point to some edges in this matchup. The game features Kansas City's American League No. 11-ranked scoring average of 4.2 runs per game, against a Tigers offense rated No. 7 and scoring 4.6 runs per game in the league. The Royals have averaged 9.3 hits per game to date this season, more than the Tigers hitters have managed (9.1 per nine innings).

Pitching and defensive stats are important baseball handicapping factors and Kansas City has the American League's No. 9-ranked defense. In the other dugout, the Tigers own the American League's No. 7 mark in runs allowed.

Detroit was a 1-0 loser in its last match on the road against the Royals. They lost as -127 favorites, while the total score of 1 made Sportsbooks of UNDER bettors. The Tigers were shut out in their last start, struggling to get much going against the Kansas City staff and losing 1-0 to the Royals on Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium.




Detroit Tigers Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 5-5
Before playing Chi White Sox are 5-5
After playing Kansas City are 6-4
After a loss are 5-5

Kansas City Royals Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 4-6
Before playing Minnesota are 5-5
After playing Detroit are 4-6
After a win are 4-6

A few Tigers at Royals trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Detroit's last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing on the road against Kansas City
Detroit is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing Kansas City
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Detroit's last 10 games when playing Kansas City
Kansas City is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kansas City's last 5 games when playing at home against Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Kansas City's last 8 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Kansas City's last 10 games when playing Detroit


Next up:
Detroit home to Chi White Sox, Friday, August 31
Kansas City home to Minnesota, Friday, August 31