Cleveland Guardians vs. Kansas City Royals July 9 Betting Preview

The losing streak continues for the Cleveland Guardians (40-41) as they lost their fifth in a row in a loss to the Kansas City Royals (31-51) on Friday. Trying to snap the streak, they will once again take on the Royals Saturday at Kauffman Stadium, with the first pitch scheduled for 4:10 pm ET.

In the series opener Friday, the Royals won 4-3 over Cleveland. Scott Barlow picked up the win in relief after starter Brady Singer went seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits.

Whit Merrifield went three for four, including his fifth home run of the season, a two-run shot in the fifth inning. Michael Taylor was the only other Royals’ hitter with multiple hits as he had two.

Offensively, Cleveland had nine hits, but they also left 16 runners stranded on base. Franmil Reyes hit his eighth home run of the season while Nolan Jones went two for three with a run batted in.

July 9 Betting Odds

The Guardians are the slight favorites despite playing on the road Saturday. They are -120 to win while the Royals’ moneyline sits at +102. The runline features Kansas City +1.5 (-170), and the over/under for total runs is 8.5.

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Pitching Matchup

Cleveland will send 24-year-old righty Triston McKenzie to the mound to stop the losing streak. In 15 games, he is 5-6 with a 3.71 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and has 80 strikeouts in 87.1 innings.

He picked up a win over the Yankees in his last outing, going seven scoreless innings and allowing just a single hit.

Kansas City will counter with 25-year-old righty Jonathan Heasley. In 10 games, he is 1-4 with a 4.76 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and has 38 strikeouts in 51 innings.

Guardians Need To Find A Way To Win

Having lost seven of their last ten games, the Guardians have slipped to a game under .500 on the season. While they still sit in second in the AL Central, they trail the Minnesota Twins by 4.5 games.

Despite a recent slump, Jose Ramirez continues to lead the offense for the Guardians. He is hitting .285/.368/.569 with 16 home runs, 63 runs batted in, 48 runs scored, and 12 stolen bases. He continues to lead the Guardians in all four categories.

He has also had success in limited at bats versus Jonathan Heasley. He is two for three against the righty with a home run and three runs batted in.

Guardians’ hitters are collectively 5 for 21 against Heasley.

Royals Trying To Improve Home Record

At 31-51, it has been a miserable season for the Kansas City Royals. They sit dead last in the division, 14 games out of first place. They have especially struggled at home this season as they are 15-25 at Kauffman Stadium.

Despite their struggles, the Royals have a few key contributors, including first baseman Hunter Dozier. He is currently hitting .263/.326/.440 with nine home runs, 30 runs batted in, and 34 runs scored.

Dozier has also had success against Triston McKenzie. In 13 at bats, he is hitting .308 with a home run and four runs batted in.

Andres Benintendi and Whit Merrifield have also taken the righty deep in their careers.

Guardians Aim To Find Consistency

It has been quite a rollercoaster for the Guardians this season. There are times where the offense has carried the team, times where the starting pitching has been great, and times where the bullpen has been lockdown. Recently, though, there hasn’t been much consistency in any of the three.

On Friday, the Guardians got a fantastic outing from Aaron Civale, but the bullpen and offense were letdowns. On Saturday, Cleveland will look to put all three facets together to come out with a victory.

The trends support Cleveland as they are 5-1 in their last six against the Royals and 12-5 in their last 17 at Kauffman Stadium.

Still, with the slump that they are currently in, the Guardians are looking for someone to put the team on their back. Whether it is starter Triston McKenzie, or slugger Jose Ramirez, Cleveland needs someone to get it done so that they can get back in the win column and back to .500.