Kansas City Royals vs. Cleveland Guardians October 1 Betting Preview

As they start to look ahead to the postseason, the Cleveland Guardians (89-68) will look to stay hot as they host the second of a three-game series Saturday with the Kansas City Royals (63-94). This game will be played at Progressive Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:10 p.m.

On Friday, the Guardians won the opener 6-3. In the win, Aaron Civale went six innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits. Offensively, Jose Ramirez homered and drove in three runs.

For Kansas City, Brady Singer was roughed up after allowing six runs on seven hits over 5.2 innings. Michael Massey and Drew Waters homered, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the rough pitching.

The Guardians are the favorites Saturday playing at home. They are (-193) to win, while the Royals’ moneyline sits at (+170). The runline features Kansas City +1.5 (-141), and the over/under for total runs is 7.5.

Royals Try To Even Series

After dropping the first game of the series, the Royals will look to bounce back and even the series on Saturday. Unfortunately for Royals’ fans, they have really struggled on the road as they are just 24-52 this season away from Kauffman Stadium.

On the mound for Kansas City will be lefty Kris Bubic. In 27 games, he is 2-13 with a 5.81 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, and he has struck out 102 in 124 innings.

Bubic has struggled in his last three starts. Over 12.1 innings in those three games, he gave up 13 earned runs on 22 hits. He will look to bounce back Saturday.

Keep an eye on Hunter Dozier in this one. While he is hitting just .179 in 28 at bats versus the Guardians’ Zach Plesac, he does have two home runs and four runs batted in. Salvador Perez has also homered off the righty.

Guardians Look For Win Number 90

Having secured the AL Central, the Cleveland Guardians have had a remarkable season. On Saturday, they will look to pick up win number 90 on the season as they try to keep rolling into the playoffs.

Zach Pleasac will take the ball for the first time in over a month since fracturing his pitching hand. In 23 games, he is 3-11 with a 4.39 ERA and 1.31 WHIP, and he has 99 strikeouts in 127 innings of work.

Jose Ramirez continues to be the best hitter on the Guardians. With his home run on Friday, he is now hitting .274/.351/.512 with a team-leading 29 home runs and 122 runs batted in. He also has 87 runs and 18 stolen bases on the season.

Against lefties, Oscar Gonzalez (.284 avg, 5 HR, 12 RBI), Andres Gimenez (.333 avg, 4 HR, 13 RBI), and Amed Rosario (.287 avg, 4 HR, 13 RBI) have also performed well.

Tough To Bet Against Guardians

Even though it is unclear what to expect from Zach Plesac in his first start since the end of August, it is just hard to bet against Cleveland right now. They have been taking care of business both at the plate and on the mound.

Furthermore, Kris Bubic has struggled this season and faces a bad matchup against a Cleveland team that has won nine of their last 10.

The question mark remains Plesac, but if he can limit the damage, the Guardians have a good chance of getting to win number 90 on Saturday.