Royal Rumble: Kansas City Royals at Seattle Mariners Series Preview
Royals Continue To Impress
Contrary to what most people expected before the season, the Kansas City Royals might actually be good. After taking three of four from the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend.
The Royals have won four of their last five games and are eight games over .500.
As this Royals vs Mariners series preview will note, Kansas City will try to keep the good times rolling as they visit the Seattle Mariners — who are 22-19 — for a three-game set this week.
For Monday’s opener, the MLB odds shows that the Mariners are -142 moneyline favorites (the Royals are +127 underdogs on the moneyline) and are +155 at -1.5 runs on the runline. The run total is a low 7 runs.
Kansas City has been playing great baseball in large part due to a revamped starting rotation that is in the top-five in the Majors in ERA.
Seth Lugo — who threw a gem to beat the Angels on Sunday — won’t pitch against Seattle yet. He has a 1.66 ERA in nine starts after signing with the Royals this offseason.
Staff ace Cole Ragans won’t go either but Brady Singer (set to pitch Monday) and Alec March both have sub-2.00 ERAs. In fact, the Kansas City staff is among the MLB home run leaders in terms of fewest allowed, showcasing how good it has been.
The Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics in a series this weekend, scoring eight runs in two of the games. That was a welcome sign for a Seattle offense that has been in the bottom-five in most offensive categories this season.
Cal Raleigh, Josh Rojas and Dylan Moore have been Seattle’s only offensive regulars with an OPS+ over 100 but the big series against the A’s could get some of the Mariners’ slumping stars going in the right direction.
Date & Time: Monday, May 13th, 9:40 p.m. ET
Records: Royals 25-17/Mariners 22-19
Location: T-Mobile Park; Seattle, Washington
Streaming: TNT
Julio Needs To Get Going
RodrÃguez is one of the most exciting players in baseball and is a critical player to discuss for any Royals vs Mariners series preview although he has really struggled at the plate all season.
He had a two-hit game on Sunday and smacked his second home run of the year. Mitch Garver — who has also been been bad at the plate — and Seby Zavala homered as well so maybe that’s the kind of game that can kickstart two of Seattle’s more important offensive players.
RodrÃguez is the straw that stirs Seattle’s drink, so to speak, and it’s a lot harder for the Mariners to generate offense when he isn’t at his best due to both his power and speed. He finished fourth in AL MVP voting a year ago and currently has a .633 OPS.
That won’t last for long, he’s too long, but Seattle hopes that he’ll return to form sooner rather than later. That makes it even more impressive for the Mariners to currently be in first place in the AL West as they enter an important part of the Seattle Mariners schedule.
The Mariners have the Royals, Orioles and Yankees coming up, which should make for a tough 10 days or so. Getting off to a good start against Kansas City — against whom Seattle will throw George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryan Woo — will be critical based on the MLB injuries report.
Kirby and Gilbert have both been good this season. While Woo just made his season debut and actually left that start early with arm tightness but he is expected to be fine for Wednesday. Seattle has relied heavily on its effective pitching staff, both the rotation and bullpen, and needs some help from the offense.
Kansas City Could Use Offensive Balance
The Royals have been one of the biggest surprises in baseball. But if you look at their statistical profile, it’s a bit hard to tell why.
Kansas City’s starter ERA has been one of the lowest according to the MLB Team stats. But the offense and bullpen have been in the middle-of-the-pack.
So, it’s important to note in this Royals vs Mariners series preview that the Royals might be playing a bit over their head based on the individual performances they’re getting.
Look at the offense, for example. Bobby Witt Jr. is one of the best players in baseball, period, and Salvador Perez has been a reliable power threat at catcher for a very long time. But those two — and Vinnie Pasquantino — account for a large portion of Kansas City’s offensive output.
There’s nothing wrong with that yet it makes it clear that the lineup is a bit top-heavy so if Seattle can limit the damage from them. It’ll be very manageable to hold the Royals in check. That’s why this will be one of the more interesting MLB games today.
Take the Royals straight up as +127 moneyline dogs. That’s good value for a hot team with a solid pitcher on the mound in Singer. Seattle has the home edge but Kansas City is a good all-around team and the line should probably be closer than that.
The over seven runs is also a good call. Singer and Kirby are good but that’s a pretty low total for two teams that aren’t offensive pushovers.
Royals vs Mariners Odds
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