Royals vs. Blue Jays prediction, odds, pick, how to watch – 5/1/2024

01/05/2024 00:29

The Royals make the trip to Toronto to face the Blue Jays. These two teams are very evenly matched with the Royals being over .500 and the Blue Jays being right at .500 record-wise. Our MLB odds series has our Royals-Blue Jays prediction, odds, and pick for Wednesday.

The Royals have come out of the gate playing well with a 17-13 record. Their pitching is a top-10 unit, as compared to their batting which is ranked in the bottom half of the MLB. Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha coming over from San Diego have made a potent pitching combination to go with Brady Singer and Cole Ragans. The bats have also improved, but still need work. Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. have been the main standouts on the Royals behind the plate. The Royals have played well so far this season.

The Blue Jays have gotten off to a decent start with a 15-15 record up to this point in the season with a .500 record. The team has struggled when it comes to their bats and then their pitching has also been sub-par up to this point in the season. Daulton Varsho, Justin Turner, George Springer, and Bo Bichette are the heavy hitters behind the plate, while Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi have been their best pitchers up to this point in the season. Toronto has been solid despite not excelling on either offense or defense as a whole just yet this season.

Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Royals-Blue Jays Odds

Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-196)

Moneyline: +116

Toronto Blue Jays: -1.5 (+162)

Moneyline: -134

Over: 8 (-110)

Under: 8 (-110)

How to Watch Royals vs. Blue Jays

Time: 3:07 pm ET

TV: SN1

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Royals Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Royals are going with Seth Lugo to start on the mound. He has a 4-1 record, a 1.66 ERA, and a 1.11 WHIP. Through 38 innings, he has allowed seven runs on 33 hits with nine walks and 23 strikeouts. He has appeared in six total games so far this season and the Royals are 4-2 in those games. Last season, Lugo was solid, with an 8-7 record, a 3.57 ERA, and a 1.20 WHIP. Lugo has been very good for the Royals and gets a good matchup against an inconsistent offense like the Blue Jays.

The Royals’ offense has been inconsistent this season. They are 20th in team batting average at .236 after finishing last season with a .244 batting average overall. Their offensive output has been led by Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. in all of the batting categories. Perez leads the way in batting average at .346, in home runs at seven, in RBI at 26, and in OBP at .404. Bobby Witt Jr. then leads the way in total hits at 37. The Royals just need their offense to be solid and complement their pitching staff against a team like the Blue Jays who have been very average across the board.

Why The Blue Jays Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Blue Jays are putting Chris Bassitt on the mound where he has a 2-4 record, a 5.64 ERA, and a 1.85 WHIP. He has allowed 22 runs on 39 hits with 17 walks and 30 strikeouts through 30.1 innings. The Blue Jays as a whole are 2-4 in his six total appearances this season. In his last start, he got shelled, where he pitched 2.2 innings and allowed seven runs on nine hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Last season, Bassitt was very good with a 16-8 record, a 3.60 ERA, and a 1.18 WHIP, which is why his struggles this year have been surprising.

The offense for the Blue Jays has started off slow with a team batting average of .230 which is good for 23rd in the MLB and this is after finishing last season with a .256 batting average. Daulton Varsho and Justin Turner lead the team in almost every important offensive category. Turner leads the team in batting average at .311, RBI at 15, OBP at .390, and total hits at 28. Varsho then leads the team in home runs so far this season at six. The Royals are going to be a tough opponent for the Blue Jays to get on track with their bats, especially with Seth Lugo on the mound.

Final Royals-Blue Jays Prediction & Pick

The Royals have the advantage in this game. It starts with Seth Lugo on the mound when compared to Chris Bassitt for the Blue Jays. Both teams don’t have amazing play from their bats so far this season, which is why the pitching is such an x-factor. I am going to bank on Lugo and his play despite it being a road game. The Royals should also cover and win this game in Toronto.

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Final Royals-Blue Jays Prediction & Pick: Royals +1.5 (-196)

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