Phillies vs. Royals MLB Betting Preview: Saturday Showdown in Kansas City

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Kansas City Royals
Date: Saturday, August 24th, 7:10 ET
Location: Kauffman Stadium
TV: MLBN
Money Line: Phillies -121/Royals +102
Total Line: 9

Betting Preview

Here’s our betting preview for the upcoming MLB clash between the Kansas City Royals and the Phillies on Saturday, August 24th at Kauffman Stadium. We provide you with a comprehensive analysis, odds, and predictions to help with your handicapping decision or tail our expert based on the projected lineups and listed starting pitchers.

Betting Odds

The Phillies and Royals face off in an interleague matchup at 7:10 PM ET at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO. The money line odds have the Phillies at -121 compared to the Royals at +102, and the over/under line is at 9 runs.

MLBN will be televising this matchup, and Ranger Suarez will be going for the Phillies, while the Royals are starting Brady Singer. Philadelphia is currently on a two-game losing streak and is 1st in the NL East, while the Royals have won two straight and are 2nd in the AL Central.

Phillies vs. Royals Projected Lineup

Straight Up/Over-Under/ Runline Record

Philadelphia Phillies: 74-54 SU / OU 59-63 / Runline 62-66
Kansas City Royals: 72-56 SU / OU 58-66 / Runline 73-55

Thanks to a five-run 3rd inning for the Royals’ offense, they cruised to a 7-4 win over the Phillies in the most recent game of this series. Heading into the game, the Royals were favored at -137 on the money line.

Kansas City got to Phillies starter Taijuan Walker, who gave up six earned runs in just three innings of work and took the loss. As for the Royals, they got a good outing from Michael Wacha, who gave up just two earned runs across six innings of work and got the win.

Salvador Perez and Hunter Renfroe each homered for the Royals, while Bryce Harper went deep for the Phillies. Harper finished the game 2/4 with two RBIs, but it came in a losing effort.

Phillies Records & Recent Play

Philadelphia leads the NL East by five games over the Braves, but they have dropped two straight games heading into today’s matchup at Kansas City. The Phillies are 74-54 overall, and they are 20-14 against other teams in the NL East. So far, they have been really good at home, going 42-23, and they are just above .500 on the road at 32-31 this year.

As the road favorite, the Phillies have gone 22-19 this year, and they are 63-40 when favored overall. Philadelphia’s overall series record is 21-16-6 this year. They will be looking to pick up a win today to avoid losing this series vs. the Royals.

The Phillies have a run line record of 31-32 on the road this season, with an average run margin of +0.1 runs per game. They have a run line record of 13-12 as the underdog and have gone 1-4 against the run line in their last five road games.

When the Phillies are on the road, the over/under line is set at 9 runs. Their games have averaged 8.9 runs per game this season, and their overall over/under record is 59-63. When the line is set at 9 runs, their over/under record is 5-12-1. So far this season, 15.6% of their games have had over/under lines set at 9 runs, while 70.3% have had lines set lower than that.

Royals Records & Recent Play

With an overall record of 72-56, the Royals are just one game behind the Guardians for the AL Central lead. The Royals have gone 26-13 against other teams in the AL Central. They have won two straight games and are 7-3 over their last 10. Kansas City took the first game of this series vs. the Phillies.

At home, the Royals are 41-26 this year and have gone 31-30 on the road. As the underdog, the Royals are 30-32 this year, and they have won three straight games as the underdog overall. Kansas City’s series record is 19-20-2 this year, and they have won two straight series.

At home, the Royals have been a solid run line bet, going 39-28 for the season. They have a run line win streak of two games at home and have been a good bet as the underdog, going 38-24 against the run line. Their average run margin at home is 1.0 runs per game, and they have outscored opponents by an average of 0.9 runs per game overall this season.

The Royals are playing at home today against the Phillies. The O/U line for the game is set at 9 runs, which is slightly higher than their season average of 8.9 runs per game. Their O/U record for the season is 58-66, and their average O/U line is 8 runs. When the O/U line is set at 9 runs, their record is 13-12-1. This season, 14.8% of their games have had O/U lines set at 9 runs, with 64.8% of their games having lower O/U lines.

Pitching Matchup

Ranger Suárez gets the start for the Phillies today as he faces the Royals on the road. He has made 20 starts this year and has a record of 10-5 with an ERA of 2.87. Suárez’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.06. In his 20 appearances, he has one complete game shutout and 11 quality starts. Looking back at his last three outings, Suárez has taken the loss in each, most recently coming against the Twins, where he gave up three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings of work. The left-hander has given up at least two homers in three of his last four starts.

Brady Singer gets the start for the Royals today and will be looking to build off his last outing, where he didn’t give up a run. In that outing vs. the Reds, he went six innings and picked up the win. Looking back over his last four outings, Singer has alternated between wins and losses. His overall record is 9-8, and he has an ERA of 3.18. Opponents are batting .241 off Singer this year. The right-hander has made 25 starts, and his WHIP for the season is 1.21.

Phillies vs. Royals Offense Outlook

For the season, the Phillies are averaging 4.8 runs per game, which is 8th in the league. They have been even better at home, averaging 5.3 runs per game. As a team, they are batting .256, which is 4th in the league, and are also one of the league’s top home run-hitting teams.

Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper have been two of the league’s top power hitters this season, with Schwarber’s 28 homers ranking 10th in the league and Harper’s 26 homers coming in as the 12th most in the MLB. Alec Bohm has been hot of late, going 9/31 in his last eight games and is batting .295 for the season.

So far this season, the Royals are averaging 4.9 runs per game, which is 6th in the league. They have been even better at home, putting up 5.3 runs per game. Overall, they are the league’s 3rd best hitting team, with a team batting average of .258. The Royals have been tough to strike out this season and have the league’s top home run hitter in Bobby Witt Jr., who is also batting .350.

Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino have also been big run producers for the Royals, as Perez comes into the game with 88 RBIs (8th in the league) and Pasquantino has driven in 96 runs, which is 3rd best in the MLB. Over his last five games, Perez is just 4/19, but he does have a home run in that stretch. Hunter Renfroe is batting .429 in his last four games and is on a five-game hitting streak.

Free Phillies vs. Royals MLB Pick

The Royals did themselves a favor in the Wild Card race last night, as they picked up a win and still hold the 2nd AL Wild Card spot. On the other side, the Phillies have dropped two straight and currently have an identical record as the Brewers for the 2nd overall seed in the NL. With Ranger Suarez on the mound tonight, I see the Phillies getting back on track and I would go with them on the money line for Saturday’s matchup.