A pair of squads in the AL Central — the Cleveland Guardians (39-20) and the Kansas City Royals (36-25) — clash on Tuesday at 6:40 PM ET, at Progressive Field.
The Guardians (-116 moneyline odds to win) meet the Royals (-104) in a projected close contest. The scheduled starters are Triston McKenzie (2-3) for the Cleveland Guardians, and Seth Lugo (9-1) for the Kansas City Royals.
The Guardians’ matchup Tuesday versus the Nationals resulted in a 5-2 loss. Will Brennan went 2-for-3 in the defeat, while Carlos Carrasco threw four innings, giving up five earned runs on seven hits while striking out five en route to taking the loss.
The Royals took down the Padres 4-3 Tuesday. Nelson Velazquez led the way offensively after going 1-for-1 with a triple and two RBI, and Will Klein got the win, pitching one inning without giving up a hit or an earned run while striking out one.
Before watching this Guardians vs. Royals matchup, here’s what you need to know about Tuesday’s action on the diamond, including viewing options.
Cleveland Guardians vs. Kansas City Royals odds and betting lines
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Tuesday at 9:16 AM ET. For a full list of Sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
- Favorite: Guardians (-116, bet $116 to win $100)
- Underdog: Royals (-104, bet $104 to win $100)
- Over/under: 8.5
Guardians vs. Royals: Live streaming info & game time
- Game Day: Tuesday, June 4, 2024
- Game Time: 6:40 PM ET
- Stadium: Progressive Field
- TV Channel: Bally Sports
- Live Stream: Fubo (Watch Here!)
Guardians stats and trends
Guardians betting records
- The Guardians have entered the game as favorites 40 times this season and won 28, or 70%, of those games.
- This season Cleveland has won 22 of its 32 games, or 68.8%, when favored by at least -116 on the moneyline.
- Bookmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Guardians have a 53.7% chance to win.
- Cleveland’s games have gone over the total in 28 of its 59 chances.
- The Guardians are 33-25-0 ATS in their 58 games with a spread this season.
Triston McKenzie (Guardians probable starter)
- McKenzie (2-3 with a 3.77 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 57 1/3 innings pitched) gets the start for the Guardians, his 12th of the season.
- In his most recent time out on Wednesday, the righty threw five innings against the Colorado Rockies, giving up four earned runs while surrendering six hits.
- In 11 games this season, the 26-year-old has a 3.77 ERA and 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings, while allowing a batting average of .214 to his opponents.
- McKenzie is looking to secure his fourth quality start of the season.
- McKenzie will aim to last five or more innings for his seventh straight start. He’s averaging 5.2 innings per outing.
- In one of his 11 total appearances this season he has not allowed an earned run.
- The opposing Royals offense has a collective .252 batting average, and is seventh in the league with 513 total hits and fifth in MLB action with 297 runs scored. It has the seventh-ranked slugging percentage (.409) and ranks 15th in home runs (61) in all of MLB.
Guardians batting stats
- The Guardians’ 64 home runs rank 10th in Major League Baseball.
- Hitters for Cleveland have a combined .395 slugging percentage this season, which ranks 10th in MLB.
- The Guardians rank 15th in MLB with a .238 team batting average.
- Cleveland has scored 298 runs this season, which ranks fourth in MLB.
- The Guardians are among the best in the league at getting on base, ranking eighth with an OBP of .315.
- Cleveland is one of the most-disciplined teams at the plate this season, ranking fifth with an average of 7.4 strikeouts per game.
Royals stats and trends
Royals betting records
- The Royals have been victorious in 17, or 48.6%, of the 35 contests they have been chosen as underdogs in this season.
- Kansas City has a win-loss record of 14-17 when favored by -104 or worse by oddsmakers this year.
- Sportsbooks have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Royals have a 51% chance of pulling out a win.
- Contests with Kansas City has gone over the total set by sportsbooks in 26 of 61 chances this season.
- In 61 games with a line this season, the Royals have a mark of 37-24-0 against the spread.
Seth Lugo (Royals probable starter)
- Lugo will try to claim his 10th victory when he gets the start for the Royals, his 13th of the season. He is 9-1 with a 1.72 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 78 1/3 innings pitched.
- In his last time out on Wednesday, the right-hander threw six innings against the Minnesota Twins, allowing one earned run while surrendering six hits.
- In 12 games this season, the 34-year-old has an ERA of 1.72, with 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Opponents are batting .211 against him.
- Lugo is trying for his third quality start in a row.
- Lugo is looking for his 13th straight appearance lasting five or more innings. He averages 6.5 innings per start.
- He has had three appearances this season in which he did not give up an earned run.
- The opposing Guardians offense has the 10th-ranked slugging percentage (.395) and ranks 10th in home runs hit (64) in all of MLB. They have a collective .238 batting average, and are 20th in the league with 465 total hits and fourth in MLB action scoring 298 runs.
- The 34-year-old ranks second in ERA (1.72), 14th in WHIP (1.009), and 49th in K/9 (7.6) among qualifying pitchers in MLB play this season.
Royals batting stats
- The Royals average one home run per game to rank 15th in baseball with 61 total home runs .
- This season, Kansas City is seventh in the majors with a .409 slugging percentage.
- The Royals rank seventh in MLB with a .252 batting average.
- Kansas City scores the fifth-most runs in baseball (297 total, 4.9 per game).
- The Royals rank 10th in MLB with an on-base percentage of .313.
