The Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins open a new series on Tuesday night with both teams trying to win for a third straight time. Minnesota is the favorite for the opener even though Kansas City has taken five of the seven meetings between the clubs this season.
The game is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET, and the stakes are different for each side. The Twins are 53-54, have won four of their last five games and are trying to get back to.500 at home, where they are 28-26. Kansas City is 45-62 and has struggled away from home at 19-35, but it has still handled Minnesota better than the odds suggest.
That is what makes the line stand out. Minnesota is listed at -170, a price that reflects home field, recent form and the fact that the Royals have been poor on the road, even as Kansas City has gone 5-2 against the Twins in the season series. The Twins also sit in third place and three games back of the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central, so every game now has more value than the standings alone might imply.
Taj Bradley is scheduled to start for Minnesota. He is 9-4 with a 3.69 ERA in 114.2 innings. Seth Lugo is set for Kansas City, carrying a 4-6 record and a 4.36 ERA across 117.2 innings. The matchup comes straight off a weekend in which both clubs kept rolling: the Twins beat the Athletics 11-8 on Sunday, while the Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 5-4.
Michael Massey gave Kansas City that win with a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning. Thomas also homered in the first inning, a start that helped the Royals finish the weekend with a result that keeps them in step with Minnesota heading into the series opener. On the other side, Connor Prielipp pitched 5.2 innings for the Twins against the Athletics in his first start since returning from the IL, allowing two hits and one run, and Ryan Jeffers went 3-for-5 with three RBIs.
The numbers point in different directions, which is why Tuesday matters. Minnesota has the better home record and the betting edge; Kansas City has the season-series edge and the more convincing head-to-head history. One of those edges has to give when the Royals and Twins meet again, and the first answer comes Tuesday night.
