Baltimore Orioles vs Kansas City Royals Free MLB Pick, 5–13–2017
Baltimore Orioles (22–11) at Kansas City Royals (14–21)
MLB: Saturday, May 13th, 7:15 pm EST
Line: Royals -105, 8.5 | Featured Matchup by Joel Levine
The game hasn’t been the same for the Kansas City Royals since their World Series run in 2015. A .500 season in 2016 has bled over to 2017 where they currently sit 7 games below .500 and last place in the AL Central. However, the Royals have won 4 of 5 and things are looking up for the time and they enter Saturday’s game fresh off a 3–2 win in Game 1 of this series vs the Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles will try and bounce back by handing the ball to Chris Tillman (1–0) with a 0.00 ERA and a 1.20 ERA on the year. Tillman made his first start of the season last Sunday and he threw five innings, allowing no runs on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts in a 4–0 Orioles victory. Baltimore has won 6 of 10 but they have lost two straight games.
Over on the Royals’ side, they’re going with RHP Nathan Karns Saturday. Karns takes the mound for his seventh start this season and he has a (2–2) record with a 4.58 ERA. Karns went 6.1 innings in his last outing vs the Rays, allowing two runs on six hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts in a 7–3 Kansas City victory.
Orioles are 6–1 in Tillman’s last 7 starts vs. American League Central, 24–9 in Tillman’s last 33 starts and the Royals are just 2–6 in their last 8 games following a win. Both pitchers taking the mound on Saturday can be tough on opposing batters but the Orioles offense is a notch above the Royals and the extra rest for Tillman will be beneficial coming off his first start of the season. I like the Royals to bounce back after losing two straight and chalk up a win on the road.
