The Kansas City Royals (21-29, 11-16 away) meet the Milwaukee Brewers (23-26, 12-14 home) for an interleague three-game set beginning Friday night. This will be the first time the two teams have met during the shortened 2020 season. First pitch is at 8:10 p.m. EST inside Miller Park. The Brewers are favored at -140 and +135 on the run line.
What to Know – Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals enter the weekend having won seven of their last eight contests, with recent series sweeps over the Indians and Pirates. KC is still in last place in the American League Central division however, 12 games back of the 1st place White Sox. The Royals have under a one-percent change to make the postseason.
Dan Duffy (3-3, 4.24 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) takes the mound for the Royals. Duffy pitched well in his last start, firing 5.2 innings of 0ER ball against Cincinnati to tally the win. The southpaw has allowed 22 earned runs over 46.2 innings pitched on the season, allowing 38 hits while striking out 47.
Whit Merrifield has had another superb season for the Royals. The second baseman leads the team in batting average (.279) home runs (9), hits (57), and is second with 10 stolen bases. Jorge Soler and Malik Franco are additional power sources for KC, with Soler smashing eight home runs and Franco seven on the season.
What to Know – Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers come into the weekend with a 5-5 record over their last 10 games. Milwaukee sits 6.5 games back of the NL Central leading Cubs, but just one-game behind the Cardinals and Reds for second place.
Thursday’s off-day was much needed for Milwaukee after playing five games in three days against the Cardinals. Currently the Brewers have just under a 45-percent chance to advance to the postseason.
Making the start for the Brewers on Friday is Adrian Houser (1-5, 5.40 ERA, 1.50 WHIP). The big righty has gotten knocked around this month allowing 17 earned runs in three starts. Houser’s season has been a rocky one, with 28 earned runs surrendered over 46.2 innings of work.
Milwaukee has had a down year offensively overall as the team ranks near the bottom of every offensive category in the league. Outfielder Avisail Garcia’s .266 batting average and .374 on-base percentage leads the team. Infielder Keston Hiura paces the Brewers in home runs (13), runs batted in (32), and hits (40).
The Pick is In
Neither one of these squads will want to remember much of the 2020 season. Kansas City enters the weekend riding a hot streak while the host Brewers have played mediocre baseball over the last couple of weeks. Milwaukee needs to win a majority of their final games to punch their ticket to the postseason. With a little motivation to get the job done Milwaukee -160 is our play.
