Red Sox vs. Royals Prediction, Computer Picks, Odds & Pitching Matchup 8/4/2022

J.D. Martinez is on the brink of his 100th hit of the season for the Boston Red Sox (53-53) as they get set to take on the Kansas City Royals (41-64) on Thursday. The Red Sox enter the matchup as -134 favorites on the moneyline, and action gets underway from Kauffman Stadium at 8:10 PM ET. Boston’s Nick Pivetta gets the start, and he’ll go against Kansas City’s Kris Bubic.

Red Sox vs. Royals Spread and Betting Line

Computer Predictions for Red Sox vs. Royals

Our best bet is the Royals on the moneyline at +114 after digging through all of the key trends and stats for this matchup. Our computer projects the scoring will over the total of 8.5 runs.

Our computer pick: Kansas City Royals (+114) and Over (8.5)

Red Sox vs. Royals Game Info

• Boston Red Sox probable starting pitcher: Nick Pivetta
• Kansas City Royals probable starting pitcher: Kris Bubic
• Game Day: Thursday, August 4, 2022
• Game Time: 8:10 PM ET
• Location: Kansas City, Missouri
• Stadium: Kauffman Stadium

Boston Red Sox vs Kansas City Royals Pitching Matchup

Red Sox Starter Nick Pivetta

• Pivetta makes the start for the Red Sox, his 22nd of the season. He is 8-8 with a 4.47 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 118 2/3 innings pitched.
• In his most recent appearance on Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers, the right-hander threw five innings, giving up four earned runs while surrendering nine hits.
• The 29-year-old has an ERA of 4.47, with 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings, in 21 games this season. Opposing hitters have a .249 batting average against him.
• Pivetta is looking to pick up his 11th quality start of the year in this matchup.
• Pivetta will look to go five or more innings for his third straight appearance. He’s averaging 5.2 innings per outing.
• The opposing Royals offense has a collective .244 batting average, and is 13th in the league with 865 total hits and 27th in MLB play with 399 runs scored. It has the 25th-ranked slugging percentage (.376) and ranks 27th in home runs (85) in all of MLB.
• Among pitchers who qualify in MLB play this season, the 29-year-old ranks 57th in ERA (4.47), 53rd in WHIP (1.323), and 27th in K/9 (8.6).

Royals Starter Kris Bubic

• The Royals will send Bubic (2-6) to the mound for his 17th start this season.
• The left-hander’s last appearance was on Friday, when he threw six innings against the New York Yankees, giving up three earned runs while allowing four hits.
• The 24-year-old has pitched in 17 games this season with an ERA of 5.45 and 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings, with an opponent batting average of .276.
• If he completes six or more innings with three or fewer earned runs allowed, he’ll earn his fourth quality start in a row.
• Bubic has pitched five or more innings in five straight games and will look to extend that streak.
• The Red Sox have scored 474 runs this season, which ranks 10th in MLB. They are batting .252 for the campaign with 103 home runs, 18th in the league.

Red Sox Betting Picks & Insights

• The Red Sox have entered the game as favorites 53 times this season and won 31, or 58.5%, of those games.
• Boston has a record of 17-15, a 53.1% win rate, when favored by -134 or more by bookmakers this season.
• Sportsbooks have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Red Sox have a 57.3% chance to win.
• Boston and its opponents have hit the over in 46 of their 106 games with a total this season.
• The Red Sox have an ATS record of 55-51-0 in 106 games with a spread this season.

Royals Betting Picks & Insights

• The Royals have won in 32, or 37.2%, of the 86 contests they have been named as odds-on underdogs in this year.
• Kansas City has a win-loss record of 21-44 when favored by +114 or worse by bookmakers this year.
• Bookmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Royals have a 46.7% chance of pulling out a win.
• Kansas City and their opponents have gone over in 50 of their 108 games with a total set by sportsbooks this season.
• The Royals are 49-59-0 against the spread in their 108 games that had a posted line this season.

Red Sox Leaders & Batting Stats

• Rafael Devers paces the Red Sox with 23 home runs and has a team-best batting average of .322.
• Of all hitters in baseball, Devers is 14th in home runs and 27th in RBI.
• Xander Bogaerts is hitting .312 with 28 doubles, nine home runs and 41 walks.
• Bogaerts is 136th in homers in MLB, and 71st in RBI.
• Alex Verdugo has 22 doubles, six home runs and 22 walks while batting .264.
• Martinez is batting .284 with 32 doubles, nine home runs and 32 walks.

Royals Leaders & Batting Stats

• Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals in home runs (15), runs batted in (52) and has put up a team-best batting average of .255.
• Witt Jr. is 44th in homers and 45th in RBI among all hitters in MLB.
• Hunter Dozier is batting .251 with 20 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs and 27 walks.
• Dozier is currently 108th in homers and 146th in RBI in the big leagues.
• Nicky Lopez is batting .248 with 11 doubles, two triples and 21 walks.
• Salvador Perez is batting .211 with 14 doubles, a triple, 14 home runs and nine walks.