Red Sox vs. Royals Prediction, Computer Picks, Odds & Pitching Matchup 8/7/2022

Bobby Witt Jr. is on the brink of his 98th hit of the season for the Kansas City Royals (43-65) as they get set to take on the Boston Red Sox (54-55) on Sunday. The Royals enter the matchup as +120 underdogs on the moneyline, and action gets underway from Kauffman Stadium at 2:10 PM ET. Kutter Crawford starts for Boston while Brad Keller is Kansas City’s starter for the contest.

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 +120 after analyzing all of the key statistics and trends for this matchup. Our computer projects the total score will over the total of 9.5 runs.

Our computer pick: Kansas City Royals (+120) and Over (9.5)

Red Sox vs. Royals Game Info

• Boston Red Sox probable starting pitcher: Kutter Crawford
• Kansas City Royals probable starting pitcher: Brad Keller
• Game Day: Sunday, August 7, 2022
• Game Time: 2:10 PM ET
• Location: Kansas City, Missouri
• Stadium: Kauffman Stadium

Boston Red Sox vs Kansas City Royals Pitching Matchup

Red Sox Starter Kutter Crawford

• The Red Sox are sending Crawford (3-3) to the mound to make his eighth start of the season. He is 3-3 with a 3.86 ERA and 56 strikeouts through 53 2/3 innings pitched.
• In his most recent time out on Wednesday against the Houston Astros, the right-hander went 6 2/3 innings, giving up one earned run while surrendering seven hits.
• In 16 games this season, the 26-year-old has an ERA of 3.86, with 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Opponents are batting .239 against him.
• Crawford heads into the outing with three quality starts under his belt this season.
• Crawford will look to extend a seven-game streak of pitching five or more innings (he’s averaging 3.1 frames per appearance).
• He will take the hill against a Royals offense that ranks 14th in MLB with 893 total hits (on a .245 batting average). The team also slugs a collective .380 (22nd in MLB) with 91 total home runs (27th in MLB).

Royals Starter Brad Keller

• The Royals will hand the ball to Keller (5-12) for his 21st start of the season.
• The right-hander gave up eight earned runs and allowed 13 hits in 5 2/3 innings pitched against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.
• The 27-year-old has pitched in 20 games this season with an ERA of 4.61, a 1.854 strikeout to walk ratio and a WHIP of 1.376.
• In 20 starts this season, he’s earned 10 quality starts.
• Keller will look to pitch five or more innings for the third start in a row.
• The Red Sox are batting .253 this season, sixth in MLB. They have a team slugging percentage of .407 (11th in the league) with 105 home runs.
• Among qualified Major League pitchers this season, the 27-year-old’s 4.61 ERA ranks 58th, 1.376 WHIP ranks 55th, and 6 K/9 ranks 60th.

Red Sox Betting Picks & Insights

• This season, the Red Sox have won 32 out of the 56 games, or 57.1%, in which they’ve been favored.
• Boston has a record of 14-15 in games where bookmakers favor them by at least -140 on the moneyline.
• Sportsbooks have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Red Sox have a 58.3% chance to win.
• Games involving Boston have gone over the total set by sportsbooks in 48 of 109 chances this season.
• The Red Sox are 56-53-0 ATS in their 109 games with a spread this season.

Royals Betting Picks & Insights

• The Royals have come away with 34 wins in the 89 contests they have been listed as the underdogs in this season.
• This season, Kansas City has come away with a win 22 times in 59 chances when named as an underdog of at least +120 or worse on the moneyline.
• The Royals have an implied victory probability of 45.5% according to the moneyline set by sportsbooks for this matchup.
• Kansas City and their opponents have gone over in 52 of their 111 games with a total set by sportsbooks this season.
• The Royals are 51-60-0 against the spread in their 111 games that had a posted line this season.

Red Sox Leaders & Batting Stats

• Rafael Devers is the bat to watch in the Red Sox lineup, leading the team in batting average (.315), home runs (23), and RBI (59).
• Among all MLB batters, Devers ranks fourth in batting average, 16th in on-base percentage, and fourth in slugging.
• Xander Bogaerts has 28 doubles, nine home runs and 41 walks while hitting .312.
• Bogaerts is 139th in home runs and 74th in RBI in the major leagues.
• Alex Verdugo is hitting .271 with 24 doubles, seven home runs and 23 walks.
• Verdugo has at least one base hit in two straight games. During his last five outings he is batting .313 with two doubles, a home run, a walk and an RBI.
• J.D. Martinez is batting .281 with 34 doubles, nine home runs and 33 walks.
• Martinez brings a two-game streak with at least one hit into this one. In his last five games he is batting .150 with two doubles, a walk and two RBI.

Royals Leaders & Batting Stats

• Witt Jr. paces the Royals with 55 runs batted in while putting up a team-high batting average of .257.
• Among all hitters in the big leagues, Witt Jr. is 51st in homers and 41st in RBI.
• Witt Jr. takes a hitting streak of three games into this matchup. In his last five games he is hitting .300 with a home run and four RBI.
• Hunter Dozier is batting .248 with 21 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs and 28 walks.
• Dozier ranks 118th among all batters in the big leagues in homers, and 154th in RBI.
• MJ Melendez has 14 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 36 walks while batting .231.
• Nicky Lopez is hitting .247 with 11 doubles, two triples and 23 walks.