Is Monday the night where the Kansas City Royals finally win a game started by Jordan Lyles?
Lyles takes the mound for the Royals in Detroit against the Tigers with an 0-11 record and 6.89 ERA. The Royals have lost all 14 of Lyles’ starts so far in 2023. He’s the first pitcher in 30 years whose team has lost his first 13 starts of the season and the Royals’ losing streak in his starts is the longest to start a season since 1969.
Lyles was signed by the Royals as a free agent from the Baltimore Orioles. His ERA is the worst in baseball among pitchers who have made over a dozen starts and he has just 59 strikeouts in nearly 80 innings.
Somehow, the Royals are just +125 to win outright against the Tigers at BetMGM and -150 to keep the game within two runs. That’s because Reese Olson is starting for the Tigers. He’s allowed 10 hits and nine earned runs in 13.1 innings.
The Tigers are 30-40 and just five games back of the Minnesota Twins atop the AL Central. The Royals are … well, they’re a whole lot worse.
The relocation saga surrounding the Oakland A’s has overshadowed just how terrible the Royals have been so far in 2023. The A’s are 19-55 and have the worst record in baseball.
The Royals are 19-52 and the only other team in baseball with fewer than 20 wins. In fact, the A’s and Royals are the only two teams with fewer than 27 wins.
Kansas City looked poised for a step forward this season with young players like SS Bobby Witt Jr., 1B Vinnie Pasquantino and stalwart C Salvador Perez. But Witt has posted an OPS of just .704 so far this season and Pasquantino is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Perez has been his reliable self, but the pitching staff has a team ERA of 5.22 and a WHIP of 1.422. Only A’s pitchers have been worse. Keep that in mind if you’re looking to bet the Royals on Monday night. Fading them may continue to be a profitable endeavour.
College World Series continues
Tennessee is a 1.5-run favorite over Stanford while Wake Forest is a 1.5-run favorite over LSU. The Demon Deacons are -185 on the moneyline while Tennessee is -135.
The loser of Tennessee vs. Stanford will be the second team eliminated from the tournament after Virginia lost to TCU on Sunday. The winner will play the loser of Wake Forest and LSU and need to win three games to advance to the Finals.
Who cashed tickets on Sunday?
Betting Max Verstappen continued to work out if you like to wager on Formula 1, although Verstappen was only -350 to win Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix. US Open winner Wyndham Clark had much, much higher odds before the tournament. Clark was +8000 to win before Round 1 began on Thursday.