Royals Seek #1 Seed, Take Them on MLB Odds vs Chicago

Following up an unexpectedly great season is tough to do, especially when the secret to your success is no longer such a secret. The Kansas City Royals were the surprise team of the season last year, but there were many who doubted they could repeat that success this season. They have, up to this point, proven their critics wrong, and they will look to continue doing so when they face the White Sox in Chicago on Thursday.

Royals vs White Sox: MLB Odds and Game Preview

Date: Thursday, October 1st, 2015 Time: 8:10PM Venue: U.S. Cellular Field Opening MLB Odds: Kansas City -128

Everyone has a favorite. What’s your best memory of the 2014 Wild Card game? #ForeverRoyal pic.twitter.com/VlnbIF7vfV

— Royals (@Royals) September 30, 2015

While it has definitely been a successful year for the Royals (90-67), who have long since clinched the division, there are still some legitimate concerns as they head into the postseason. They have come off the rails a little bit over the past couple of weeks, and now find themselves behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the race for the AL top seed. They have now lost 4 of their last 5 games, and have hit a bit of a dry spell offensively. The Royals are also not getting anything close to what they expected from Johnny Cueto, all of which adds up to a team that may be lacking some confidence heading into postseason play. Last year, the Royals went on a tear that gave them some real momentum in the playoffs. They only have a few days left to build a similar head of steam. Kris Medlen (5-2, 4.30 ERA) will get the start for the Royals. This is a season that simply cannot end quickly enough for the Chicago White Sox (74-83). They had made a number of changes during last offseason, and many pundits had them as one of the dark horses in the AL. It certainly looked for a while as though this team was going to gel, as they put together a brilliant streak to kick off the second half of the season. It didn’t take long for it all to fall apart, though, and now management has to once again be looking to wipe the slate clean after the final pitch of the season has been thrown. The White Sox will send John Danks (7-14, 4.53 ERA) to the hill on Thursday.

Key Betting Trends

Kansas City is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kansas City’s last 5 games Kansas City is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road The total has gone OVER in 4 of Kansas City’s last 6 games on the road Kansas City is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Chi White Sox Chi White Sox is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chi White Sox’s last 5 games Chi White Sox is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Kansas City The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chi White Sox’s last 6 games when playing Kansas City Chi White Sox is 7-18 SU in its last 25 games when playing at home against Kansas City

So, What Should You Bet On?

The Royals still have that number one seed in the AL in their sights, and I don’t see them letting it go here. I’m going with Kansas City to come up with the win on Thursday night.