The MLB season is beginning to enter the serious section of the campaign and two of the better teams in the league will go head-to-head in a mini-series this week, when the Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Kansas City Royals.
The Diamondbacks are currently one of the top teams in the National League West with their 51-49 record to date, while the Royals sit third in the American League Central with a 55-45 record.
They’ll go head-to-head and we’ll compare the teams to provide you with our best free MLB betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash in the process.
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Arizona Diamondbacks v Kansas City Royals information
- Tuesday, July 23rd 2024
- Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
- 20:10 ET
- Royals Starting Pitcher: Alec Marsh
- Diamondbacks Starting Pitcher: TBA
Arizona Diamondbacks season so far
Arizona began their campaign with a win in each of their first two games, but they went on to have a bit of a stinker after that as they lost seven of their next nine games including three-in-a-row against the Atlanta Braves.
They bounced back with a run of four wins in five before a mixed end to April, as they ended the month with a record of 14-17.
May wasn’t much better as they lost their first three games of the month to the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, before finding form and going on a four-game winning streak which included three victories in a row against the Cincinnati Reds.
Following that however, they failed to win or lose three games in a row for the rest of the month until May 26, where they started a five-game losing skid to end the month with an overall record of 25-32.
As the team hit June however, they improved greatly and they opened the month with four wins in a row and five wins in their opening six games. The Padres caused them problems again and beat them twice before the Diamondbacks put together another excellent run of eight wins in their next 11 games. Arizona then lost five of their final eight games of the month.
In July they’ve had a great run so far, winning back-to-back games on three different occasions including their recent four-game winning streak which included two victories apiece over the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays. Since returning from the All-Star break the D-Backs have claimed two victories but lost their most recent clash with the Chicago Cubs, leaving them with an overall record of 51-49 coming into this series.
Kansas City Royals season so far
Kansas have had a pretty successful campaign so far this season, but it started poorly back in March and April with four defeats in their opening six games. They quickly bounced back however with seven consecutive wins against the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros. Some hot and cold form followed that as they finished out the month with three defeats, then four wins and three more defeats for a record of 18-13.
They moved into May and won three of their first five games before they won four of their next five, including three wins over the Los Angeles Angels. That was followed by two defeats against the Mariners, before they found form and went on a run of eight consecutive victories. All that hard work was undone though as they suffered defeat in five of their next six, to end the month with an overall record of 35-24.
June wasn’t a good time for the Royals however, despite starting with four wins in their first six games of the month. That was followed by four defeats in a row, which kickstarted a horror run of 11 defeats in 14 games. They ended the month by going 4-2, improving their overall record to 47-39.
So far this month they have rediscovered their winning touch with eight wins, with seven in their last nine games and three in a row since the All-Star game to leave them with an overall record of 55-45 coming into this series.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
MLB Picks: Kansas City Royals to win
Offensively the Diamondbacks have been fairly impressive this season, ranking tied-4th for runs scored (491), fifth for on-base percentage (.325) and ninth for both batting average and slugging percentage. The Royals on the other hand are tied-11th for runs (459) this season, while their on-base percentage ranks them 20th.
However, their pitching this season has been far better than Arizona’s as they rank seventh for their earned-run average (3.71) and third for quality starts (51). That’s why they’re favorites to win this game and it makes a lot of sense.
With star players like Bobby Witt Jr and Salvador Perez in great form too, plus the home crowd backing them from bleachers, there is good value in the Royals claiming the victory so that’s the bet to go with.
Check out our review for BetUS sports betting here.
