Written by :
Published on :
Carrie Stroup here with your Royals vs. Blue Jays betting line for Game 4 of the American League Playoffs.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS (100-70) at TORONTO BLUE JAYS (97-73)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Kansas City +138, Toronto -153, Total: 9
The Blue Jays will be looking to even up the series at 2-2 when they host the Royals in Game 4 on Tuesday.
Toronto was desperate for a victory in Game 3 and the team’s offense finally showed up in an 11-8 victory. The Blue Jays’ high-powered offense homered three times in the game and really needed to get going for confidence moving forward. The Royals will be hoping to keep Toronto in check in this game on Tuesday.
The starters for Game 4 are going to be RHP Chris Young (8-6, 3.18 ERA, 66 K) for Kansas City and RHP R.A. Dickey (11-11, 3.86 ERA, 129 K) for Toronto. The Blue Jays improved to 4-1 against the Royals in Toronto this season with the win in Game 3 and three of those games have gone Over the total. Kansas City is 19-7 against the money line in October games over the past two seasons and 32-17 against the money line in day games this season. Toronto, however, is 28-8 against the money line as a home favorite of -150 to -200 this season.
The only notable injuries in this matchup are that 2B Omar Infante (Oblique) is out for the Royals and RP Brett Cecil (Calf) is out for the season for the Blue Jays.
The Royals will be looking to take a 3-1 series lead on Tuesday and Chris Young will be taking the mound in this game. Young’s last appearance came against the Astros. He looked excellent in that outing, striking out seven and allowing just one earned run in four innings of work. Young also made a start against this Blue Jays team during the regular season and gave up just three earned in six innings. That type of performance would be very solid for the Royals on Tuesday.
DH Kendrys Morales (.310, 4 HR, 10 RBI in playoffs) stayed hot in the postseason, going 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI in the game. The Royals will need him to continue to provide power in the lineup moving forward.
Another guy who looked good in the Game 3 loss was 1B Eric Hosmer (.242, 1 HR, 9 RBI in playoffs). Hosmer has hit safely in five straight games and was 2-for-5 with two RBI on Monday. If he can drive in some runs then it’ll be huge for the Royals in Game 4.
The Jays were able to pick up a much-needed victory in Game 3 and their offense seemed to have regained its swagger. 3B Josh Donaldson (.267, 3 HR, 7 RBI in playoffs) had been quiet for Toronto until going 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI in Game 3. Donaldson is the Blue Jays’ most dangerous hitter and he will need to keep it up the rest of the series.
Another good sign for Toronto is that SS Troy Tulowitzki (.280, 17 HR, 70 RBI) has gone 2-for-4 in each of the past two games. He homered in Game 3 and is starting to look like the player the Blue Jays thought they were getting from the Rockies.
As for keeping the Royals off the board, R.A. Dickey will need to be at his best on Tuesday. He allowed just one earned run in 4.2 innings in his most recent start against the Rangers and would really help his team if he can go deeper into this one.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
