The Kansas City Royals (20-39) open a 9-game road trip Monday with the first of 3 games against the San Francisco Giants (33-26), who are in the final leg of a 9-game homestand. First pitch is 9:45 p.m. ET at Oracle Park. Let’s analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Royals vs. Giants odds with MLB picks and predictions.

This is their first meeting of the season.

The Royals went 4-6 in their recent homestand and closed it out by splitting 4 games against the Baltimore Orioles, losing the final 2 contests. They have lost their last 4 road games and 7 of their last 9 away from Kauffman Stadium.

The Giants are coming off a 3-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are 9-5 in their last 14 games overall.

Royals at Giants projected starters

RHP Brady Singer vs. LHP Alex Wood

Singer (3-1, 4.33 ERA) makes his 6th start and 9th overall appearance. He has a 1.16 WHIP, 1.0 BB/9 and 8.9 K/9 through 35 1/3 IP.

• Tossed 14 scoreless innings in his first 2 starts after beginning the season in the bullpen.
• Has not gotten out of the 6th inning and has a 7.47 ERA over 15 2/3 innings across his last 3 starts.

Wood (3-5, 4.23 ERA) makes his 12th start. He has a 1.34 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9 and 8.9 K/9 through 55 1/3 IP.

• Allowed only 1 run and scattered 5 hits over 7 innings in a 2-1 victory against the Colorado Rockies Wednesday in his last start.
• Allowed 1 ER on 2 H across 1/3 IP in his lone action vs. the Royals. It was a bullpen appearance in 2013.

Royals at Giants odds and lines

• Money line (ML): Royals +145 (bet $100 to win $145) | Giants -180 (bet $180 to win $100)
• Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Royals +1.5 (-145) | Giants -1.5 (+120)
• Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: -130 | U: +105)

Royals at Giants picks and predictions

Prediction

Giants 6, Royals 4

Money line

The Royals are tied for the fewest in the majors with just 8 road wins. They have lost their last 4 road games in a row and 7 of their last 9.

The Giants are 4-2 on their homestand and 9-5 in their last 14 games overall. They have won 8 of their last 10 games at Oracle Park.

Take GIANTS (-180).

Run line/Against the spread

The Royals’ last 13 losses have been by at least 2 runs, as have 24 of their last 25 losses. They have the worst ATS record in all of baseball at 23-36 ATS. If you like them to lose, you don’t like them to cover.

Seven of the Giants’ last 10 wins have been by 2 or more runs. They are 28-31 ATS overall this season and 11-19 ATS at home. However, with the way they have won games and the way the Royals typically lose, combined with how bad they are on the road GIANTS -1.5 (+120) is the best and most valuable bet of the night for this matchup.

Over/Under

Six of the last 7 games for the Giants have had 8 or fewer runs.

However, 20 of the Royals’ last 24 games have had 9 or more runs. Singer’s last 4 starts have all had 8 or more runs.

Take OVER 7.5 (-130).

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