The Detroit Tigers (18-22) and Kansas City Royals (19-21) meet in the finale of their 3-game AL Central series Sunday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. First pitch is at 7:20 p.m. ET (Peacock). Let’s analyze MLB odds around the Tigers vs. Royals odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Tigers lead 3-2
The Tigers are riding a 5-game losing streak, and have lost 14 of their last 19 overall. They lost 4-3 Friday and 5-1 in Game 2 Saturday LF Riley Greene reached base twice with a double and a walk, batting in the lone Tigers’ run.
The Royals won 5-1 as -138 favorites with the Under (9) cashing. 3B Michael Massey hit a 3-run HR and SS Bobby Witt Jr. recorded 2 RBIs on an inside-the-park home run.
Tigers at Royals projected starters
RHP Brenan Hanifee vs. LHP Noah Cameron
Hanifee (0-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his first start and fifth appearance. He has a 0.900 WHIP, 1.4 BB/9 and 5.4 K/9 in 6 2/3 innings.
- All 4 of Hanifee’s appearances this season have been out of the bullpen.
- Career vs. Royals: 1-0, 4.05 ERA (13 1/3 IP, 6 ER), 1.575 WHIP, 6.8 K/9 in 10 games
- 2025 stats: 3-3, 3.00 ERA, 60 IP, 20 ER, 65 H, 14 BB, 40 K in 54 games
Cameron (2-2, 5.40 ERA) makes his seventh start. He has a 1.611 WHIP, 1.4 BB/9 and 8.0 K/9 in 31 2/3 innings.
- Last start: Loss, 5 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 5 K in a 6-3 road loss at A’s April 30
- First career start vs. Tigers
- 2026 at home: 2-0, 4.86 ERA, 16 2/3 IP, 9 ER, 18 H, 6 BB, 15 K in 3 starts
Tigers at Royals odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:12 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Tigers +105 (bet $100 to win $105) | Royals -125 (bet $125 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Tigers +1.5 (-220) | Royals-1.5 (+165)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -118 | U: -102)
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Tigers at Royals picks and predictions
Prediction
Royals 5, Tigers 2
AVOID.
While I’m confident in the Royals (-125) getting a win here, the better value is on the spread.
BET ROYALS (-1.5) +155.
Hanifee will likely only go about 3 innings. Kansas City’s offense should keep its momentum going as Detroit rotates through several pitchers. Cameron has struggled a bit as of late, but is capable of being dominant in any given start.
BET UNDER 8 (-102).
These teams have hit the Under in 4 of their 5 games against each other this season, eclipsing 8 runs just once. The Tigers are 3-7 in favor of the Under during their last 10 games, as are the Royals.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sportsbookwire.usatoday.com ’
