Lugo Can Outduel Kremer in Royals

Orioles vs. Royals, 7:40 ET

I was able to notch another win on the tower for the NHL season last night, but that didn't give me a winning day for the Outkick plays as I lost both MLB plays once again. I'm not going to continue to harp on it, but I do want to keep people aware of how I am running. I think it is only fair if they know I am on a heater or if I am ice cold. Right now, it is as frigid as the deathly stare of an ex that you haven't paid child support to in over three years and you roll up with a new car in a father of the year shirt (Pay your child support, fellas). Let's try and make some money for our baby mamma's as we put a play on the game between the Orioles and the Royals. 

The Orioles are expected to once again be one of the premier teams in the American League, but the East is always a battle and getting off to a bad start can certainly put you behind the proverbial 8-ball. You obviously can't win your division in April, but you certainly can make it hard as hell to win it later in the year if you play poorly. Luckily for the Orioles, despite them not playing all that well, they are still 3-4 to start the season. The team is hitting the ball well to this point with 11 homers and a .277 batting average, but they are not throwing the ball well. Their pitching staff has a combined ERA of 4.87 and a 1.41 WHIP. The team has issued 24 walks already for the season and hitters are hitting .265 against them. Not a good look to start the season. They send out Dean Kremer to the bump today in hopes that he can lower some of those numbers. Kremer got a win in his first game, despite giving up five earned runs in 5.1 innings. He was better on the road last season than he was at home, but it wasn't overly significant. Last season he faced the Royals twice and gave up six earned runs in 11 total innings. 

ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 10:  Dean Kremer #64 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches during Game 3 of the Division Series between the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Tuesday, October 10, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

The Royals are not faring better than the Orioles. The good news for them is that their division isn't nearly the bloodbath that the East is - despite having three teams make it last season. Each year it seems like any team in the AL East could win the World Series while each team in the AL Central is likely to be a lone representative - except the White Sox. In any case, the team started the season with a 2-4 record, and believe it or not, they are actually in first place in the division because every team has just two wins. Kansas City's problem has been the hitting… or lack thereof. They are currently batting just .213 for the season and only have scored 23 runs and hit four homers. Averaging 3.8 runs per game isn't terrible over the course of the season, but 11 of those runs have come in one game, so really they are averaging about two runs per game minus the outlier. The pitching has been pretty solid though. Seth Lugo, a guy we raked in cash on last season is taking the hill today. Lugo was fine in his opener with five innings of work and three earned runs on four hits. He did give up three walks. He was dominant last year holding opponents consistently to under three runs in a game. The Orioles have been pretty good against him though, hitting for a .279 batting average. 

I think the Royals probably win this one. Lugo isn't a guy that I'll blindly back this year, but I do think he is a better pitcher then Kremer. I'll take the Royals to win this one. 

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