An American League showdown will be in the works as the Kansas City Royals take on the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night. Join us for our MLB odds series where our Royals-Angels prediction and pick will be made.

The much-improved Royals are attempting to prove to the rest of the world that they need to be taken seriously. After several years of being in rebuild mode, KC is fighting to see themselves play well into October for their first playoff berth since winning it all in 2o15. Most recently, Kansas City has combined to go 22-16 to open up the regular season including taking two of three from Milwaukee in their latest series. Although the Royals do happen to be 2-3 in their previous five games combined, they certainly appear to be heading in the right direction. Getting the start from the mound for the Royals is projected to be the flawless Alec Marsh who is a perfect 3-0 to go along with a solid 2.70 ERA in five starts.

On the other side of things, many are beginning to believe that the Los Angeles Angels franchise as a whole is cursed. Following the news of Mike Trout tearing his meniscus, LA has been forced to pick up the pieces and trudge on barring the massive setback to their best player. Overall, the Angels are nine games below .500 at 14-23 but have managed to win two straight games at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Looking to win a third consecutive game for the first time since early April, Los Angeles will call upon Griffin Canning. At the moment, Canning holds a lackluster 1-4 record and has posted a whopping 6.69 ERA in seven total starts.

Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Royals-Angels Odds

Kansas City Royals: -1.5 (+140)

Moneyline: -116

Los Angeles Angels: +1.5 (-170)

Moneyline: -102

Over: 8.5 (-122)

Under: 8.5 (+100

How to Watch Royals vs. Angels

Time: 9:40 ET/6:40 PT

TV: MLB.TV

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Royals Will Cover The Spread/Win

Unlike the Angels, the Royals are an exciting and young bunch that are on the rise. With the sky as their limit, the Royals seem to battle with the best of them in every game that they partake in. On paper, the Royals offense averages 4.6 runs per game which is the 12th-best mark in baseball and a vast improvement in comparison to last year's squad. At the plate, the Royals are led by the base-hit machine Bobby Witt Jr. who is currently slashing an electric .327 which leads all Kansas City hitters.

Not to mention, but catcher Salvador Perez has turned the clock back and is one of baseball's best hitters at the moment. At the ripe age of 33, the Venezuelan-born backstop is absolutely raking en route to a .326 batting average to go along with 31 RBIs. Indeed, this dangerous one-two punch within the Royals lineup can spell disaster for opposing hurlers at any given moment.

Of course, a dominant pitching performance from Alec Marsh should only bolster the Royals' chances of covering the spread. Expecting to be activated off the 15-day IL prior to this matchup after dealing with some elbow soreness, Marsh' return will be a welcomed sight for Royals players and fans alike. Having surrendered zero runs in nine-plus consecutive innings, it will be intriguing to see if Marsh can return back to form and shake off the rust following his stint on the injured list.

Why The Angels Will Cover The Spread/Win

Clearly, things could not be looking bleaker for this franchise altogether, but the Angels are still hoping that some unexpected heroes can come up clutch when the team needs it the most.

All in all, the main element of this game that the short-handed Angels need to focus on will be capitalizing on opportunities when stepping into the batter's box. During the course of their mini two-game winning streak, LA has done a phenomenal job in converting at the plate with runners in scoring position. Believe it or not, but the ‘Halos are a combined 10-26 in their last two games combined. No matter what, inflicting this type of damage upon opposing pitching in the biggest moments of the game will be a trend that the Angels need to continue.

Oftentimes, the Angels unfortunately in the pitching department. Statistically, LA is giving up 5.24 runs per nine innings which ranks as only the 26th-best mark in the majors. Yes, pitching has been the Halos' Achilles Heel through the first 37 games of the regular season, and there is no question that LA arms will need to keep KC on their toes in a big way.

Final Royals-Angels Prediction & Pick

Both teams have played well in their last couple of games, but it would be foolish not to side with the Royals in this one. Not only are they fully healthy, but Kansas City also is just a more talented team in many areas of the game.

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Final Royals-Angels  Prediction & Pick: Royals -1.5 (+140)