{"id":521296,"date":"2026-09-18T00:53:02","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T04:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/uncategorized\/explore-royals-vs-pirates-expert-picks-and-betting-guide-9-18-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T02:22:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T06:22:03","slug":"explore-royals-vs-pirates-expert-picks-and-betting-guide-9-18-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/articles\/mlb-game-previews\/explore-royals-vs-pirates-expert-picks-and-betting-guide-9-18-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Explore Royals vs Pirates Expert Picks and Betting Guide &#8211; 9\/18\/2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"eva_article_wrap\">\n<div class=\"eva_team_logos\">\n<div class=\"eva_away_team\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/images\/mlb\/KC.png\" alt=\"Kansas City Royals logo\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>Kansas City Royals<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"eva_matchup_symbol\">@<\/div>\n<div class=\"eva_home_team\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/evanalytics.com\/images\/mlb\/PIT.png\" alt=\"Pittsburgh Pirates logo\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>Pittsburgh Pirates<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"eva_odds\"><span>+155<\/span><span>O\/U: 8<br \/>(-110\/-110)<\/span><span>-180<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"margin: 3rem 0 0 0;\">Kansas City Royals Insights<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.75rem 0;\"><strong>Kansas City Royals &#8211;  Moneyline (+155)<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0;\">The Kansas City Royals infield defense grades out as the strongest among all the teams today.<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0 1.5rem;\"><small><em><strong>Explain:<\/strong> Defense is an integral part of preventing hits and runs.<\/em><\/small><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.75rem 0;\"><strong>Jac Caglianone &#8211; Over\/Under 1.5 Total Bases (+135\/-175)<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0;\">Jac Caglianone has seen a big gain in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 93.1-mph average to last year&#8217;s 89.4-mph EV.<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0 1.5rem;\"><small><em><strong>Explain:<\/strong> Hitting the ball hard increases the chances of either a home run or the ball landing in fair territory for a hit before a fielder can get to it.<\/em><\/small><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.75rem 0;\"><strong>Salvador Perez &#8211; Over\/Under Total Bases<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0;\">Salvador Perez pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.9% \u2014 86th percentile) and will have to hit them out towards MLB&#8217;s 10th-deepest LF fences today.<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0 1.5rem;\"><small><em><strong>Explain:<\/strong> This player&#8217;s skill set does not match up particularly well with the park he&#8217;s in today, which may lead to worse-than-usual performance.<\/em><\/small><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"margin: 3rem 0 0 0;\">Pittsburgh Pirates Insights<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.75rem 0;\"><strong>Paul Skenes &#8211; Over\/Under 17.5 Pitching Outs (-115\/-115)<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0;\">Paul Skenes has been given a longer leash than the average pitcher this year, throwing 4.7 more adjusted pitches-per-game than the average starter.<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0 1.5rem;\"><small><em><strong>Explain:<\/strong> Pitchers with a longer leash are more likely to go deeper into games and record more outs.<\/em><\/small><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.75rem 0;\"><strong>Ronny Simon &#8211; Over\/Under Hits<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0;\">Ronny Simon is an extreme groundball batter and squares off against the strong infield defense of Kansas City (#1-best on the slate).<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0 1.5rem;\"><small><em><strong>Explain:<\/strong> This player&#8217;s skill set matches up poorly with the opposing team&#8217;s defensive strength, which may lead to worse-than-usual performance.<\/em><\/small><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.75rem 0;\"><strong><\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0;\">Pittsburgh&#8217;s 11.8\u00b0 launch angle (a reliable stat to measure the ability to lift the ball for power) is among the most groundball-inducing in the league this year: #28 overall.<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 0.25rem 0 1.5rem;\"><small><em><strong>Explain:<\/strong> A low launch angle generally means the hitter struggles to lift the ball into the air, which is a key component for power and home runs.<\/em><\/small><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<form><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"ga-page-group\" name=\"ga-page-group\" value=\"GAME PREVIEW\"><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"ga-sport\" name=\"ga-sport\" \"value=\"mlb\"><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"ga-title-id\" name=\"ga-title-id\"value=\"2.22.2\"><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"ga-title-group\" name=\"ga-title-group\" value=\"BETTING\"><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"ga-title-cta\" name=\"ga-title-cta\" value=\"1\"><\/form>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kansas City Royals @ Pittsburgh Pirates +155O\/U: 8(-110\/-110)-180 Kansas City Royals Insights Kansas City Royals &#8211; Moneyline (+155) The Kansas City Royals infield defense grades out as the strongest among&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[283,286,287,289,288,284,285,5,73,282,131,130,281,9,133],"class_list":["post-521296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb-game-previews","tag-bets","tag-betting-guide","tag-betting-line","tag-betting-odds","tag-betting-tips","tag-betting-trends","tag-expert-picks","tag-kansas-city-royals","tag-mlb","tag-odds","tag-oneil-cruz","tag-paul-skenes","tag-picks","tag-pittsburgh-pirates","tag-salvador-perez"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Explore Royals vs Pirates Expert Picks and Betting Guide - 9\/18\/2026 - WriteNow\u2122 by EV Analytics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore our expert betting tips and picks for Kansas City Royals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates on September 18, 2026. 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