Was on the fence about this but had typed out a play on Royals -130 ... but changed my mind because Cleveland pitcher Tanner Bibee had been so good this spring and on the road last year. But he has food poisoning and scratched, so now it's Ben Lively. He was pretty good last year but a journeyman for a reason. It's ace Cole Ragans for the Royals. In his final 14 home starts of 2024, he was 7-3 with a 2.61 ERA and .193 opponents’ average. Loved KC's offseason trade for 2B/leadoff hitter Jonathan India as he solves a major need hitting ahead of superstar Bobby Witt. Lefty slugger Vinnie "Mr. Kotterr!" Pasquantino is playing after a spring injury.

Pasquatch was mauling the baseball before he got hurt a year ago. And Tanner Bibee has yielded 2 HRs to him in just 8 ABs (6 hits). It's hardly peak HR season yet with the weather still mild, but this kid doesn't hit a lot of cheapies. They better have the dude in the Sasquatch outfit primed and ready in KC today.

Cole Ragans is starting opening day for the Royals against Cleveland's Tanner Bibee, and just a recap of Ragans last outings: he started two playoff wins for the Royals, allowing only one run combined in 10 innings. Those outings have to give Ragans a boost of confidence that he's really made it in this league. But the main reason I'm betting this is the Royals had an amazing spring training hitting the ball with the most triples (19), the most RBIs (192), and the best average (.292) of spring, Florida or Arizona. They're still hot. Kansas City wins.

I have my doubts about this CLE lineup without Naylor (the one who can hit) and Gimenez in it. Their ace bullpen doesn't matter as much if they can't get a lead. The Royals are usually a strong play at home and Cole Ragans' big issue is the HR ball but this lineup doesn't have much thump and Ragans has handled Jose Ramiriez for the most part. The Royals boppers - Pasquatch and Witt - see Tanner Bibee really well. Can the Royals get off to fast start like a year ago? I believe so with a far better bullpen now. Both of these teams could be candidates for regression but I still prefer KC's talent overall.