Sports Betting Week: Royals are Red Hot

An eight-game winning streak has pushed the Kansas City Royals back into the American League playoff conversation and they’ll look to continue their hot stretch this week when they visit the Miami Marlins.

The Royals made it eight in a row over the weekend with a four-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins. Overall they’ve won 11 of their last 12 games and they’ve won four straight on the road. Kansas City has struggled on the road for most of the season with a 24-39 record away from home.

The Marlins have won three straight after sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite the sweep they’re still only 5-6 in their last 11 games and 4-6 in their last 10 at home.

Interleague play hasn’t been kind to either side this season. The Royals have faced the National League 17 times and have posted an 8-9 record, which includes a 3-4 mark on the road. The Marlins are 5-9 in 14 interleague games this season and 2-5 at home.

In the National League this week first place in the NL West will be on the line when the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers meet up. In 10 previous matchups this season the Giants are 6-4. However, the Giants are 1-6 in their last seven games in Los Angeles.

In the series opener on Monday ace Madison Bumgarner gets the ball for the Giants, but that may not mean an automatic win for San Francisco. The Giants are 0-4 in his last four starts against the Dodgers including a pair of losses this season. The Giants are also a surprising 4-8 in Bumgarner’s last 12 starts this season.

Week 3 of the NFL preseason kicks off on Thursday night with a pair of games - the Dallas Cowboys at the Seattle Seahawks, and the Atlanta Falcons at the Miami Dolphins.

Dallas crushed the Los Angeles Rams 41-14 last week and are now 3-0 ATS in their last three preseason games. Seattle fell to the Minnesota Vikings 18-11 as a 2.5-point favorite last week. At home this week Seattle is a 5-point favorite.

The PGA Tour stop this week is The Barclays at Bethpage Black. Jason Day is the defending champ and he’s the favorite at online sportsbook Bovada at +750. Other former Barclays winners in the field this week include Dustin Johnson (+900), Adam Scott (+3300), and Matt Kuchar (+3300).