On Friday, a series opener is on the schedule, with the Philadelphia Phillies (87-60) hosting the Kansas City Royals (74-73) at 6:45 p.m. ET.
The Phillies are a home favorite (-134) versus the Royals (+113). The Phillies will give the ball to Walker Buehler against the Royals and Michael Lorenzen (5-10).
The Phillies won 6-4 over the Mets yesterday in their last game. Otto Kemp went 2 for 4 with a double, a home run and three RBIs to lead them offensively while Jesus Luzardo was earned the victory after throwing eight innings, giving up four earned runs on five hits while striking out 10.
The Royals suffered a 3-2 loss to the Guardians yesterday. Vinnie Pasquantino (1 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs) led the way offensively, while John Schreiber got the loss on the mound after going 1 1/3 innings, giving up two earned runs on two hits while striking out one.
Before the Phillies vs. Royals matchup, here is what you need to prepare for Friday’s baseball action, including viewing options.
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Kansas City Royals odds, line and spread
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Friday at 3:16 a.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
Favorite: Phillies (-134, bet $134 to win $100)Underdog: Royals (+113, bet $100 to win $113)Over/under: 9Phillies vs. Royals: Game time and live stream infoGame day: Friday, September 12, 2025Game time: 6:45 p.m. ETLocation: Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaStadium: Citizens Bank ParkTV channel: NBCS-PH and FDSKCLive stream: Watch LIVE with Fubo! (Regional restrictions may apply)
Watch Phillies vs. Royals on Fubo!
Phillies stats and trendsPhillies betting recordsThe Phillies have entered the game as favorites 119 times this season and won 74, or 62.2%, of those games.Philadelphia has entered 91 games this season favored by -134 or more and is 61-30 in those contests.The sportsbooks’ moneyline implies a 57.3% chance of a victory for the Phillies.Philadelphia and its opponents have hit the over in 62 of its 147 games with a total this season.In 147 games with a spread this season, the Phillies are 75-72-0 ATS.Walker Buehler (Phillies probable starter)Buehler will take the mound to start for the Phillies, his first of the season.The 31-year-old right-hander makes his season debut and pitches for the first time in more than a year.The Royals have totaled 559 runs this season (28th in MLB) and are batting .243 collectively with 139 home runs (26th in the league).Phillies batting statsThe Phillies’ 184 home runs rank 10th in Major League Baseball.Hitters for Philadelphia rank sixth in the majors with a combined .429 team slugging percentage.The Phillies’ .260 batting average is among the best in baseball, ranking second in MLB.Philadelphia is among the highest-scoring teams in the majors, ranking ninth with 709 total runs this season.The Phillies have an OBP of .330 this season, which ranks third in MLB.Philadelphia ranks 12th in MLB in strikeouts per game with an average of 8.1 whiffs per contest.Royals stats and trendsRoyals betting recordsThe Royals have been chosen as underdogs in 83 games this year and have walked away with the win 38 times (45.8%) in those games.This season, Kansas City has been victorious 20 times in 45 chances when named as an underdog of at least +113 or worse on the moneyline.The moneyline set for this matchup implies the Royals have a 46.9% chance of coming away with a victory in the contest.Kansas City and its opponents have gone over in 61 of its 147 games with a total set by sportsbooks this season.The Royals have an against the spread record of 73-74-0 in 147 games with a line this season.Michael Lorenzen (Royals probable starter)The Royals will send Lorenzen (5-10) out to make his 24th start of the season. He is 5-10 with a 4.63 ERA and 110 strikeouts over 124 1/3 innings pitched.The righty’s last time out was on Sunday against the Minnesota Twins, when he went 5 1/3 innings, surrendering four earned runs while giving up seven hits.Over 23 games this season, the 33-year-old has a 4.63 ERA and 8.0 strikeouts per nine innings, while allowing a batting average of .268 to opposing batters.Lorenzen has eight quality starts under his belt this year.Lorenzen will look to extend a four-game streak of lasting five or more innings (he’s averaging 5.4 frames per appearance).In three of his 23 total appearances this season he has not allowed an earned run.The opposing Phillies offense has a collective .260 batting average, and is second in the league with 1303 total hits and ninth in MLB play with 709 runs scored. They have the sixth-ranked slugging percentage (.429) and are 10th in all of MLB with 184 home runs.Royals batting statsThe Royals are fifth-worst in MLB action with 139 home runs.This season, Kansas City’s .389 slugging percentage ranks 23rd in baseball.The Royals rank 19th in the majors with a .243 batting average.The offense for Kansas City is No. 28 in MLB play scoring 3.8 runs per game (559 total runs).The Royals’ .305 on-base percentage is 24th in baseball.