posted June 20, 2008 at 17:15 EST in MLB Free Picks

BetUS MLB betting odds: Kansas City -120, San Francisco - Even; Total 8.5

Teams with identical records will get together on Friday night when the San Francisco Giants (31-42) pay a visit to the Kansas City Royals (31-42) in the first game of an interleague betting series, set to begin at 8:10 PM ET at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City.

Matt Cain (3-5, 4.39 ERA) will get the start for the Giants, while another right-hander, Luke Hochevar (4-5, 4.66 ERA) gets the assignment for the Royals.

At BetUS online sportsbook, Kansas City is listed as a -120 favorite (San Francisco is even money), with a total of 8.5 runs (the Under is -115, while the Over is -105).

Here are some of the MLB Baseball betting trends as they relate to this sports betting matchup:

* SF has lost five of its last six games

* SF has played four of its last six games UNDER the total

* SF has won eight of its last ten road games

* KC has won its last five games

* KC has played four of its last six games UNDER the total

* KC has lost six of its last nine home games

* KC has played four of its last six home games OVER the total

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD baseball betting trends:

* KC has won four of the last six meetings

Don't look now, but the K.C. Royals have won five games in a row. Although they are still mired in last place in the American League Central and are 10.5 games in back of the White Sox, they are within striking distance of not only fourth-place Cleveland but also third-place Detroit.

San Francisco is in a tie for third place in the National League West with the Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers, at 38-42, are well within range, and Arizona, eight games ahead, have not played particularly well, and it's a long season.

These are two relatively unaccomplished offensive teams. Kansas City scored 20 runs in the first two games of this current winning streak, but have been held to a total of nine runs over the last three. The Royals average a little less than 3.9 runs per contest. In five of their last six games, the Giants have scored three runs or less.

San Francisco has gotten pretty good work out of Matt Cain in his last two starts; he held Washington to a single run in 6-1/3 innings eleven days ago, and came back with an 11-strikeout performance against Oakland last Saturday, even though his team was shut out. Luke Hochevar of the Royals has put together two solid starts in a row as well, striking out ten without a walk and giving up just four runs in a combined 13 innings, as his team won those games against the Yankees and Diamondbacks.

Even though these teams are going in different directions at the moment, it is important to note that the Royals have lost six of their last nine home games, while San Francisco has actually shown some presence on the road, winning eight of the last ten. In fact, it's kind of remarkable that the Giants have such a better road record (17-18) than they do at home (14-24). That might just give us an itty bit of value here, as we go with the visitors, the even money underdogs in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: SAN FRANCISCO (Even)

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(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com touches all the bases as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)