The Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Rays meet Tuesday in MLB action at Tropicana Field. Here’s a Rays vs Royals Prediction. This article will include a Rays vs Royals Pick.
Kansas City Royals Betting Preview
The Kansas City Royals are 33-46 on the year and play the White Sox and Rays next. The Kansas City Royals are batting .247 on the season, have a .320 OBP, and have a .393 slugging percentage. The Kansas City Royals pitching staff has a 4.53 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Kansas City Royals with 88 hits and 32 RBI, while Maikel Garcia and Jac Caglianone have combined for 137 hits and 57 RBI.
Luinder Avila gets the ball for the Kansas City Royals, and he is 2-3 with a 5.50 ERA and 33 strikeouts this season. This will be Avila’s first career game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Tampa Bay Rays Betting Preview
The Tampa Bay Rays are 43-32 on the year and play the Royals and Diamondbacks next. The Tampa Bay Rays are batting .256 on the season, have a .333 OBP, and have a .382 slugging percentage. The Tampa Bay Rays pitching staff has a 3.88 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Yandy Diaz leads the Tampa Bay Rays with 90 hits and 50 RBI, while Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero have combined for 152 hits and 85 RBI.
Shane McClanahan gets the ball for the Tampa Bay Rays, and he is 6-4 with a 3.33 ERA and 69 strikeouts this season. McClanahan is 1-0 with a 2.30 ERA and 17 strikeouts in his career against the Kansas City Royals.
Why the Tampa Bay Rays will win
- The Royals have lost 21 of their last 23 night games against AL East opponents following a road win.
- The Rays have won five of their last six night games at Tropicana Field following a loss.
- The Royals have failed to cover the run line in eight of their last nine night games against AL East opponents.
- The Rays have covered the run line in five of their last six night games at Tropicana Field following a loss.
- The Rays have led after 3 innings in seven of their last eight Tuesday games against the Royals.
- The Royals have lost the first inning in three of their last four games.
- The Royals have trailed after 5 innings in seven of their last eight road games against American League opponents that held a winning record.
Why the Kansas City Royals will win
- The road team has won each of the last eight games between the Royals and Rays.
- The Rays have lost seven of their last eight games as home favorites against American League opponents following a home loss.
- The road team has covered the run line in each of the last eight games between the Royals and Rays.
- The Rays have failed to cover the run line in each of their last seven games against AL Central opponents following a home loss.
- The Rays have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last five games against AL Central opponents.
- The Rays have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last five games against AL Central opponents.
Total Runs Facts
- Each of the Rays’ last seven night games after playing the previous day have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- Each of the Royals’ last five games as underdogs against American League opponents has gone UNDER the total runs line.
- There has been at least one run scored in the first inning in 10 of the Royals’ last 11 games as road underdogs against American League opponents.
- There has been no run scored during the first inning in each of the last four games between the Royals and Rays.
Tampa Bay Rays Player Prop Facts
- Yandy Diaz has hit at least one home run in eight of his last 20 home appearances against opponents that held a losing record.
- Shane McClanahan has recorded a win in each of his last five home appearances.
- Shane McClanahan has recorded six or more strikeouts in seven of his eight previous home appearances against AL Central opponents that held a losing record.
- Taylor Walls has recorded at least one hit in each of his last nine appearances with the Rays as favorites.
- Yandy Diaz is one of only two players to hit over .300 and have 45+ RBIs this season.
Kansas City Royals Player Prop Facts
- Bobby Witt Jr. has hit a home run in three of his last four appearances against AL opponents that held a winning record.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has recorded at least one hit in each of his last nine road appearances against the Rays.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Rays rank 30th in the league for home runs this season (62).
- The Rays rank 1st in the league for strikeouts against this season (548).
- The Royals rank 3rd in the league for doubles this season (139).
- The Royals rank 26th in the league for walks allowed this season (297).
Rays vs Royals Prediction
The Royals are still a team I’m not excited to back due to the inconsistency, and they’ve had trouble on the road especially. Avila also doesn’t have a large enough sample size to trust, and he’s been a mess with a 5.50 ERA and 1.65 WHIP. The Rays have been incredible at home, and McClanahan is the more trustworthy arm with a 3.33 ERA and 1.23 WHIP through 67.2 innings. This is a spot where the Rays should win, and of course I’ll lay the RL to shave down the price.