Having struggled mightily as of late, the Kansas City Royals head into Tropicana Field on Friday night for another clash with an American League foe in the shape of the Tampa Bay Rays. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
MLB Performance Recap
The hosts came out on the right side of a 7-1 decision on Thursday as third baseman Yandy Diaz belted a leadoff home run in the initial frame and came away with three RBIs in total.
Catcher Christian Bethancourt and center fielder Roman Quinn both enjoyed multi-hit games, as well. The former clubbed a solo homer in the eighth inning.
Tampa Bay (63-54) is on a bit of a hot streak recently, winning five of its last six. The only loss during that span was an extra-inning defeat as they sought to sweep the New York Yankees on the road on Wednesday.
Second Place in the AL East
The Rays are tied with Toronto for both second place in the AL East, nine games behind the Bronx Bombers, and the third-most home wins (36) in the Junior Circuit.
Tampa Bay currently owns the second Wild Card spot in the AL, holding a 1.5-game lead on Minnesota. Against the Royals (48-72), they’re trying to climb even higher and get more comfortable in those standings.
Kansas City has dropped six of its last seven and is likely looking forward to next year. They’re ahead of only Detroit in the AL Central. In that grouping, they trail Cleveland by 16 contests.
While it hasn’t been the best crew in terms of piling up victories, the Royals have been respectable in the batter’s box.
Batting Average
They’re hitting a combined .245, which is good enough for the 13th best in the major leagues. It’s driving runners across where they’ve had some trouble, as they rank fourth-worst in the AL in that category.
They also grade out as the fourth-worst home run-hitting team in the bigs.
Four of their batters:
- backstops Salvador Perez
- MJ Melendez
- shortstop Bobby Witt Jr
- third baseman Hunter Dozier
Have clubbed double-digit homers. Now without left fielder Andrew Benintendi, who was shipped off before the trade deadline, the offense is missing the individual who placed the order in batting average and on-base percentage.
Witt Jr. has pushed across 57 runs and is hitting the best of any regular (.249).
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Kansas City Royals Odds
MLB betting odds favor the home team. Tampa Bay is -1.5 on the run line at +118, while the Royals are -142 to cover the spread.
On the moneyline, the Rays are -215 and Kansas City a +180 underdog. The total has been set at 6.5 runs, with the over being -110 and the under the same at the time of this writing.
Rays Collective Batting Average
Tampa Bay sits in MLB’s bottom third in terms of collective batting average (.237), RBIs, homers, and total runs scored. This is surprising, being that they’re clutching a precious postseason spot as it stands.
Diaz and left fielder Randy Arozarena have been the key cogs in the Rays’ offense. The former leads the lineup with a .276 batting average and a .384 on-base percentage, while the latter has whacked 16 dingers and brought home 62 runs.
Tampa Bay has even fewer players to have hit double-digit homers than Kansas City does. The only other one is third baseman Isaac Paredes, who has 14. If the Rays want to make a run come October, their offense will need to get a face-lift.
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Kansas City Royals Betting Preview
Who Is Pitching for the Rays?
Left-hander Shane McClanahan will make his 23rd start this season for the home team. To this point, he has an 11-5 record. His 2.28 ERA, 165 strikeouts, and 0.87 WHIP all rank within the top six in the bigs.
In his last time out, against Baltimore on Saturday, he halted Tampa Bay’s three-game skid with him on the hill. He went six frames and held the Orioles to two earned runs. He threw exactly 100 pitches.
As a whole, the Rays’ pitching staff has turned in one of the best ERAs in the bigs. In fact, their 3.43 ERA is better than any team in the National League.
It’s arguable that they have the best command of any MLB team, being that their walk total is the fewest of all 30. Opponents are hitting .233 against them.
Who Is Pitching for the Royals?
The Royals’ Brady Singer will oppose the All-Star. He’s posted a 6-4 record thus far, putting up a 3.29 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. This will be his 17th start of the campaign.
Kansas City has won each of his last two outings. He went at least six innings in each of them, with an impressive showing against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.
He held them to a single knock and shut them out while also setting down seven challengers on strikes. The Royals’ arms have pinned up the fourth-worst ERA in the bigs (4.66).
They’ve granted the most walks out of any team in the league — 14 more than the next nearest group in Cincinnati. Singer will have to prove he’s the exception to lead his side to victory on the road.
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Kansas City Royals Picks and Predictions
Having seen the Royals vs. Rays odds, this is an interesting pitching matchup. The Rays have gotten solid performance after solid performance out of McClanahan, while Kansas City’s Singer has only given up one earned run and struck out 13 in his last two appearances.
These teams are basically opposite in terms of where they stand today, but it seems that the Royals have the advantage here.
Their bats are better, which you wouldn’t expect if you looked at the standings, and Tampa Bay’s biggest strength has been the guys it’s put on the rubber.
Who to Bet On?
Look for Singer to provide enough resistance and continue an impressive run, out-dueling his counterpart and leading his squad to a positive result.
Make sure to take advantage of the odds and make some money. Disregarding Thursday’s outcome, take Kansas City to win outright here.
MLB Pick: Royals (+170)
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