Rays vs. Royals Pick
Can the Tampa Bay Rays make their way past the struggling Kansas City Royals when the two meet tonight at 8:15PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Kansas City is the slight favorite at home, as the Royals are getting odds of -110 to win. Tampa Bay is listed with a money line of +100 to prevail, while the over/under total has been set at 10 runs. Kansas City has won three of four meetings with Tampa Bay this season.
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The pitching matchup today has Ian Kennedy (4-9, 5.09 ERA) on the mound for the Royals to face Austin Pruitt (6-4, 5.76) of the Rays. Pruitt has struggled in recent outings, allowing 14 runs over his last three starts, a total of 16.2 innings. He has 49 strikeouts with 15 walks this season and a 1.52 WHIP. Kennedy has also struggled, allowing at least three runs in five straight starts. Kennedy has 111 strikeouts with 52 walks and a 1.30 WHIP this year.
The Royals have lost four straight entering today, including getting shutout in three straight games against the Indians this weekend. KC has scored two runs or less in six of their last nine games. The Royals are 64-65 overall and 35-30 at home. KC is putting up 4.34 runs per game this year while allowing 4.70 per contest. The Royals are being led by Mike Moustakas, who has 20 doubles, 35 home runs and 77 RBI. Eric Hosmer is adding 24 doubles, 21 home runs and 73 RBI.
Tampa Bay is coming off a series win at St. Louis this weekend. The Rays have won five of their last seven games. The Rays are now 65-67 overall and 31-34 on the road. Tampa is putting up 4.29 runs per game while allowing 4.37 runs per contest. Tampa is being led by Logan Morrison, who has 31 home runs with 70 RBI. Steven Souza Jr. is adding 28 home runs with 75 RBI.
The Royals were completely hopeless at the plate against Cleveland, but I would suspect that will chance later today against Pruitt and the Rays. Pruitt hasn’t been able to silence any lineups this season. He will probably continue to struggle today against a KC team that feels embarrassed by this weekend. One big hit for KC could spark an out break.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: KANSAS CITY ROYALS -110