Rays vs. Royals Pick
Will the Kansas City Royals get back to the .500 mark when they host the Tampa Bay Rays tonight at 8:15PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Kansas City is favored tonight, as the Royals are getting odds of -145 to win. The Rays are listed with a money line of +130 to win. The over/under total for the game has been set at 9.5 runs.
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The pitching matchup today has Jake Odorizzi (6-7, 4.82 ERA) on the mound for the Rays to face Jason Vargas (14-8, 3.72) of the Royals. Odorizzi has struggled as of late, allowing 10 runs over his last two starts, which lasted just a combined 7.1 innings. Odorizzi has 94 strikeouts with 49 walks and a 1.36 WHIP. Vargas was once a shutdown pitcher, but he has given up at least three runs in his last five starts. Vargas has 111 strikeouts this season with 44 walks and a 1.31 WHIP.
The Royals snapped their four-game scoreless streak when they defeated the Rays, 6-2, on Tuesday night. These two have split the first two games of their series. Kansas City is now 65-66 overall and 36-31 at home. Tampa Bay is 66-68 overall and 32-35 on the road.
Whit Merrifield broke the scoreless streak on Tuesday with a solo home run in the third inning. That seemed to break things open for KC, which finished the game with three home runs. Eric Hosmer also went deep and drove in three runs while Jorge Bonifacio added a solo home run. Jake Junis got the win, his sixth, pitching 5.2 innings and allowing just one run. Alex Cobb took the loss by giving up three runs in six innings of work.
Neither pitcher should inspire much confidence for their team today, but Vargas has more examples of being able to have a good start. Odorizzi has been up-and-down all year while Vargas is in more of a recent funk. Kansas City can build off Tuesday’s offensive outbreak and avoid going back in the hole by getting to Odorizzi early. The Royals have the bats to score and I think they will today.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: KANSAS CITY ROYALS -145