The Tampa Bay Rays and Kansas City Royals meet Thursday in MLB action at Kauffman Stadium. Here’s a Tampa Bay Rays vs Kansas City Royals Prediction. This article will include a Tampa Bay Rays vs Kansas City Royals Pick.

Tampa Bay Rays Betting Preview

The Tampa Bay Rays are 45-35 on the year and play the Orioles, Athletics, and Twins next. The Tampa Bay Rays are batting .257 on the season, have a .324 OBP, and a .403 slugging percentage. The Tampa Bay Rays pitching staff has a 3.54 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Yandy Diaz leads the Tampa Bay Rays with 87 hits and 44 RBI, while Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero have combined for 159 hits and 91 RBI. 

Shane Baz gets the ball for the Tampa Bay Rays, and he is 7-3 with a 4.79 ERA and 77 strikeouts this season. This will be Baz’s second career game against the Kansas City Royals.

Kansas City Royals Betting Preview

The Kansas City Royals are 38-42 on the year and play the Dodgers, Mariners, and Diamondbacks next. The Kansas City Royals are batting .244 on the season, have a .298 OBP, and a .366 slugging percentage. The Kansas City Royals pitching staff has a 3.40 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Maikel Garcia leads the Kansas City Royals with 89 hits and 36 RBI while Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino have combined for 169 hits and 82 RBI.

Michael Lorenzen gets the ball for the Kansas City Royals, and he is 4-7 with a 4.81 ERA and 69 strikeouts this season. Lorenzen is 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA and 10 strikeouts in his career against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Why the Kansas City Royals will win

The Rays have lost four of their last five games as road favorites against AL Central opponents following a road win.
The underdogs have won four of the Royals’ last five games at Kauffman Stadium.
The Royals have covered the run line in 15 of their last 17 games as underdogs following a loss.
The Rays have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six Thursday games as favorites.

Why the Tampa Bay Rays will win

The Royals have lost each of their last nine home games.
The road team has won seven of the last eight games between the Rays and Royals.
The road team has covered the run line in each of the last six games between the Rays and Royals.
The Royals have failed to cover the run line in eight of their last nine home games.
The Rays have led after 3 innings in five of their last six games against American League opponents.
The Rays have led after 5 innings in five of their last six games against AL Central opponents.

Kansas City Royals Player Prop Facts

Bobby Witt Jr. has hit a home run in seven of the Royals’ last 14 games against the Rays.
Bobby Witt Jr. has recorded a Double in each of the Royals’ last three games as underdogs against AL opponents.
Michael Lorenzen has recorded four or more strikeouts in 16 of his last 18 home appearances against AL opponents.
Vinnie Pasquantino has recorded a hit in each of the Royals’ last 11 home games against opponents that held a winning record.
Michael Lorenzen has recorded a win in each of his three previous appearances with his team as an underdog against the Rays.
Maikel Garcia ranks 7th amongst qualified players for Batting Average (.310) this season.

Tampa Bay Rays Player Prop Facts

Brandon Lowe has hit a home run in three of his last five appearances in day games against AL teams that held a losing record.
Ha-Seong Kim has recorded at least one hit in each of his last six road appearances against opponents that held a losing record.
Jonathan Aranda ranks 3rd amongst qualified players for On Base Percentage (.414) this season.

Tampa Bay Rays vs Kansas City Royals Prediction

The Rays continue to win and continue to be valuable because they’re not a public team, so you can often get them at good prices. The Royals have lost four straight games and have scored two or fewer runs in all of those games. Baz has been at his best on the road, where he has a 3.57 ERA and .234 allowed batting average. Lorenzen has been hittable all season, and he’s allowed 17 hits and 14 runs in his last 20 innings. A hot Rays team should have a field day in this matchup. Give me the road team on Thursday afternoon.

Randy Chambers's Pick: Tampa Bay Rays