Texas (62-63) vs Kansas City (63-61)
August 18, 2025 at 07:40 PM EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: Kansas City -1.5 — Over/Under: +9
The Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals meet Monday in MLB action at Kauffman Stadium. Here’s a Texas Rangers vs Kansas City Royals Prediction. This article will include a Texas Rangers vs Kansas City Royals Pick.
Texas Rangers Betting Preview
The Texas Rangers are 62-63 on the year and play the Guardians, Angels, and Athletics next. The Texas Rangers are batting .232 on the season, have a .301 OBP, and a .378 slugging percentage. The Texas Rangers pitching staff has a 3.44 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Josh Smith leads the Texas Rangers with 104 hits and 30 RBI, while Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia have combined for 202 hits and 125 RBI.
Jack Leiter gets the ball for the Texas Rangers, and he is 7-6 with a 3.94 ERA and 96 strikeouts this season. This will be Leiter’s second career game against the Kansas City Royals.
Kansas City Royals Betting Preview
The Kansas City Royals are 63-61 on the year and play the Tigers, White Sox, and Tigers next. The Kansas City Royals are batting .246 on the season, have a .305 OBP, and a .390 slugging percentage. The Kansas City Royals pitching staff has a 3.60 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Kansas City Royals with 139 hits and 67 RBI while Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino have combined for 257 hits and 135 RBI.
Michael Wacha gets the ball for the Kansas City Royals, and he is 7-9 with a 3.35 ERA and 101 strikeouts this season. Wacha is 1-3 with a 3.96 ERA and 21 strikeouts in his career against the Texas Rangers.
Why the Kansas City Royals will win
- The Royals have won seven of their last eight home games.
- The Rangers have lost each of their last four road games following a win.
- The Royals have covered the run line each of their last five night games against teams that held a losing record.
- The Rangers have failed to cover the run line in six of their last seven games after playing the previous day.
- The Royals have led after 5 innings in four of their last five night games against American League opponents.
Why the Texas Rangers will win
- The Rangers have won each of their last five games as underdogs against the Royals following a road win.
- The Royals have lost each of their last three games as home favorites against AL West opponents.
- The Rangers have covered the run line in each of their last seven night games at Kauffman Stadium following a road win.
- The Royals have failed to cover the run line in six of their last seven night games against the Rangers at Kauffman Stadium following a home win.
Kansas City Royals Player Prop Facts
- Michael Wacha has recorded a win in each of his last three appearances.
- MJ Melendez has recorded a Double in three of his last four appearances against the Rangers.
- Michael Wacha has recorded five or more strikeouts in nine of his last 10 appearances in night games against AL teams that held a losing record.
- Maikel Garcia has recorded at least one hit in each of the Royals’ last nine home games against AL opponents.
- Salvador Perez has hit a home run in two of the Royals’ last three games as home favorites against the Rangers.
- Bobby Witt Jr. ranks 5th in the league in Steals (32) this season.
Texas Rangers Player Prop Facts
- Marcus Semien has recorded a Double in three of his last four appearances with the Rangers as road underdogs against AL opponents.
- Marcus Semien has recorded at least one hit in each of the Rangers’ last eight games at Kauffman Stadium.
- Marcus Semien has hit a home run in each of his last two appearances against AL opponents that held a winning record.
Texas Rangers vs Kansas City Royals Prediction
Leiter is having a solid season and is worth a look with the way he’s pitching, but the Rangers have had issues stringing together wins all month, so it probably doesn’t matter. The Royals are coming off a strong week and are playing the better ball. Also, Wacha has allowed five runs in his last 19.2 innings, and he has a 2.67 ERA and .229 allowed batting average in 67.1 home innings. The Royals have the edge in this spot, so I’ll back the home team.