Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays Betting Pick & Prediction 5/24/24
From Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, we have an AL matchup between the Royals and Rays. The game is set to start at 6:50 PM ET, and it will be televised on BSSUN.
Kansas City is currently on a six-game winning streak and they are 32-19 overall, which is good for 2nd in the AL Central. The Rays have won four straight and they are 4th in the AL East with a record of 25-26. Friday’s money line odds have the Royals at -119 compared to the Rays at +100. The over/under line is at 8 runs, and the forecast in St. Petersburg calls for thunderstorms. Seth Lugo is starting for the Royals, while the Rays are going with Shawn Armstrong.
TAMPA BAY RAYS VS KANSAS CITY ROYALS BETTING PICK
The Pick: Tampa Bay Rays Moneyline +100
This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 6:50 ET on Friday, May 24th.
HOW TO BET THE ROYALS VS RAYS:
- We have the Rays winning by a score of 6 to 5
- If you’re looking for a run line pick, we also like the Rays to cover
- As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 11 runs and like the over
Royals Records & Stats
To close out their series vs. the Tigers, the Royals picked up an 8-3 win. Leading up to the game, they were the slight favorite at -103 on the money line. It was a big 2nd inning that really turned things in their favor, and the Tigers could only score three runs, all of which came in the 7th.
Cole Ragans put together a good start for the Royals, going six innings and not giving up a run. He also issued just three walks and struck out 12 Tigers batters. Kansas City’s offense was carried by Nelson Velazquez, who went 1/2 with a homer and three RBIs.
Kansas City is on a six-game winning streak, and they are 32-19 overall this season. The Royals are 2nd in the AL Central, sitting 1.5 games behind the Guardians for the division lead. So far, they have gone 11-5 in divisional matchups.
At home, the Royals have been strong, putting together a record of 21-8. They are just one game above .500 on the road, where they are 11-11 this year. Kansas City has won two straight series and have an overall series record of 9-7 this year.
When the Royals are the favorite, they are 13-9 vs. the run line, but as the underdog, they are 20-9. Their average run margin in winning games is 4.0, while their average run margin in losing games is -2.9. Their run line record on the road is 13-9, and they have covered the run line in five straight games.
Despite a combined run average of 8.3 runs per game, the Kansas City Royals have seen their games go over the total in just 20 of their 49 games this season. However, the over has hit in four straight games, and the over/under line for today’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays is set at 8 runs. So far this season, the over/under line has been set at 8 runs for 10 of the Royals’ games, and their over/under record in those games is 5-4-1.
Seth Lugo gets the start for the Royals today as he faces off against the Rays on the road. So far this season, he has made 10 starts and has a record of 7-1. Lugo’s ERA for the season is an impressive 1.79, along with a WHIP of .98. In his 10 starts, he has turned in eight quality starts and is averaging 7.99 strikeouts per nine innings. Lugo has been especially tough on the road, coming in with a record of 4-0 and an ERA of 0.6. His ERA at home is 2.83.
Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. have been two of the Royals’ best hitters this season, with Perez batting .337 and Witt Jr. coming in at .308. Perez’s nine homers are 8th in the league, while Witt Jr. has gone deep seven times. Witt Jr. has been especially hot of late, going 10/27 in his last seven games with two homers and 12 RBIs. Maikel Garcia and Michael Massey have also been swinging the bat well, with Garcia going 12/27 in his last six games and Massey hitting .455 in this stretch.
As a team, the Royals are 7th in the league in scoring at 4.8 runs per game. They have been even better at home, averaging 5.5 runs per contest. Overall, they are one of the best hitting teams in the league, with a team batting average of .250. Collectively, the Royals are the 2nd toughest team to strike out in the league.
Rays Records & Stats
The Rays will be looking to get back on track after closing out their series vs. the Red Sox with an 8-5 loss. This was especially tough, as they held a lead going into the 2nd inning before the Red Sox scored five runs in the top of the 2nd. Tampa Bay was the -144 favorite at home going into the game.
Ryan Pepiot got the start for the Rays and took the loss. He only lasted four innings, giving up three earned runs on two homers. The Rays also used Richard Lovelady out of the bullpen, and he took the loss. Tampa Bay’s offense scored their other two runs in the 2nd inning.
Tampa Bay is 4th in the AL East, trailing the Yankees by 9.5 games. The Rays head into today’s game vs. the Royals having lost four straight games, and this losing streak came after taking the final two games of their series vs. the Blue Jays. So far, they are 9-11 in AL East matchups this year.
At home, the Rays are 14-15 compared to 11-11 on the road. As the favorite, Tampa Bay is 15-18 this year and 10-8 as the underdog. So far, they have dropped four straight games at home, and their overall series record is 7-7-2. The Rays’ two most recent series have been won on the road.
When the Rays win, they tend to do so by a comfortable margin, averaging a +2.4 run differential in victories. However, they have been outscored by an average of -0.8 runs per game overall, leading to a 22-29 run line record. At home, they are just 10-19 against the run line, with a -0.7 run differential per game.
Tonight’s game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Kansas City Royals has an over/under line of 8 runs. The combined run average in Rays games this season is 8.8, and their over/under record is 26-24. When the over/under line is set at 8 runs, the Rays have gone over 8 times and under 5 times. Overall, 49% of their games have had higher over/under lines than 8 runs.
Right-hander Shawn Armstrong gets the start for the Rays today as he faces the Royals at home. He has made 18 appearances out of the bullpen this year and has a record of 1-1 with an ERA of 4.03. Opponents have hit .233 off Armstrong this year, and his WHIP is currently 1.34. Armstrong has made three starts this year and has not gone more than one inning in any of them. In his last outing, he went one inning and didn’t give up a run, finishing with a no-decision. Armstrong has finished with a no-decision in each of his last three outings.
Isaac Paredes has been a bright spot in the Rays lineup so far this season, as he is batting .308 with a team-high nine homers. Over his last nine games, he has gone 11/32 with a home run and six RBIs. Randy Arozarena is also near the top of the league in homers but is batting just .162 for the season.
Overall, the Rays offense is averaging just 4 runs per game, which is 22nd in the league. They are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and slugging percentage. As a team, they are batting .239, which is 13th in the MLB.