Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays Betting Pick & Prediction 5/26/24
The forecast from St. Petersburg, FL calls for partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-80s. The Royals are currently on an 8 game winning streak and they are 2nd in the AL Central, while the Rays are 4th in the AL East and have won 6 straight.
Michael Wacha is starting for the Royals, and he is facing off against Taj Bradley for the Rays. The money line odds have the Rays favored at -124, while the odds for a Royals win are sitting at +105. Today’s over/under line is at 7.5 runs, and the game can be seen on BSKC.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS VS TAMPA BAY RAYS BETTING PICK
The Pick: Kansas City Royals Moneyline +105
This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 1:40 ET on Sunday, May 26th.
HOW TO BET THE ROYALS VS RAYS:
- We have the Royals winning by a score of 5 to 4
- If you’re looking for a run line pick, we also like the Royals to cover
- As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 9 runs and like the over
Thanks to a three-run 11th inning for the Royals’ offense, they picked up a 7-4 road win over the Rays in the most recent game of this series. Heading into the game, the Royals were at -111 on the money line.
Kansas City got on the board first in the 2nd inning, scoring one run on a Nelson Velazquez home run. They added two more runs in the 3rd but were held in check until breaking out in the 11th. As for the Rays, they scored their first run in the 4th and added three more in the 5th, tying the game at 4-4.
Velasquez, Adam Frazier, and Maikel Garcia each had two RBIs for the Royals’ offense. Garrett Hampson also had a two-hit game and scored a run for Kansas City.
Royals Records & Stats
The Royals have won eight straight games, and they are 34-19 overall this season. Kansas City is 1.5 games behind the Guardians for the AL Central lead, and they have an 11-5 record against other teams in the division. The Royals have taken two straight games in this series vs. the Rays.
At home, the Royals have been strong, going 21-8 this season. On the road, they are just above .500 at 13-11. As the favorite, the Royals are 18-6 this year, and they are 16-13 when listed as the underdog. Kansas City’s overall series record is 9-7 this year, and they have won two straight series.
The Royals have been a solid bet on the run line this season, going 35-18 overall. They have been particularly strong at home, where they are 20-9. On the road, they are 15-9 against the run line, including covering in their last two games. Their average run differential for the season is +1.5 runs per game, with their scoring margin at home at +2.1 runs per game and +0.9 runs per game on the road. They have been a better bet on the run line as the underdog, going 20-9 compared to 15-9 as the favorite.
The Kansas City Royals are on the road to face the Tampa Bay Rays. The O/U line for today’s game is set at 7.5 runs, which is lower than their combined run average of 8.3 runs per game. The Royals have an O/U record of 22-29 this season, and their games have averaged an O/U line of 8 runs. When the O/U line is set at 7.5 runs, their record is 1-4. The over has hit in their last six games.
The Royals are sending Michael Wacha to the mound today vs. the Rays. Wacha has made 10 starts this year and has a record of 4-4 with an ERA of 4.45. So far, he has turned in five quality starts and is averaging 7.46 strikeouts per nine innings. Wacha’s most recent outing was a good one, as he went seven innings vs. the Tigers, giving up just two earned runs and picking up the win. He has won each of his last three starts. Before that, he had given up at least two homers in three straight outings.
Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez have been two of the Royals’ top hitters this season, with Witt Jr. batting .304 and Perez leading the team with a .326 batting average. Perez’s 39 RBIs are 7th in the league, and Witt Jr. is right behind him with 35 RBIs. Witt Jr. has also been hot of late, going 8/21 in his last five games with three homers and 10 RBIs.
As a team, the Royals are 6th in the league in runs scored, averaging 4.9 runs per game. They have been even better at home, averaging 5.5 runs per contest. Overall, they have the league’s 2nd best home run total and are 6th in team batting average.
Rays Records & Stats
The Rays are looking to snap a six-game losing streak today, as they are also 11.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL East. So far, they have gone 9-11 in AL East matchups. Tampa Bay is 25-28 overall and have gone 14-17 at home compared to 11-11 on the road.
As the home favorite, the Rays are 10-12 this year and 15-18 overall when favored. They have been slightly better as the underdog, putting together a mark of 10-10. So far, the Rays’ overall series record is 7-7-2, and they have won two straight series on the road.
When the Tampa Bay Rays win, they win big, with an average run margin of +2.4. But when they lose, they lose by an average of -3.9 runs. Their overall run line record is 22-31, with a -0.9 run differential per game. They are 10-21 against the run line at home, but 12-10 on the road.
The Tampa Bay Rays are at home today against the Kansas City Royals. The over/under line for the game is set at 7.5 runs. The Rays have been involved in games with an average of 8.9 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 28-24. When the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs, their record is 9-3. Overall, 73.6% of their games have had higher over/under lines than 7.5 runs. The over has hit in their last three games.
Getting the start for the Rays today is Taj Bradley, who has been solid through his first two outings of the season. He picked up a win in his first start against the Red Sox, and then took a loss in his last outing, but he still struck out 10 batters over 7 innings of work. In that start, he gave up 2 homers.
Isaac Paredes has been a bright spot for the Rays this season, as he is batting .300 for the season and has gone 9/31 in his last nine games. Paredes also has a team-high nine home runs and 29 RBIs. Randy Arozarena is 2nd on the team in home runs but is batting just .159 for the season. However, he does have four homers in his last nine games.
The Rays offense is averaging just 4 runs per game this season, which is 24th in the league. Overall, they are batting .236, which is 13th in the league. As a team, they are 12th in home runs, but their slugging percentage and isolated power numbers are both near the bottom of the league. Currently, they have three players with at least eight homers.