Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 8/20/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Saturday, August 20, 2022

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

The Kansas City Royals (48-71) are hitting the road to Tropicana Field on Saturday where they will attempt to beat the Tampa Bay Rays (62-54). The pitchers taking the mound will be Kris Bubic and Ryan Yarbrough.

As a team, the Kansas City Royals are knocking in 3.9 runs per game, which has them at 24th in MLB. They have accounted for 459 runs and hold an on-base percentage of .308. The Royals have tallied 180 two-baggers as a squad and have knocked 100 baseballs out of the park. They have earned 440 runs batted in and 981 base knocks on the season, and their batting average sits at .245. Kansas City is slugging .380 and have struck out 942 times, while drawing a walk on 341 occasions.

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Royals pitchers have relinquished 131 home runs and 599 total runs (27th in baseball). Their pitching staff has walked 449 opposing players and their FIP comes in at 4.48 as a squad this season. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 1.95 and their pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.47. The Royals are sitting with a team earned run average of 4.66 on the season (27th in the league), and the staff has struck out 877 batters.

Royals relief pitchers have come into the game with players on base 137 times in addition to having 133 appearances in high leverage situations. The relievers have recorded 66 holds over the course of the season (11th in baseball). The Royals bullpen have a save percentage of 61.9% and has entered the game in 112 save situations. They have recorded 26 saves this year and have blown 16 of their 42 save chances. The relievers have inherited 218 runners on the season and 29.8% of them crossed the plate. The Royals have dispatched 410 relief pitchers to the hill this season.

The Kansas City Royals have a total of 3,130 putouts on the year, as well as 1,104 assists and 67 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .984 which has them ranked 18th in baseball, and have a total of 108 double plays. The Royals have transformed 68.0% of baseballs in play into outs out of 9,390 innings on the diamond, which ranks them 27th in MLB.

Bubic (9-20 mark in his career) sits with a FIP of 4.89 and he has gone up against 1,191 hitters in the major leagues. He has surrendered 274 hits (9.1 hits per nine innings) with 127 free passes. His ERA is 4.64 (140 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.476. Bubic has taken the mound for 271 innings and has totaled 243 punch outs during his pro baseball career.

The Tampa Bay Rays have an OBP of .306 as well as a team batting average of .237 for the year. They have been rung up on 1,033 instances (7th in the league) and have totaled 920 hits. Tampa Bay has recorded 104 home runs so far this season and 455 RBIs. The Rays hold a slugging % of .376 and they are recording 4.12 runs per contest (23rd in MLB). They have 201 doubles, while walking 361 times and putting up 478 runs.

The Tampa Bay pitching staff have given up 452 runs over the course of the season and come in with a team ERA of 3.43 (393 earned runs conceded). They have surrendered 123 homers and they concede 3.94 runs per 9 innings (6th in the league). The Rays have a team WHIP of 1.150 and have a FIP of 3.69 as a team over the course of the season. Their strikeout to walk ratio comes in at 3.60 (997 strikeouts vs 277 walks). They rank 5th in baseball as a staff in total hits allowed with 909.

Sitting with 146 save situations, the Rays have amassed 84 holds and 28 blown saves. Tampa Bay has had relief pitchers take the mound in 61 save chances and they have converted 33 saves. Their relief pitchers have come in 147 times in high leverage situations and on 100 occasions with runners on. Tampa Bay bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 25.2% out of 135 inherited runners. They are ranked 28th in the league holding a save rate of 54.1%, and they have dispatched 411 relievers to the mound for the year.

The Tampa Bay Rays have turned 81 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .986 (13th in baseball). The Rays have accrued 999 assists, 59 errors and have accounted for 3,095 putouts on the campaign. In their 9,285 innings played, the Rays are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 70.7% (5th in baseball).

Yarbrough (38-30 win-loss mark in his career) has earned a 4.35 earned run average while giving up 8.7 hits per 9 innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.65 and he has faced 2,342 opposing hitters during his MLB career. He has allowed a total of 271 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.190 and having a FIP of 4.1. During his MLB career, Yarbrough has given up 543 base hits while accumulating 452 K's in 560 innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Kansas City

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