Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 8/21/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Sunday, August 21, 2022

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

The Kansas City Royals (49-72) are hitting the road to Tropicana Field on Sunday where they will try to beat the Tampa Bay Rays (63-55). The expected starting pitchers are Zack Greinke and Ryan Yarbrough.

As a team, the Kansas City Royals are putting up 3.8 runs per contest, which puts them at 24th in baseball. They have a total of 463 runs while having a team on-base percentage of .306. The Royals have accumulated 181 two-baggers as a squad and have hit 102 baseballs out of the park. They have accounted for 444 RBI's as well as 991 hits on the season, and their batting average comes in at .244. Kansas City is slugging .378 and have been called out on strikes 960 times, while drawing a walk on 347 occasions.

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The Royals have an ERA of 4.66 on the campaign (27th in the league), and their staff has struck out 895 hitters. They have accumulated a K/BB ratio of 1.97 and the pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.47. Royals pitchers have yielded 133 home runs in addition to 608 total runs (27th in baseball). Their pitching staff has walked 455 opposing batters and their FIP sits at 4.48 as a team for the year.

The Royals have sent 415 relief pitchers to the hill this year. The relievers have inherited 218 runners on the campaign with 29.8% of them crossed the plate. They have tallied 26 saves this season and have missed out on 16 of their 42 save opportunities. The Royals bullpen have a save percentage of 61.9% and has entered the game in 112 save situations. The relief pitchers are sitting with 66 holds so far this year (11th in MLB). Royals relief pitchers have come into the game with runners on base 137 times and also have had 135 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Kansas City Royals have 3,184 putouts on the year, as well as 1,126 assists and 67 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding at .985 which has them sitting 18th in the majors, and they have twisted 109 double plays. The Royals have converted 68.0% of balls in play into outs out of their 9,552 innings on the field, which has them sitting at 27th in baseball.

Greinke has taken the ball for 3,214 frames and is sitting with 2,871 K's during his career. Greinke (223-140 career win-loss record) is the owner of a FIP of 3.46 while facing 13,149 batters during his time in the majors. His earned run average is 3.44 (1,227 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.165. He has given up 3,013 base knocks (8.4 hits per 9 innings) with 732 walks.

The Rays have a team slugging % of .377 and they have an average of 4.13 runs per contest (23rd in baseball). They have 205 two-baggers, while getting a free base 367 times as well as earning 487 runs. Tampa Bay has knocked in 106 HRs for the year to go along with 463 runs batted in. They have been rung up on 1,051 occasions (7th in the league) and have tallied 938 base knocks. The Tampa Bay Rays have recorded a team OBP of .307 as well as a team batting average of .237 over the course of the season.

The Tampa Bay pitching staff have conceded 456 runs for the season while having an ERA of 3.39 (396 earned runs yielded). They have given up 125 long balls and they concede 3.91 runs per 9 innings (5th in baseball). The Rays are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.145 in addition to having a FIP of 3.70 as a unit so far this season. They currently have a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.59 (1,015 strikeouts against 283 walks). They rank 5th in baseball as a staff in total hits allowed with 919.

Sitting with 147 save situations, the Rays have tallied 85 holds and 28 blown saves. Tampa Bay has had relief pitchers enter the game in 61 save opportunities and they have earned 33 saves. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill 150 times in high leverage situations and also on 101 occasions with runners on base. Tampa Bay relievers hold an inherited score percentage of 24.8% out of 137 inherited base runners. They rank 28th in the league with a save rate of 54.1%, and they have dispatched 415 bullpen pitchers to the hill on the campaign.

In 9,456 innings on the diamond, the Rays have accumulated a defensive efficiency of 70.9% (5th in MLB). The Tampa Bay Rays have turned 82 double plays and have a fielding rate of .986 (12th in the majors). The Rays have 1,022 assists, 59 errors and have 3,152 putouts on the season.

So far in his MLB career, Yarbrough has allowed 543 base knocks while totaling 452 punch outs in 560 innings pitched. He has allowed 271 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.190 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.1. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.65 and he has faced 2,342 batters during his MLB career. Yarbrough (38-30 record in his career) has earned a 4.35 ERA and has given up 8.7 hits per nine innings.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Kansas City

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