Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 5/26/2024 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Sunday, May 26, 2024

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: Bally Sports Kansas City

Odds/Point Spread: Kansas City (-102) Tampa Bay (-116)

The Kansas City Royals (33-19) are headed to Tropicana Field on Sunday where they will attempt to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays (25-27). The moneyline on this contest has Kansas City at -102 while Tampa Bay is at -116. The betting total is set at 8. The men taking the mound are Michael Wacha and Taj Bradley.

As a squad, the Kansas City Royals are putting up 4.9 runs per game, which has them at 7th in the league. They have racked up 255 runs while holding a team OBP of .313. The Royals have recorded 93 doubles as a unit and have hit 52 balls out of the park. They have 246 RBI's in addition to 435 hits this year, and their batting average comes in at .252. Kansas City has a slugging percentage of .411 and have been called out on strikes 360 times, while being walked on 144 occasions.

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They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.65 and their pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.23. Royals pitchers have yielded 41 home runs and also 176 total runs (2nd in baseball). Kansas City has surrendered 403 base hits (8.0 per 9 innings) and also 170 earned runs. The Royals have compiled a team earned run average of 3.36 this season (6th in the league), and the staff has struck out 413 hitters. They have walked 156 players from the other team and their FIP is 3.63 as a team this season.

The Royals relief pitchers have a save rate of 76.2% and has entered the game in 52 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 56 runners over the course of the season and 21.4% of them crossed home plate. Royals relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on base 30 times in addition to having 52 appearances in high leverage situations. The Royals have dispatched 156 relievers to the hill this year. The relievers have tallied 30 holds for the year (10th in baseball). They have recorded 16 saves so far this year and have blown 5 out of their 21 save opportunities.

The Kansas City Royals have earned 1,368 putouts at this point in the season, as well as 457 assists and 19 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .990 which ranks 2nd in MLB, and they have turned 34 double plays. The Royals have transformed 70.8% of baseballs in play into outs out of 4,104 innings on the field, which ranks them 5th in the majors.

Wacha has taken the mound for 1,344 innings and has 1,192 punch outs during his pro baseball career. His earned run average is 3.98 (595 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.293. He has allowed 1,308 hits (8.8 hits per 9 innings) and has 431 free passes. Wacha (92-58 win-loss mark in his career) holds a FIP of 4.05 while going up against 5,685 hitters in the major leagues.

The Rays have a slugging percentage of .356 and they are recording 3.96 runs per contest (24th in baseball). They have 70 doubles, while taking a walk 160 times as well as scoring 206 runs. Tampa Bay has compiled 42 home runs this year as well as 188 RBIs. They have been called out on strikes on 468 occasions (7th in the league) and have earned a total of 411 base knocks. The Tampa Bay Rays have accounted for an on-base percentage of .308 and a team batting average of .237 for the season.

The Tampa Bay pitching staff have yielded 253 runs over the course of the season and come in with a team ERA of 4.45 (231 earned runs relinquished). They have relinquished 69 home runs and they relinquish 4.87 runs per 9 innings (24th in the league). The Rays are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.256 and are the owners of a FIP of 4.27 as a squad so far this season. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 8.60 (445 strikeouts vs 150 free passes). They are sitting at 25th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits allowed with 437.

Tampa Bay has had relief pitchers enter the game in 26 save chances and they have walked away with 16 saves. They are currently ranked 15th in the league with a save rate of 61.5%, and they have sent 167 relievers to the mound so far this season. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the mound 75 times in high leverage situations and on 40 occasions with runners on. Tampa Bay bullpen pitchers have an inherited score rate of 31.0% out of their 58 inherited runners. Sitting with 62 save situations, the Rays have recorded 35 holds in addition to 10 blown saves.

The Tampa Bay Rays have turned 36 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .984 (15th in pro baseball). The Rays have recorded 400 assists, 29 errors and have a tally of 1,403 putouts so far this year. Out of their 4,209 innings played, the Rays have earned a defensive efficiency of 70.1% (17th in professional baseball).

Bradley (6-10 career mark) has a 5.36 ERA while conceding 8.8 hits per nine innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.62 and he has faced 531 batters so far in his career. He has given up 73 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.321 and a FIP of 4.6. So far in his pro baseball career, Bradley has allowed 120 hits while he has earned 152 strikeouts in 122 innings pitched.

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

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-116) and under 8 runs

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