The Kansas City Royals (20-54) and Tampa Bay Rays (52-25) meet Thursday to kick off a 4-game series. First pitch from Tropicana Field is set for 6:40 p.m. ET (MLB Network). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Royals at Rays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First meeting; Tampa Bay won 4-3 last season
The Royals lost 9-4 as +122 road underdogs Wednesday vs. the Detroit Tigers. Kansas City took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 2nd, but Detroit scored 3 in the bottom of the inning, added runs in the 3rd and 5th and put the game away with 4 runs in the 8th.
Tampa Bay won 7-2 as -141 home favorites Wednesday vs. the Baltimore Orioles to snap a 3-game losing streak. The Rays scored 4 runs in the 2nd inning and never looked back as SP Taj Bradley allowed just 1 run in 6 innings and struck out 8.
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Royals at Rays projected starters
RHP Jose Cuas vs. LHP Shane McClanahan
Cuas (3-0, 4.15 ERA) makes his 1st start after 32 relief appearances. He has a 1.45 WHIP, 3.6 BB/9 and 11.6 K/9 in 30 1/3 innings.
- Last outing: No-decision, 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K in a 6-4 road loss Monday vs. Detroit Tigers
- Career vs. Tampa Bay: 0-1, 6.75 ERA (1 1/3 IP, 1 ER), 2 H, 6.8 K/9, 2.25 WHIP in 2 appearances
McClanahan (11-1, 2.12 ERA) makes his 16th start. He has a 1.10 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9 and 9.8 K/9 in 89.1 innings.
- Last outing: Win, 6 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K in a 6-2 road win Friday vs. San Diego Padres
- Career vs. Kansas City: 1-0, 1.50 ERA (12 IP, 2 ER), 5 H, 14 K, 0.67 WHIP in 2 starts
Royals at Rays odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:05 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Royals +300 (bet $100 to win $300) | Rays -400 (bet $400 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Royals +1.5 (+140) | Rays -1.5 (-165)
- Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Royals at Rays picks and predictions
Prediction
Rays 2, Royals 1
Moneyline
PASS.
Tampa Bay should win this game as it has the best record in MLB and is facing off a team with the 2nd-worst record in the league. But the line is not worth the juice so bet on the run line and/or O/U instead.
Run line/Against the spread
LEAN ROYALS +1.5 (+140).
Tampa Bay -1.5 (-160) is clearly the better team, but they have struggled somewhat in recent matchups vs. Kansas City. The Rays are only 6-4 in the last 10 matchups overall and 4 of the last 10 meetings have finished with a 1-run margin.
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Over/Under
LEAN UNDER 7.5 (-110).
The O/U is 4-5-1 in the last 10 games for Tampa Bay and 4-6 in Kansas City’s last 10. However, in recent matchups the Under has hit more often than not, being 5-1 in the last 6 meetings overall and 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in Tampa Bay.
For Kansas City, the Under is also 7-1 in their last 8 games vs. a starter with a WHIP less than 1.15 while for Tampa, the Under is 3-0-1 in their last 4 games following a win, per covers.com.
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