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The Texas Rangers (17-16) and Kansas City Royals (20-13) play the 2nd game of a 3-game series at Kauffman Stadium Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Rangers vs. Royals odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Royals lead 1-0
The Royals won 7-1 as -112 home favorites in the series opener Friday as the Under (8.5) hit. C Salvador Pérez hit a 3-run HR in the 7th inning for the Royals, who have won 3 straight.
The Rangers have lost 2 of 3. The Under has hit in 8 of their last 10, and they had allowed 3 runs or fewer in 4 straight before Friday’s loss.
Rangers at Royals projected starters
RHP Dane Dunning vs. RHP Michael Wacha
Dunning (3-2, 4.13 ERA) makes his 7th start. He has a 1.16 WHIP, 4.4 BB/9 and 10.7 K/9 in 32 2/3 innings.
- Last start: Win, 5 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 10 K in 4-3 home victory over Cincinnati Reds Sunday
- Career vs. Royals: 2-1, 2.33 ERA (27 IP, 7 ER), 1.07 WHIP in 4 starts and 2 relief appearances — 1-0, 0.00 ERA (6 1/3 IP) in 2 relief appearances in 2023
Wacha (1-3, 4.24 ERA) makes his 7th start. He has a 1.32 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9 and 7.4 K/9 in 34 innings.
- Last start: Loss, 5 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 0 BB, 3 K in 4-1 loss at Detroit Tigers Sunday
- Career vs. Rangers: 0-1, 1.74 ERA (10 1/3 IP, 2 ER), 1.16 WHIP in 2 starts — last faced them in 2021
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Rangers at Royals odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:55 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Rangers -115 (bet $115 to win $100) | Royals -105 (bet $105 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Rangers -1.5 (+145) | Royals +1.5 (-175)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Rangers at Royals picks and predictions
Prediction
Rangers 4, Royals 3
Moneyline
The RANGERS (-115) have a worse record than the Royals and are still favored on the road. Dunning has allowed 1 run or fewer in 2 of his last 3 starts, and the defending World Series champions should bounce back after getting blown out in the series opener.
BET RANGERS (-115).
Run line/Against the spread
Texas has lost 2 of 3, so taking it to win by multiple runs seems aggressive. Kansas City, on the other hand, is +1.5 (-175), and it’s hard to beat MLB long term betting into -175 run lines.
PASS. Bet the ML and/or total instead.
Over/Under
The Under is 9-2-1 in Kansas City’s last 12 games and 8-2 in Texas’ last 10. The total opened at 9 (-125 to the Over) Friday afternoon and has been dropping ever since, but it hasn’t dropped enough.
BET UNDER 8.5 (-110).
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