In the first of a four-game series between the Kansas City Royals (46-33) and the Tampa Bay Rays (46-33) at Kauffman Stadium, Chris Young (7-4, 2.64 ERA) and Matt Moore (0-0, 7.71 ERA) get the start. The game starts at 2:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Jul. 7 and will air on SunSports and FSN-KC.
In his last start, Young pitched 5.1 innings, giving up one run, striking out two and walking one in a 2-0 loss to the Twins. In his career against the Royals, Moore is 0-2 with a 5.29 ERA. He gets a strong Kansas City offense that’s batting .268. Logan Forsythe (.281, 32 Rs, 8 HRs, 34 RBIs, 7 SBs) went 1 for 5 Sunday with one run and two RBIs.
Kansas City is a -122 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Royals have a winning record of 26-17 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of +1,101. Kansas City has averaged 2.8 runs per game over the last 10 games, lower than its season average of 4.2. Kansas City’s pitching staff can be considered one of the best in the AL. The Royals have a team ERA of 3.52, one of the lowest in their league. The Royals don’t give up many hits to opposing batters, ranking third in the AL with only 7.9 hits allowed per game.
On the other side, the Rays have a record of 22-22 when they are the underdog and are +108 overall with the money line. They have played poorly as the underdog as of late. They managed a 1-5 record when playing as the underdog and an SU record of 2-8. Tampa Bay is a terror on the base paths, ranking fifth in the MLB with 60 stolen bases. Switching gears to Tampa Bay’s pitching staff, they have the lowest ERA in the AL at 3.40. They have a WHIP of 1.20, fifth best in the MLB.
The Royals will take on a right-hander (Moore) in this game and have a 33-20 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Rays will be the right-hander Young. They sport a 28-33 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Over
Notes
Kansas City is 2-5-1 SU in its last 8 games,.
Kansas City is 2-3-1 SU in its last 6 games, at home.
Kansas City 10-3-1 SU in its last 14 games when playing Tampa Bay.
Kansas City 8-1-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay has won 50% (16-16) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, Kansas City has won 63% (19-11) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Royals are coming off of a weak pitching game where they recorded two strikeouts. The Rays have a record of 2-0 when opponents’ pitchers have that many strikeouts or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Royals are 4-27. The Rays have a 7-26 record when opponents outhit them.
Kansas City ranks near the bottom of the league at 27th when it comes to home runs, hitting 58 this season. Tampa Bay ranks in the bottom half at 17th with 72.
Ranking 14th, Tampa Bay is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 8.02 per game. Kansas City ranks in the top five at second with 9.10.
Ranking 24th, Tampa Bay is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.682). Kansas City ranks in the top half at 13th with an OPS of .718.
When the Rays allow at least one home run, they are 18-30. When the Royals allow one or more homers, they have a 19-24 record.
