Nathan Karns (7-5, 3.69 ERA) and the Tampa Bay Rays (63-65) go up against Danny Duffy (7-6, 4.13 ERA) and the Kansas City Royals (79-49) in the last of a three-game series at Tropicana Field. The Royals won the last game 6-3 and Kansas City leads the series 2-0. The game gets underway at 1:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 30 and will air on SUN and FSKC.
In his last start, Karns pitched 3.0 innings, giving up five runs, striking out three and walking four in an 11-7 loss to the Twins. Steven Souza Jr. (.214, 47 Rs, 15 HRs, 34 RBIs, 10 SBs) went 1 for 2 yesterday with two runs. The Royals were victorious over the Orioles 3-2 the last time Duffy pitched. He went 5.2 innings, allowing two runs, striking out five and walking two. Lorenzo Cain (.312, 80 Rs, 12 HRs, 57 RBIs, 25 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday with two runs, one RBI, and one stolen base.
Tampa Bay is a small underdog (+100) and the Over/Under (O/U) is seven runs. When playing as the underdog, the Rays have a 33-36 record and overall money line at -510.
Moving on to the opposing team, the Royals come into this game with a solid win percentage of .657 when playing as the favorite (46-24) and an overall money line of +2,669. They have played at the top of their game when rated as favorite recently. They managed a 5-2 record when playing as the favorite and an SU record of 7-3. The Royals have racked up 86 steals on the year, making them one of the most threatening base-running teams in the league. Switching gears to Kansas City’s pitching staff, they have the second-lowest ERA in the AL at 3.55. They also average just 8.2 hits allowed per game, fifth-best in the AL.
The Royals are a perfect 6-0 against the Rays this season. The Rays will take on a left-hander (Duffy) in this game and have a 22-14 record against left-handed starting pitchers this season. The right-handed Karns will take the mound against the Royals. Against righty starters this season, they’ve racked up an impressive 55-28 record.
Predictions: SU Winner – TB, O/U – Under
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Kansas City is 31-16, while Tampa Bay is 25-27.
Having scored zero runs in their last game, the Royals are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Rays have an 11-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs.
When they outhit their opponents, the Rays are 43-18. The Royals have a 62-8 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 28th, Tampa Bay is near the bottom of the league in runs, scoring 477 this season. Kansas City ranks in the top 10 at eighth with 561.
Tampa Bay and Kansas City both rank near the bottom of the league in walks. Tampa Bay sits at 21st with 346 this season and Kansas City ranks 29th with 290.
When the Rays hit at least one home run, they are 46-34. When the Royals hit at least one homer, they have a 55-21 record.
