Two teams trying to stay relevant in the American League clash when the Tampa Bay Rays battle the Kansas City Royals in the second of a three-game set Wednesday night inside Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. They toss out the first pitch at 8:10 pm. Bookmaker has installed the Rays-110 on the ML.
The Rays have shown they have the talent and depth to make a run in the AL East, but they have not gotten the pitching from their starting rotation like they did at the beginning of last season. For the first two months or so of the season, they had a historically low ERA; this season, they collectively have a team ERA of 4.29.
They have had issues getting hitters out and have also fallen behind early in games, which has put a ton of strain on their starting staff. However, they have managed to win five games overall out of seven and are still in the mix.
On offense, they are led by Isaac Parades, who has cracked 13 home runs and has driven in 43 runs this season. He is batting .276 on the season for the Rays, who are hitting .236 as a team. They will hand the ball over to Ryan Pepiot, who is sporting a mark of 4-4 with a bad 4.40 ERA.
The Royals are getting older, but they are still led by some solid veteran players with a nice mix of young, raw talent here and there. They have gotten some great at-bats and big-time hits from the old face of the franchise in veteran hurler Salvador Perez, who has turned back the clock.
If the younger players can follow his lead, Kansas City should be able to score more runs per contest.
The 34-year-old catcher has already hit 14 home runs and is hitting .281 on the season. More importantly, he is a true pro and leader on this team. The Royals have belted a team total of 86 home runs. They will hand the ball over to Michael Wacha, who sports a record of 4-6 and has had some issues this season. His last win came back in May, and they would love for the veteran to get into a groove and give them some innings going forward.
The Royals are 4-1 in their last five games and 4-1 in their previous five games against the spread. They are also 20-20 in their road games against the number this season. The totals have gone over in two out of their last five games, and the totals have gone over in 22 out of their last 46 games at home. The Rays are 3-2 in their previous five games and 3-2 in their last five games against the spread. They are also 20-16 in their road games against the number, and the totals have gone over in two out of their last five games.
