Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals 5/14/2018 Free MLB Picks and Predictions

Monday, May 14, 2018

Kauffman Stadium

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Ryan Yarbrough vs. Eric Skoglund

The Tampa Bay Rays head to Kauffman Stadium on Monday, May 14, 2018 to take on the Kansas City Royals. The expected starting pitchers are Ryan Yarbrough for the Rays and Eric Skoglund for the Royals.

The odds for this matchup have Tampa Bay at +105 and Kansas City at -115. The Rays have a 19-16-2 over/under mark and a 19-18-0 run line record. The Royals are 16-23-0 against the run line and have a 15-22-2 over/under record.

Valuable Tampa Bay Rays Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Rays are 19-16-2 against the over/under

The Tampa Bay Rays are 19-18-0 against the run line

Important Kansas City Royals Betting Trends

The Kansas City Royals are 15-22-2 against the over/under

The Kansas City Royals are 16-23-0 against the run line

Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

05/02/18 P Yonny Chirinos Forearm 10-day DL (04/29)
04/17/18 CF Kevin Kiermaier Thumb 60-day DL (04/16)
04/11/18 P Jose De Leon Elbow 60-day DL (03/28)
03/29/18 P Nathan Eovaldi Elbow 10-day DL (03/28)

Key Kansas City Royals Injuries

04/25/18 P Justin Grimm Back 10-day DL (04/22)
03/30/18 P Nathan Karns Elbow 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 CF Bubba Starling Oblique 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 P Jesse Hahn Elbow 60-day DL (03/06)

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Rays have a 16-21 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Ryan Yarbrough has a 2-2 record with an earned run average of 4.30 and a WHIP of 1.09 this year. He has 27 strikeouts over his 29.1 innings pitched and he's given up 22 hits. He allows 6.8 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 3.97. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.33 and they have given up 128 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .235 against the bullpen and they've struck out 139 hitters and walked 51 batters. As a team, Tampa Bay allows 8.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.5 batters per nine innings. They are 18th in the league in team earned run average at 4.32. The Rays pitchers collectively have given up 296 base hits and 158 earned runs. They have allowed 41 home runs this season, ranking them 18th in the league. Tampa Bay as a pitching staff has walked 110 batters and struck out 312. They have walked 3 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.5 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.23 and their FIP as a unit is 4.03.

Hitting Statistics

As a team Tampa Bay is hitting .264, good for 3rd in the league. The Rays hold a .402 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .333, which is good for 4th in baseball. They rank 6th in MLB with 9.1 hits per game. C.J. Cron is hitting .282 with an on-base percentage of .333. He has 40 hits this season in 142 at bats with 23 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .486 and an OPS+ of 125. Mallex Smith is hitting .318 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .397. He has totaled 34 hits and he has driven in 8 men in 107 at bats. His OPS+ is 134 while his slugging percentage is at .439. The Rays have 335 hits, including 53 doubles and 35 home runs. Tampa Bay has walked 122 times so far this season and they have struck out 316 times as a unit. They have left 266 men on base and have a team OPS of .736. They score 4.35 runs per contest and have scored a total of 161 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Kansas City has a 13-26 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 6.34, Eric Skoglund has a 1-2 record and a 1.32 WHIP this season. He has 28 strikeouts over the 32.2 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 33 hits. He allows 9.1 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 4.71. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.83 and they have given up 147 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .288 against the Royals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 87 batters and walked 56 opposing hitters. As a team, Kansas City allows 9.9 hits per nine innings while striking out 6.9 batters per nine innings. They are 29th in the league in team earned run average at 5.39. The Royals pitchers as a team have surrendered 382 base knocks and 208 earned runs this season. They have given up 57 home runs this year, which ranks 3rd in Major League Baseball. Kansas City as a staff has walked 124 hitters and struck out 267 batters. They give up a walk 3.2 times per 9 innings while they strike out 6.9 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.46 while their FIP as a staff is 4.94.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .260, good for 7th in the league. The Royals hold a .398 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .325, which is good for 12th in baseball. They rank 7th in MLB with 9.0 hits per contest. Mike Moustakas comes into this matchup batting .293 with an OBP of .327. He has 46 hits this year along with 29 RBI in 157 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .554 with an OPS+ of 134. Whit Merrifield is hitting .275 this season and he has an OBP of .349. He has collected 41 hits in 149 at bats while driving in 11 runs. He has an OPS+ of 105 and a slugging percentage of .403. The Royals as a unit have 352 base hits, including 69 doubles and 37 homers. Kansas City has walked 116 times this year and they have struck out on 277 occasions. They have had 282 men left on base and have an OPS of .723. They have scored 4.15 runs per game and totaled 162 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Rays/Royals MLB game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Rays +105

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