Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals Expert MLB Picks 4/29/2019

Monday, April 29, 2019

Kauffman Stadium

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Yonny Chirinos vs. Brad Keller

The Tampa Bay Rays visit Kauffman Stadium on Monday, April 29, 2019 to play the Kansas City Royals. The probable starters are Yonny Chirinos for the Rays and Brad Keller for the Royals.

The opening line for this matchup has Tampa Bay at -124 and Kansas City at +114. The Rays have a 11-14-1 over/under record and a 17-9-0 run line mark. The Royals are 15-12-0 against the run line and have a 16-10-1 over/under record.

Valuable Tampa Bay Rays Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Rays are 11-14-1 against the over/under

The Tampa Bay Rays are 17-9-0 against the run line

Important Kansas City Royals Betting Trends

The Kansas City Royals are 16-10-1 against the over/under

The Kansas City Royals are 15-12-0 against the run line

Key Tampa Bay Rays Injuries

04/26/19 P Hunter Wood Paternity List is out indefinitely
04/26/19 2B Joey Wendle Wrist 10-day IL (04/25)
04/21/19 CF Austin Meadows Thumb 10-day IL (04/21)
03/30/19 P Anthony Banda Elbow 10-day IL (03/28)
03/28/19 P Jose De Leon Elbow 60-day IL (03/28)
03/28/19 3B Matt Duffy Hamstring 10-day IL (03/25)

Key Kansas City Royals Injuries

04/27/19 1B Lucas Duda Back 10-day IL (04/24)
04/26/19 P Jakob Junis Undisclosed left last game, is questionable for next start
03/25/19 C Salvador Perez Elbow is out for season
03/25/19 P Trevor Oaks Hip 60-day IL (03/25)
03/25/19 P Brian Flynn Elbow 10-day IL (03/25)
03/25/19 P Eric Skoglund Suspension 80 game suspension
03/25/19 P Jesse Hahn Elbow 60-day IL (03/25)

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Rays have a 17-9 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Yonny Chirinos has a 3-0 record with an earned run average of 3.55 and a WHIP of 0.91 this season. He has 22 strikeouts over his 25.1 innings pitched and he's given up 18 hits. He's allowed 6.4 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 4.55. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.95 and they have given up 110 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .243 against the bullpen and they've struck out 127 hitters and walked 46 batters. As a team, Tampa Bay allows 7.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.8 batters per nine innings. They are 1st in the league in team earned run average at 2.99. The Rays pitchers collectively have given up 187 base hits and 79 earned runs. They have allowed 26 home runs this season, ranking them 27th in the league. Tampa Bay as a pitching staff has walked 78 batters and struck out 260. They have walked 2.9 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.11 and their FIP as a unit is 3.44.

Hitting Statistics

As a team Tampa Bay is hitting .258, good for 9th in the league. The Rays hold a .446 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .338, which is good for 9th in baseball. They rank 8th in MLB with 8.8 hits per game. Brandon Lowe is hitting .291 with an on-base percentage of .347. He has 25 hits this season in 86 at bats with 17 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .581 and an OPS+ of 145. Tommy Pham is hitting .305 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .422. He has totaled 29 hits and he has driven in 10 men in 95 at bats. His OPS+ is 141 while his slugging percentage is at .463. The Rays have 230 hits, including 46 doubles and 34 home runs. Tampa Bay has walked 101 times so far this season and they have struck out 261 times as a unit. They have left 198 men on base and have a team OPS of .784. They score 4.69 runs per contest and have scored a total of 122 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Kansas City has a 9-18 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 3.41, Brad Keller has a 2-2 record and a 1.24 WHIP. He has 29 strikeouts over the 37 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 26 hits. He's allowing 6.3 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 4.48. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.11 and they have given up 101 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .274 against the Royals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 90 batters and walked 49 opposing hitters. As a team, Kansas City allows 9.3 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.2 batters per nine innings. They are 25th in the league in team earned run average at 5.23. The Royals pitchers as a team have surrendered 245 base knocks and 138 earned runs this season. They have given up 34 home runs this year, which ranks 14th in Major League Baseball. Kansas City as a staff has walked 110 hitters and struck out 217 batters. They give up a walk 4.2 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.2 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.50 while their FIP as a staff is 4.78.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .246, good for 17th in the league. The Royals hold a .433 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .320, which is good for 19th in baseball. They rank 17th in MLB with 8.3 hits per contest. Whit Merrifield comes into this matchup batting .300 with an OBP of .355. He has 33 hits this year along with 11 RBI in 110 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .509 with an OPS+ of 128. Jorge Soler is hitting .233 this season and he has an OBP of .295. He has collected 24 hits in 103 at bats while driving in 15 runs. He has an OPS+ of 101 and a slugging percentage of .476. The Royals as a unit have 224 base hits, including 43 doubles and 33 homers. Kansas City has walked 95 times this year and they have struck out on 232 occasions. They have had 179 men left on base and have an OPS of .754. They have scored 4.59 runs per game and totaled 124 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Royals +114

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