Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals Expert MLB Picks 5/2/2019

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Kauffman Stadium

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Charlie Morton vs. Danny Duffy

The Tampa Bay Rays visit Kauffman Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2019 to play the Kansas City Royals. The probable starters are Charlie Morton for the Rays and Danny Duffy for the Royals.

The opening line for this matchup has Tampa Bay at -147 and Kansas City at +137. The Rays have a 12-15-1 over/under record and a 19-9-0 run line mark. The Royals are 15-14-0 against the run line and have a 18-10-1 over/under record.

Valuable Tampa Bay Rays Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Rays are 12-15-1 against the over/under

The Tampa Bay Rays are 19-9-0 against the run line

Important Kansas City Royals Betting Trends

The Kansas City Royals are 18-10-1 against the over/under

The Kansas City Royals are 15-14-0 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)
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 19-9 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Charlie Morton has a 3-0 record with an earned run average of 2.76 and a WHIP of 1.13 this season. He has 39 strikeouts over his 32.2 innings pitched and he's given up 21 hits. He's allowed 5.8 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 3.36. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.86 and they have given up 115 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .236 against the bullpen and they've struck out 137 hitters and walked 48 batters. As a team, Tampa Bay allows 7 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 2.95. The Rays pitchers collectively have given up 199 base hits and 84 earned runs. They have allowed 28 home runs this season, ranking them 27th in the league. Tampa Bay as a pitching staff has walked 81 batters and struck out 280. They have walked 2.8 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.09 and their FIP as a unit is 3.38.

Hitting Statistics

As a team Tampa Bay is hitting .257, good for 11th in the league. The Rays hold a .444 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .338, which is good for 10th in baseball. They rank 9th in MLB with 8.8 hits per game. Brandon Lowe is hitting .289 with an on-base percentage of .350. He has 26 hits this season in 90 at bats with 17 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .567 and an OPS+ of 145. Tommy Pham is hitting .294 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .416. He has totaled 30 hits and he has driven in 12 men in 102 at bats. His OPS+ is 140 while his slugging percentage is at .461. The Rays have 246 hits, including 51 doubles and 35 home runs. Tampa Bay has walked 110 times so far this season and they have struck out 276 times as a unit. They have left 208 men on base and have a team OPS of .782. They score 4.82 runs per contest and have scored a total of 135 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Kansas City has a 9-20 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 5.40, Danny Duffy has a 0-1 record and a 1.60 WHIP. He has 1 strikeouts over the 5 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 5 hits. He's allowing 9 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 7.11. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.29 and they have given up 109 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .276 against the Royals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 95 batters and walked 52 opposing hitters. As a team, Kansas City allows 9.3 hits per nine innings while striking out 8 batters per nine innings. They are 28th in the league in team earned run average at 5.39. The Royals pitchers as a team have surrendered 265 base knocks and 153 earned runs this season. They have given up 35 home runs this year, which ranks 19th in Major League Baseball. Kansas City as a staff has walked 116 hitters and struck out 226 batters. They give up a walk 4.1 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.49 while their FIP as a staff is 4.72.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .241, good for 18th in the league. The Royals hold a .422 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .315, which is good for 19th in baseball. They rank 17th in MLB with 8.1 hits per contest. Whit Merrifield comes into this matchup batting .288 with an OBP of .346. He has 34 hits this year along with 11 RBI in 118 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .483 with an OPS+ of 121. Jorge Soler is hitting .227 this season and he has an OBP of .283. He has collected 25 hits in 110 at bats while driving in 17 runs. He has an OPS+ of 101 and a slugging percentage of .482. The Royals as a unit have 235 base hits, including 44 doubles and 34 homers. Kansas City has walked 101 times this year and they have struck out on 249 occasions. They have had 191 men left on base and have an OPS of .737. They have scored 4.55 runs per game and totaled 132 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Royals +137

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Josh Schonwald