Tampa Bay Rays vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, 4/21/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: Bally Sports Kansas City

Odds/Point Spread: Tampa Bay (-109) Kansas City (-101)

Jakob Junis and the Kansas City Royals (9-6, 1st in AL Central) host the Tampa Bay Rays (9-8, 2nd in AL East) at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday. The line on this contest has the Rays coming in at -109 and the Royals are at -101. The O/U opens at 8. The pitchers who are expected to start will be Michael Wacha and Jakob Junis.

Tampa Bay is slugging .364 and have been called out on strikes 177 times, while taking a walk on 59 occasions. They have amassed 65 RBI's in addition to 126 hits on the campaign, while their average at the plate is sitting at .220. The Rays have accrued 30 two-baggers as a squad and have hit 17 balls out of the park. They have accumulated 72 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .302. As a team, the Tampa Bay Rays are compiling 4.2 runs per game, which has them at 15th in baseball.

The Rays are sitting with a team earned run average of 4.20 on the campaign (18th in MLB), and the staff has rung up 161 batters. They have walked 47 players from the other team and their FIP is 3.40 as a team on the campaign. They have accumulated a K/BB ratio of 3.43 and the pitching staff holds a WHIP of 1.21. Rays pitchers have conceded 16 home runs and 82 runs in total (26th in baseball).

The Rays relief pitchers have earned a save percentage of 55.6% and has stepped onto the mound in 22 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 21 runners on the year with 28.6% of those runners crossed the plate. Rays pitchers have entered the contest with opponents on base 17 times and also have had 28 appearances in high leverage situations. The Rays have sent 55 relief pitchers to the hill on the campaign. The bullpen have recorded 13 holds on the year (3rd in MLB). They have 5 saves on the campaign and have not converted 4 of 9 chances to save the game.

The Tampa Bay Rays have 464 putouts on the year, as well as 150 assists and 7 errors. Their fielding percentage is currently at .989 which puts them in 6th in baseball, and they have twisted 103 double plays. The Rays have turned 68.6% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 1,392 innings, which has them ranked 21st in pro baseball.

Wacha (61-44 record in his career) has a FIP of 3.99 while he has faced 3,910 batters during his time in the majors. He has conceded 907 hits (8.9 hits per 9 innings) and has had 315 walks. His ERA is 4.02 (409 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.333. Wacha has taken the hill for 916 innings and has earned 816 strikeouts during his career.

The Kansas City Royals are sitting with a team OBP of .308 and a batting average of .239 so far this year. They have been called out on strikes on 131 occasions (24th in MLB) and have totaled 114 hits. Kansas City has 13 home runs on the year as well as 58 runs batted in. The Royals have a team SLG% of .382 and they earn 4.20 runs per game (16th in baseball). They have 23 two-baggers, while taking a walk 46 times and earning 63 runs.

The Royals hold a team WHIP of 1.331 with a FIP of 3.78 as a staff this season. Their K/BB ratio sits at 2.41 (130 strikeouts vs 54 free passes). They are currently ranked 14th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits allowed with 119. They have surrendered 13 dingers and they relinquish 4.36 runs per 9 innings (13th in the league). The Kansas City pitching staff have conceded 63 runs on the year while having a team ERA of 3.81 (55 earned runs yielded).

With 18 save situations, the Royals have 10 holds and 2 blown saves. Kansas City has called on relief pitchers to enter the contest in 8 save opportunities and they have recorded 6 saves. Their relief pitchers have come in 21 times in high leverage situations and also on 19 occasions with base runners. Kansas City bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 15.6% out of 32 inherited base runners. They are ranked 9th in MLB with a save percentage of 75.0%, and they have sent 55 relievers to the mound on the campaign.

In their 1,170 innings on the diamond, the Royals have earned a efficiency on defense of 68.1% (26th in MLB). The Kansas City Royals have turned 13 double plays and have accounted for a fielding rate of .979 (25th in MLB). The Royals have accrued 113 assists, 11 errors and have earned a total of 390 putouts this year.

During his MLB career, Junis has allowed 518 base knocks while totaling 442 strikeouts in 488 frames. Junis (28-31 career mark) has earned a 4.70 ERA while allowing 9.6 hits per nine innings. He has conceded a total of 255 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.338 and a FIP of 4.7. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.27 and he has gone up against 2,111 opposing batters during his career.

Who will win tonight's baseball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Kansas City (-101)

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