Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 5/1/2025 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Thursday, May 1, 2025

Location: George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun

Odds/Point Spread: Kansas City (-160) Tampa Bay (+132)

George M. Steinbrenner Field is the site where the Tampa Bay Rays (14-15) will compete against the Kansas City Royals (15-15) on Thursday. The moneyline on this contest has the Royals at -160 while the Rays are coming in at +132. The over/under is 8. The pitchers who are expected to start are Seth Lugo and Shane Baz.

The Royals have hit 50 two-baggers as a team and have smacked 13 baseballs out of the stadium. Kansas City has a slugging % of .325 and have been rung up 219 times, while drawing a walk on 81 occasions. As a unit, the Kansas City Royals are notching 3.1 runs per outing, which has them sitting at 30th in baseball. They have accrued 94 runs batted in in addition to 220 base knocks this season, and their team batting average is at .226. They have notched a total of 94 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .289.

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They have accumulated a K/BB ratio of 2.52 and the pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.22. Royals pitchers have conceded 27 long balls in addition to 108 total runs (7th in baseball). Kansas City has conceded 226 hits (7.6 per 9 innings) in addition to 98 earned runs. The Royals are sitting with a team ERA of 3.31 this year (6th in MLB), and their staff has struck out 247 hitters. They have walked 98 opposing batters and their FIP sits at 3.72 as a squad on the year.

The Royals relief pitchers have a save percentage of 71.4% and have entered the game in 30 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 28 base runners this year with 39.3% of those runners crossed home plate. Royals pitchers have come into the game with players on base 22 times in addition to having 32 appearances in high leverage situations. The Royals have dispatched 92 relievers to the mound for the year. The relief pitchers have racked up 16 holds so far this season (20th in MLB). They have accumulated 10 saves on the season and have blown 4 out of their 14 save chances.

The Royals have transformed 71.5% of balls in play into outs out of 2,397 innings on the field, which has them sitting at 8th in MLB. The Houston Astros have earned 799 putouts at this point in the season, as well as 276 assists and 12 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .989 which puts them in 6th in MLB, and have earned 23 double plays.

Lugo has taken the hill for 885 innings and has accumulated 858 punch outs thus far in his career. His ERA is 3.37 (331 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.150. He has allowed 785 base knocks (8.0 hits per nine innings) and has had 233 free passes. Lugo (58-43 win-loss record in his career) has earned a FIP of 3.31 while he has gone up against 3,635 hitters in the major leagues.

Tampa Bay has accumulated 26 home runs this season as well as 114 RBIs. They have recorded 50 doubles, while taking a walk 91 times and racking up 119 runs. The Tampa Bay Rays have accumulated a team OBP of .317 and a batting average of .252 so far this year. The Rays hold a team slugging percentage of .390 and they earn 4.10 runs per game (18th in baseball). They have been called out on strikes on 246 occasions (14th in the league) and are sitting with 245 base hits.

The Rays have a WHIP of 1.141 and have a FIP of 4.19 as a team so far this year. They have earned a K/BB ratio of 8.50 (247 strikeouts vs 81 free passes). They have a ranking of 7th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits relinquished with 217. They have conceded 39 HR's and they give up 3.69 runs per 9 innings (7th in baseball). The Tampa Bay pitching staff have conceded 107 runs on the year while holding an ERA of 3.45 (100 earned runs surrendered).

Tampa Bay has had relief pitchers enter the game in 11 save chances and they have come away with 8 saves. They are ranked 10th in baseball holding a save rate of 72.7%, and they have sent 90 relief pitchers to the mound on the year. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 28 times in high leverage situations and also on 10 occasions with base runners. Tampa Bay relievers hold an inherited score percentage of 46.2% out of their 13 inherited runners. Sitting with 25 save situations, the Rays have earned 14 holds in addition to 3 blown saves.

The Tampa Bay Rays have turned 33 double plays and own a fielding percentage of .990 (5th in pro baseball). The Rays have recorded 273 assists, 11 errors and have amassed 785 putouts for the season. Out of their 2,355 innings played, the Rays have a efficiency on defense of 72.9% (4th in the majors).

So far in his pro baseball career, Baz has surrendered 110 base knocks while tallying 153 K's in 148 innings. He has given up a total of 53 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.065 and having a FIP of 3.2. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.19 and he has faced 599 hitters in his pro baseball career. Baz (10-5 record in his career) holds a 3.22 ERA while giving up 6.7 hits per nine innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Kansas City (-160)

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