Tampa Bay Rays vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, 6/26/2025 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Thursday, June 26, 2025

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City

Odds/Point Spread: Tampa Bay (-130) Kansas City (+110)

The Tampa Bay Rays (44-35) are headed to Kauffman Stadium on Thursday where they will play the Kansas City Royals (38-41). The odds on this game have Tampa Bay at -130 while Kansas City is sitting at +110. The over/under is 8.5. The pitchers who are expected to start will be Shane Baz and Michael Lorenzen.

As a squad, the Tampa Bay Rays are notching 4.8 runs per game, which has them sitting at 6th in the league. They have tallied 371 runs while having a team on-base percentage of .323. The Rays have hit 125 doubles as a unit and have knocked 84 baseballs out of the stadium. They have recorded 352 runs batted in as well as 671 hits on the campaign, and their average at the plate is at .256. Tampa Bay is slugging .404 and have been called out on strikes 654 times, while drawing a walk on 244 occasions.

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They have accumulated a K/BB ratio of 2.96 and the pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.18. Rays pitchers have yielded 103 long balls and 301 runs in total (8th in MLB). Tampa Bay has allowed 613 hits (7.9 per 9 innings) and 279 earned runs. The Rays have an earned run average of 3.59 so far this season (8th in baseball), and their staff has rung up 634 batters. They have walked 214 opposing players and their FIP comes in at 4.24 as a squad this year.

The Rays have sent 246 relief pitchers to the mound over the course of the season. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 76 runners on the season with 40.8% of those runners ended up crossing the plate. They have recorded 17 saves for the year and have missed out on 10 out of their 27 save opportunities. The Rays relief pitchers have recorded a save rate of 63.0% and have come into the game in 74 save situations. The relief pitchers have a total of 46 holds on the campaign (15th in baseball). Rays pitchers have gone to the mound with runners on base 51 times and also have had 71 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Rays have transformed 71.7% of balls hit into play into outs in their 6,294 innings on the diamond, which ranks them 3rd in baseball. The Tampa Bay Rays have a tally of 2,098 putouts at this point in the season, in addition to 723 assists and 37 errors. Their fielding rate is holding steady at .987 which is 10th in the majors, and have accumulated 85 double plays.

Baz (14-8 career win-loss mark) has a FIP of 3.92 while facing 837 opposing hitters in the majors. He has given up 166 hits (7.4 hits per 9 innings) and has 73 walks. His ERA is 3.98 (89 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.187. Baz has pitched in 201 frames and is sitting with 194 K's in his pro baseball career.

The Kansas City Royals have earned a team OBP of .301 as well as a batting average of .247 on the year. They have been called out on strikes on 527 occasions (29th in baseball) and have accounted for 646 base hits. Kansas City has a total of 56 home runs so far this year as well as 258 RBIs. The Royals hold a team SLG% of .371 and they average 3.36 runs per game (29th in baseball). They have recorded 127 doubles, while taking a walk 187 times as well as putting up 262 runs.

The Royals hold a team WHIP of 1.210 with a FIP of 3.75 as a pitching staff so far this year. They come in at 10th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits given up with 612. The Kansas City pitching staff have given up 283 runs this year while having an ERA of 3.41 (263 earned runs surrendered). They currently have a K/BB ratio of 8.20 (631 strikeouts vs 228 bases on balls). They have conceded 75 home runs and they surrender 3.67 runs per 9 innings (2nd in MLB).

Kansas City has had relief pitchers enter the game in 34 save opportunities and they have come away with 25 saves. They rank 3rd in MLB with a save rate of 73.5%, and they have dispatched 252 bullpen pitchers to the hill over the course of the season. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill 94 times in high leverage situations in addition to 78 occasions with base runners. Kansas City relief pitchers hold an inherited score rate of 30.9% of 110 inherited base runners. Sitting with 79 save situations, the Royals have amassed 45 holds and 9 blown saves.

The Kansas City Royals have gotten 63 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .988 (6th in MLB). The Royals have accrued 700 assists, 33 errors and have earned 2,082 putouts on the campaign. In 6,246 innings played, the Royals hold a defensive efficiency of 71.0% (7th in baseball).

In his pro baseball career, Lorenzen has given up 857 base hits while he has totaled 768 K's in 936 innings pitched. Lorenzen (51-51 career record) is the owner of a 4.07 earned run average while giving up 8.2 hits per nine innings. He has given up 423 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.317 and having a FIP of 4.0. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.04 and he has gone up against 3,965 batters in his MLB career.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-130)

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