Kansas City Royals vs New York Mets Prediction, 7/9/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs New York Mets

Date: Thursday, July 9, 2026

Location: Citi Field in Queens, NY

TV: Sportsnet New York

Odds/Point Spread: Kansas City (+120) New York (-144)

Citi Field is the location where the New York Mets (38-54) will meet the Kansas City Royals (38-54) on Thursday. The line on this matchup has the Royals at +120 while the Mets are coming in at -144. The total comes in at 9. The expected starting pitchers are Michael Wacha and Sean Manaea.

The Royals have accumulated 167 doubles as a squad and have smacked 93 balls out of the park. Kansas City has a slugging % of .398 and have struck out 740 times, while drawing a walk on 303 occasions. As a squad, the Kansas City Royals are notching 4.4 runs/g, which is 19th in the league. They have 381 RBI's as well as 768 base knocks so far this season, while their average at the plate comes in at .248. They have tallied 400 runs scored and hold an on-base percentage of .319.

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They have accrued a K/BB ratio of 1.99 and their pitching staff holds a WHIP of 1.44. Royals pitchers have yielded 118 long balls in addition to 467 runs in total (26th in MLB). Kansas City has allowed 820 hits (9.1 per 9 innings) in addition to 437 earned runs. The Royals hold a team earned run average of 4.84 on the year (28th in baseball), and their staff has rung up 703 batters. They have walked 353 batters and their FIP sits at 4.69 as a team so far this season.

Royals pitchers have come into the game with players on base 64 times and also have had 91 appearances in high leverage situations. The bullpen have 38 holds this season (25th in baseball). The Royals relievers have compiled a save rate of 59.0% and stepped onto the hill in 77 save situations. They have earned 23 saves so far this year and have blown 16 out of their 39 save opportunities. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 91 base runners so far this year with 34.1% of those runners crossing home plate. The Royals have dispatched 299 relief pitchers to the hill so far this year.

The Royals have transformed 68.8% of balls hit into play into outs in their 7,314 innings, which has them ranked 27th in baseball. The Kansas City Royals have accounted for 2,438 putouts at this point in the season, as well as 820 assists and 43 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding at .987 which ranks 11th in MLB, and have a total of 80 double plays.

Wacha has taken the hill for 1,741 innings and has earned 1,507 strikeouts so far in his MLB career. Wacha (116-81 record in his career) has a FIP of 3.80 and he has gone up against 7,310 opposing hitters in the majors. His ERA is 3.86 (747 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.267. He has surrendered 1,673 hits (8.6 hits per nine innings) with 534 walks.

The New York Mets have earned an OBP of .302 and a batting average of .233 on the campaign. They have struck out on 759 instances (18th in MLB) and have earned 723 base knocks. New York has 107 home runs so far this season as well as 364 RBIs. The Mets hold a slugging percentage of .381 and they are recording 4.14 runs per contest (23rd in MLB). They have recorded 112 two-baggers, while taking a walk 281 times as well as putting up 381 runs.

The Mets hold a team WHIP of 1.321 in addition to having a FIP of 4.05 as a squad over the course of the season. They currently have a K/BB ratio of 9.30 (844 strikeouts vs 333 walks). They have a ranking of 18th in baseball as a staff in total hits allowed with 749. They have surrendered 101 HR's and they yield 4.89 runs per 9 innings (20th in the league). The New York pitching staff have conceded 445 runs on the campaign while having a team ERA of 4.41 (401 earned runs given up).

With 61 save situations, the Mets have accumulated 34 holds and 11 blown saves. New York has had bullpen pitchers enter the game in 27 save opportunities and they have tallied 16 saves. New York bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 30.9% of 123 inherited runners. Their relievers have stepped onto the mound 102 times in high leverage situations and also on 92 occasions with base runners. They are currently ranked 21st in the league holding a save rate of 59.3%, and they have dispatched 285 relievers onto the field over the course of the season.

In their 7,377 innings on the field, the Mets are sitting with a efficiency on defense of 69.1% (23rd in MLB). The New York Mets have gotten 52 double plays and have accounted for a fielding rate of .982 (28th in MLB). The Mets have 745 assists, 60 errors and are sitting with 2,459 putouts on the campaign.

Thus far in his career, Manaea has surrendered 1,220 base hits while he has accumulated 1,252 punch outs in 1,313 innings. He has conceded a total of 604 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.211 and having a FIP of 4.1. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.38 and he has gone up against 5,499 batters during his MLB career. Manaea (80-70 mark in his career) has a 4.14 ERA and has allowed 8.4 hits per 9 innings.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take New York (-144)

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