Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 6/22/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Monday, June 22, 2026

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: MLB.TV

Odds/Point Spread: Kansas City (+125) Tampa Bay (-145)

The Kansas City Royals (32-45) are hitting the road to Tropicana Field on Monday where they will try to beat the Tampa Bay Rays (42-30). The line on this matchup has the Royals at +125 while the Rays are at -145. The over/under comes in at 8. The pitchers who are expected to start will be Michael Wacha and Drew Rasmussen.

Kansas City is slugging .392 and have struck out 607 times, while drawing a walk on 263 occasions. They have compiled 308 runs batted in in addition to 637 base knocks so far this season, and their batting average sits at .247. The Royals have tallied 137 doubles as a team and have hit 73 baseballs out of the park. They are sitting with 321 runs while holding a team on-base percentage of .320. As a unit, the Kansas City Royals are earning 4.2 runs per game, which has them at 21st in baseball.

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The Royals hold a team earned run average of 4.48 so far this year (21st in baseball), and they have rung up 598 batters. Royals pitchers have surrendered 93 home runs in addition to 363 runs (20th in MLB). They have walked 292 players from the other team and their FIP is 4.50 as a squad for the year. Kansas City has yielded 651 base knocks (8.6 per 9 innings) and 339 earned runs. They have a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.05 and their pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.38.

Royals relief pitchers have gone to the mound with players on base 51 times in addition to having 82 appearances in high leverage situations. The relievers are sitting with 31 holds this season (25th in baseball). The Royals relief pitchers have a save percentage of 55.6% and have entered the game in 67 save situations. They have earned 20 saves on the campaign and have blown 16 of 36 save chances. The relief pitchers have inherited 69 base runners for the year and 36.2% of them earned a run for their team. The Royals have dispatched 242 relief pitchers to the hill over the course of the season.

The Royals have turned 69.9% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 6,132 innings on the diamond, which ranks them 16th in pro baseball. The Kansas City Royals have a total of 2,044 putouts this year, as well as 669 assists and 33 errors. Their fielding rate is holding steady at .988 which puts them in 9th in MLB, and they have turned 65 double plays.

Wacha has pitched in 1,721 innings and has accounted for 1,488 strikeouts during his career. Wacha (115-80 career record) has earned a FIP of 3.82 and he has gone up against 7,228 batters during his time in the major leagues. His ERA is 3.87 (741 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.269. He has conceded 1,653 base hits (8.6 hits per nine innings) and has 531 walks.

Tampa Bay has recorded 60 HRs so far this year as well as 305 runs batted in. They have put up 99 doubles, while taking a walk 261 times as well as scoring 320 runs. The Tampa Bay Rays have a team OBP of .333 in addition to a batting average of .256 for the season. The Rays hold a slugging % of .381 and they average 4.44 runs per game (16th in baseball). They have struck out on 520 occasions (30th in baseball) and have tallied 616 base hits.

The Rays hold a team WHIP of 1.236 and are the owners of a FIP of 4.18 as a staff on the campaign. They are sitting at 6th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits given up with 579. The Tampa Bay pitching staff have relinquished 312 runs for the year while having a team ERA of 3.92 (280 earned runs relinquished). They have earned a K/BB ratio of 8.00 (570 strikeouts against 216 bases on balls). They have allowed 86 home runs and they concede 4.37 runs per 9 innings (12th in baseball).

With 94 save situations, the Rays have recorded 53 holds in addition to 12 blown saves. Tampa Bay has called on relievers to step onto the mound in 41 save opportunities and they have earned 29 saves. Tampa Bay relievers have an inherited score rate of 25.3% out of their 91 inherited base runners. Their relief pitchers have come in 79 times in high leverage situations and on 65 occasions with runners on base. They are ranked 8th in the league holding a save percentage of 70.7%, and they have sent 229 relief pitchers to the hill so far this season.

In their 5,787 innings played, the Rays are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 71.2% (6th in the majors). The Tampa Bay Rays have gotten 47 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .983 (24th in baseball). The Rays have accrued 592 assists, 44 errors and have a tally of 1,929 putouts during this campaign.

In his MLB career, Rasmussen has surrendered 429 hits while he has tallied 512 K's in 540 frames. He has conceded 171 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.039 and a FIP of 2.8. He has a K/BB ratio of 3.88 and he has faced 2,148 batters during his MLB career. Rasmussen (36-20 career win-loss mark) holds a 2.85 ERA and has allowed 7.1 hits per 9 innings.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Kansas City (+125)

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