Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 6/23/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: MLB.TV

Odds/Point Spread: Kansas City (+106) Tampa Bay (-128)

The Kansas City Royals (32-46) are on their way to Tropicana Field on Tuesday where they will attempt to beat the Tampa Bay Rays (43-31). The odds on this game have Kansas City at +106 and Tampa Bay is priced at -128. The total has been set at 9. The men taking the mound are Luinder Avila and Shane McClanahan.

As a squad, the Kansas City Royals are scoring 4.2 runs per game, which is 21st in MLB. They have earned 331 runs while having a team on-base percentage of .321. The Royals have hit 137 doubles as a unit and have knocked 77 balls out of the park. They have 318 runs batted in and 649 base knocks on the season, while their average at the plate is .248. Kansas City owns a slugging percentage of .395 and have been called out on strikes 616 times, while taking a walk on 267 occasions.

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The Royals are sitting with a team ERA of 4.58 on the campaign (24th in baseball), and the staff has struck out 605 hitters. Royals pitchers have yielded 97 home runs in addition to 375 total runs (22nd in baseball). They have walked 295 players from the other team and their FIP sits at 4.57 as a unit this season. Kansas City has given up 667 hits (8.7 per 9 innings) as well as 351 earned runs. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.05 and the pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.39.

The Royals relief pitchers have accumulated a save rate of 55.6% and have stepped onto the mound in 67 save situations. They have tallied 20 saves over the course of the season and have blown 16 out of their 36 save opportunities. The relief pitchers have inherited 71 runners on the season and 35.2% of them crossing home plate. Royals pitchers have entered the game with opponents on base 53 times and also have had 82 appearances in high leverage situations. The Royals have sent 247 relief pitchers to the hill on the campaign. The relievers have a total of 31 holds on the season (26th in the league).

The Royals have converted 69.7% of baseballs in play into outs out of 6,213 innings on the field, which has them ranked 20th in MLB. The Kansas City Royals have earned 2,071 putouts so far this season, as well as 681 assists and 33 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .988 which has them ranked 8th in professional baseball, and they have turned 66 double plays.

Avila has taken the ball for 51 innings and is sitting with 49 strikeouts so far in his career. Avila (3-4 win-loss record in his career) sits with a FIP of 4.33 while he has faced 221 opposing hitters during his time in the major leagues. His earned run average is 4.39 (25 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.465. He has conceded 46 hits (8.1 hits per 9 innings) with 29 walks.

The Rays hold a slugging % of .383 and they average 4.42 runs per outing (16th in the league). They have recorded 104 doubles, while walking 269 times as well as scoring 327 runs. Tampa Bay has a total of 62 HRs so far this year as well as 312 runs batted in. They have struck out on 540 occasions (30th in the league) and have 635 base hits. The Tampa Bay Rays are sitting with a team on-base percentage of .334 as well as a batting average of .256 on the campaign.

The Rays hold a team WHIP of 1.231 with a FIP of 4.19 as a unit on the year. They sit at 6th in baseball as a staff in total hits surrendered with 595. The Tampa Bay pitching staff have surrendered 319 runs on the season while holding an ERA of 3.91 (287 earned runs given up). Their K/BB ratio sits at 8.00 (587 strikeouts vs 219 bases on balls). They have relinquished 89 long balls and they yield 4.34 runs per 9 innings (11th in the league).

Tampa Bay relief pitchers have an inherited score rate of 25.3% out of their 91 inherited base runners. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the mound 81 times in high leverage situations and also on 65 occasions with runners on. Sitting with 96 save situations, the Rays have compiled 54 holds and also 12 blown saves. They sit at 8th in baseball with a save percentage of 71.4%, and they have dispatched 235 bullpen pitchers to the hill this season.

In 5,949 innings on the field, the Rays have a defensive efficiency of 71.2% (5th in the majors). The Tampa Bay Rays have gotten 48 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .983 (22nd in pro baseball). The Rays have 602 assists, 44 errors and have accumulated 1,983 putouts for the season.

During his MLB career, McClanahan has given up 387 base knocks while totaling 525 strikeouts in 471 frames. McClanahan (39-20 career record) has earned a 3.07 earned run average while allowing 7.4 hits per 9 innings. He has allowed 161 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.124 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.0. He has a K/BB ratio of 3.67 and he has faced 1,914 hitters in his MLB career.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-128)

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