The Kansas City Royals (3-7) visit the Texas Rangers (5-4) on Monday night! First pitch commences at 8:06 p.m. ET. Below we continue our MLB odds series with a Royals-Rangers prediction, pick, and how to watch.
Here are the Royals-Rangers MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Royals-Rangers Odds
Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-137)
Texas Rangers: -1.5 (+114)
Over: 9 (-105)
Under: 9 (-115)
How To Watch Royals vs. Rangers
TV: Bally Sports
Stream: MLB.tv
Time: 8:05 p.m. ET/ 5:05 p.m. PT
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Why The Royals Could Cover The Spread
Record & Standing: 3-7 (Fourth in AL Central)
Run Line Record: 3-7 (30%)
Over Record: 4-6 (40%)
Kansas City travels to Texas tonight fresh off a 2-1 series win over San Francisco. The Royals lost six of their first seven games before taking the series against the Giants. Still, after a disastrous 2022 campaign, the Royals haven’t looked much better. Their offense looks particularly troublesome as Kansas City averaged the second-fewest runs per game thus far. Things don’t get much easier tonight as they take on a Rangers squad against whom they complied a 2-4 record against last season. Still, the Royals’ pitching looks sharp thus far although they face arguably their toughest test of the year against the Rangers’ high-powered offense.
Veteran Zack Greinke (0-2) makes his third start of the season tonight for the Royals. Although the former Cy Young winner factored into two losses in his first two starts, he didn’t look bad by any means. Greinke gave up just three runs across his 11.1 innings of work although he allowed 14 hits. Still, his performance did not warrant consecutive losses. His offense offered little support as the Royals failed to score in either of his previous two starts. After a solid 2022 campaign, the veteran looks locked and loaded entering his 20th season. Additionally, Greinke locked down the Rangers last season, giving up a single run in six innings of work before receiving the win in his lone start against Texas.
Kansas City needs their offense to find its groove if they want to cover tonight. While 22-year-old phenom Bobby Witt Jr. struggled early on, catcher Salvador Perez enters tonight red-hot. With hits in all but one game this season and home runs in two of his last three games, look for the veteran catcher to make a big impact tonight.
Why The Rangers Could Cover The Spread
Record & Standing: 5-4 (T-First in AL West)
Run Line Record: 4-5 (44%)
Over Record: 5-4 (56%)
Texas rushed out of the gates quickly this season as they swept the Phillies in their first series. Since, however, they followed that success up with back-to-back series losses to the Orioles and Cubs. That being said, the Rangers won both series against the Royals last season and thus hold a strong chance to cover tonight. They were particularly potent on offense early on, averaging the eighth-most runs per game.
Veteran Andrew Heaney (0-1) makes his second start of the season tonight. The southpaw put together a strong season with the Dodgers last year before making the move to Texas. In 16 starts, Heaney compiled a 4-4 record to go along with a stellar .310 ERA. That marked arguably the most impressive season in his 10-year career. That being said, Heaney got off to a horrendous start this season. He lasted just 2.2 innings against the Orioles thanks to allowing seven earned runs. Still, after his strong finish to 2022, Heaney deserves the benefit of the doubt. While he did allow two runs in just three innings against the Royals last season, a date with Kansas City may just be what Heaney needs to get his season on track. Considering the Royals averaged the second-fewest runs per game thus far, Heaney lines up for a successful second start.
If the Rangers are going to cover as home favorites tonight they will need shortstop Corey Seager to rekindle some of his LA magic. Seager struggled somewhat in his inaugural season with the Rangers last year. The long-time Dodger batted a career-low .245 but managed to appear in 150 games for just the second time in his career. It looked like Seager traded average for power as his 33 home runs marked a career-high. He hasn’t found success in either department thus far as Seager batted .273 and failed to record a home run in his first nine games this season. That being said, he faces a familiar foe tonight in Greinke – against whom he holds a .548 on-base percentage and three home runs in 22 career at-bats.
Final Royals-Rangers Prediction & Pick
Only two of Kansas City’s games have gone over nine runs this season. Given their subpar offense and the recent success of both Greinke and Heaney, I expect this to be a relatively low-scoring affair.
Final Royals-Rangers Prediction & Pick: Under 9 Runs (-115)
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