Kansas City Royals at Tampa Bay Rays odds, picks and predictions (2024)

The Kansas City Royals (32-19) and Tampa Bay Rays (25-26) meet Friday to open a 3-game series. First pitch from Tropicana Field is set for 6:50 p.m. ET. Let’s analyzeFanDuel Sportsbook’slines around the Royals vs. Rays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.

Season series: First meeting; Tampa Bay won 4-3 last season

Kansas City beat the Detroit Tigers 8-3 Wednesday while covering as a +102 home underdog. KC has scored at least 8 runs in each of its last 4 games. The Royals have won 6 consecutive games with all 6 being at home.

Tampa Bay lost 8-5 to the Boston Red Sox Wednesday while failing to cover as a -143 home favorite. The Rays have dropped 4 straight, including their last 3 home games. Tampa has allowed at least 5 runs in each of the 4 losses.

Royals at Rays projected starters

RHP Seth Lugo vs. RHP Shawn Armstrong

Lugo (7-1, 1.79 ERA) makes his 11th start. He has a 0.98 WHIP, 1.8 BB/9 and 8.0 K/9 in 65 1/3 IP.

• Last start: Win, 5 2/3 IP, 2 ER 6 H, 1 BB, 10 K in a 5-3 win over Oakland Saturday
• Career vs. Tampa Bay: 1-0, 1.42 ERA (6 1/3 IP, 1 ER), 4 H, 1 BB, 7 K in 1 start

Armstrong (1-1, 4.03 ERA) makes his 4th start. He has a 1.34 WHIP, 3.6 BB/9 and 10.5 K/9 in 22 1/3 IP.

• 2024 home splits: 1-1, 5.28 ERA (15 1/3 IP, 9 ER), 17 H, 6 BB, 17 K across 3 starts and 9 relief appearances
• Career vs. Kansas City: 1-0, 2.63 ERA (13 2/3 IP, 4 ER), 13 H, 3 BB, 13 K in 1 start and 10 relief appearances

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Royals at Rays odds

Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 8:06 p.m. ET.

• Moneyline (ML): Royals -120 (bet $120 to win $100) | Rays +102 (bet $100 to win $102)
• Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Royals -1.5 (+134) | Rays +1.5 (-162)
• Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -115 | U: -105)

Royals at Rays picks and predictions

Prediction

Royals 4, Rays 3

Moneyline

BET ROYALS (-120).

Kansas City has won 6 straight and is 8-2 in its last 10 while Tampa Bay has dropped each of its last 4. The Rays have also dropped 4 consecutive home games while the Royals are 4-3 in their last 7 on the road.

The Royals have also been very competitive when playing in Tampa, being 2-2 in the last 4 meetings between these squads in Tampa.

Run line/Against the spread

PASS.

I expect the Rays to cover here as +1.5 (-162) underdogs, especially given that they are 6-4 in their last 10 meetings with KC. However, the current line is not worth the risk so bet on the moneyline and/or total instead.

This line is also risky because Tampa is only 22-29 ATS this season, so avoid the line all-together.

Over/Under

BET UNDER 8 (-105).

The Under has hit in 3 of Tampa’s last 4 games and is 7-3 in its last 10 overall. For KC, the Under is 3-1 in its last 4 road games. The Under has also hit in 3 of the last 4 Kansas City-Tampa Bay matchups, being 6-4 in the last 10.

Be aware that the Over has hit in 4 consecutive games for the Royals.

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