The Kansas City Royals and the Tampa Bay Rays will both be gunning for a victory on Thursday when they meet at Tropicana Field.
Luke Hochevar will be the starting pitcher for the Royals on this day. Righthander Hochevar is 2-0 this season with a 3.55 ERA.
Starting this game for the Rays will be Matt Garza. The righthander has a 2.17 ERA to go along with a 3-1 record this season.
Oddsmakers currently have the Rays listed as 245-moneyline favorites versus the Royals, while the game’s total is sitting at 8½.
The Royals were trimmed 6-5 by the Mariners last time out, as +100 underdogs. That game’s 11 runs made it OVER the posted over/under (9.5) set by sportsbooks.
Brad Thompson surrendered the winning run in relief and was tagged with the loss.
Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena went deep with two RBIs apiece on Wednesday, leading the Rays to a 10-3 rout of the A’s. The Rays won that game as -155 favorites, and the 13 runs sailed OVER the posted over/under (8.5) set by sportsbooks.
James Shields fanned 12 batters over seven innings for the win, allowing six hits and one earned run.
Current streak:
Kansas City has lost 2 straight games.
Tampa Bay has won 4 straight games.
Team records:
Kansas City: 8-13 SU
Tampa Bay: 16-5 SU
Kansas City most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 3-7
Before playing Tampa Bay are 1-9
After playing Seattle are 2-8
After a loss are 5-5
Tampa Bay most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 7-3
Before playing Kansas City are 6-4
After playing Oakland are 5-5
After a win are 8-2
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Kansas City’s last 12 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Kansas City’s last 14 games when playing Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 16 of Kansas City’s last 24 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Kansas City’s last 9 games
Tampa Bay is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing Kansas City
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Tampa Bay’s last 8 games at home
Tampa Bay is 13-2 SU in its last 15 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tampa Bay’s last 7 games
Next up:
Tampa Bay home to Kansas City, Friday, April 30
