Kansas City Royals at Texas Rangers Free Preview 05/27/18

The Kansas City Royals will be taking on the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park. Fox Sports Kansas City will broadcast this AL matchup and the first pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET.

Kansas City Royals vs. Texas Rangers Odds

Oddsmakers are listing Texas (-150) as the favorite over Kansas City (+140). The total sits at 10 runs and gamblers can wager on the over for -105 and the under for -115. Runline odds sit at -155 for taking the Royals +1.5 runs and +135 for the Rangers -1.5.

The Royals are just 17-35 SU and have gone 23-28 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 11.8 units for moneyline bettors and 9.7 units ATS. Kansas City is 3-4 ATS over its last seven games and the under has hit in three of those seven. The Rangers, on the other hand, are 22-32 SU and 22-31 ATS. The team has lost 3.0 units for moneyline bettors and 13.8 units ATS. Texas has a 3-4 ATS mark over its last seven games and the total has gone over in three of those seven.

Rangers games have had an over/under record of 26-22-5 so far in 2018. Royals games have gone under 28 times, gone over 20 times and pushed on three occasions.

The right-handed Jason Hammel is projected to start for the visiting Royals. Hammel is 1-5 with a 5.70 ERA and 33 strikeouts. He has yet to face Texas this year, but he did make two starts against the team in 2017, posting a 0-1 record with a 6.23 ERA and nine strikeouts.

The Rangers will turn to lefty Cole Hamels (3-4, 3.38 ERA) to the mound. Hamels has 64 punchouts and 23 walks to his name, as well as a WHIP of 1.23. Hamels made two starts against the team in 2017, posting a 1-0 record in 2017, posting a 1-0 record with a 0.57 ERA and eight strikeouts.

Kansas City’s pitching staff allowed 5.6 runs per game and its starters own a 5.45 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 7.23 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 5.15, along with a K-per-9 of 6.90.

The Royals offense has slashed .254/.320/.382 on its way to 4.0 runs scored per game in 2018, including 3.7 runs per game over the team’s last 10 games and 5.0 per game over the team’s last five contests (3-2 SU).

Kansas City’s hitters have been powered by outfielder Jon Jay and second baseman Whit Merrifield. Jay is hitting .289/.345/.333 with 58 hits, 14 RBIs and 21 runs scored, while Merrifield is hitting .288 with 57 hits, 21 RBIs, 25 runs and 12 stolen bases.

Merrifield didn’t seem to enjoy hitting against lefties on the road in 2017. Over 61 such plate appearances, he put up a slash line of .250/.262/.300 (his total season line was .288/.325/.460).

In the home-team dugout, Texas’ pitchers have yielded 5.4 runs per game overall this year. The team’s starting pitching staff has a 5.26 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 7.2 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 4.09 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 8.3 K/9.

The Texas offense is putting up 4.3 runs per contest, including 5.4 per game over its last 10 games and 6.4 per game over its last five. The team has a slash-line of .248/.353/.497 over its last five games and is 4-1 SU during that span.

The Rangers’ batters have been led by Nomar Mazara and Shin-soo Choo. Mazara is slashing .269/.335/.502 with 12 home runs, 34 RBIs and 30 runs scored, while Choo’s line sits at .259/.359/.423 with eight homers, 23 RBIs and 32 runs.

Compared to his overall season slash line of .253/.323/.422, Mazara enjoyed hitting against righties at home last season, slashing .312/.379/.526 over 240 such plate appearances.

The Royals have gained 1.7 units and are 11-8 ATS when facing a lefty starter this season. The over has cashed in eight of those games, compared to 11 that’ve gone under against left-handed starting pitchers. On the other hand, the Rangers have lost 1.2 units and are 16-21 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over has hit in 17 of those games, compared to 18 which went under the total.

Kansas City Royals at Texas Rangers Free Pick

Predictions: SU Winner – Rangers, ATS Winner – Royals, O/U – UNDER

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