Rays to Sting Royals as Tampa Bay visits Kansas City
by BetUS Staff
BetUS MLB betting odds: Tampa Bay -130, Kansas City +110; Total 9.5
The Kansas City Royals (46-57) in an AL game that is set to get underway at 8:10 PM ET at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City.
Right-handers do battle, as Edwin Jackson of the Rays (5-7, 4.25 ERA) duels with Brian Bannister of the Royals (7-8, 5.49 ERA).
At BetUS sports wagering favorite (Kansas City is +110), with a total of 9.5 runs (the Over is -120, while the Under is even money).
Here are some of the MLB Baseball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* TB has lost 10 of its last 14 games
* TB has lost its last seven road games
* KC has lost four of its last five home games
In the HEAD-TO-HEAD sports betting trends:
* TB has won 15 of the last 22 meetings
* Six of the last eight meetings have gone OVER the total
* KC has won six of the last nine meetings as the home team
On Thursday night, the Rays got a substandard effort from Matt Garza as they lost 4-2 to the Royals. And Tampa Bay could not get to Gil Meche, who pitched seven scoreless innings. Right now, the Rays are in a virtual tie with the Red Sox, holding a lead of just a few percentage points. They have an opportunity to gain some ground on Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.
Edwin Jackson is certainly capable of some outstanding performances. In eight of his starts this season he has allowed a single run or less. One of those instances was on the 4th of July, when he held the Royals to a run on four hits over eight innings. In his last outing he was knocked out of the box in the fifth inning against Toronto, after giving up six runs and eight hits. Jackson's strikeouts have been down lately; he has fanned only 15 batters in 43-2/3 innings over his last seven starts.
In that aforementioned July 4 game, Brian Bannister gave up six runs and eight hits to the Rays in five innings. That's indicative of the kind of run he's been on, where, in his last four starts, he's got a 10.70 ERA. He only lasted three innings in his last start, giving up eight hits and five runs to the White Sox. That's quite a contrast from the way he started the season, when he had a 0.86 ERA.
Obviously such a turnaround won't be enough to get a recommendation from us. And the Rays, who are just 19-26 on the road, are not giving us much confidence in this situation either. So we might go another way here. Bannister's last five starts have gone over the total. And unless he can reverse himself again, we see that trend continuing. We'll lay -120 and go OVER the 9.5 runs as it is posted in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds.
JAY'S PLAY: OVER 9.5 (-120)
Go to the BetUS Join BetUS to experience the best in online sports betting action!
(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com touches all the bases as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)
