Kansas City has some good vibes as the 2nd place team in the AL Central heading into the June 22nd Royals at Rangers betting matchup, but their recent play has fans thinking this is likely going to be the team’s 8th straight year finishing under .500. KC is still 42-35, but they’re trudging through a 2-5 road trip before heading back home for 10 games.
Texas (35-40) knows a thing or two about slumps, going through a 5-game losing streak before posting back to back wins including Friday’s 6-2 victory over the Royals. The Rangers can get back to .500 at home with a win on Saturday, and they are the -138 favorite.
Why Kansas City Has Value on Saturday
The Royals were at least half preparing to face a 3X Cy Young winner on Saturday, but even though Max Scherzer is 39 years old the fact that Jon Gray is taking the mound instead has to be at least a minor victory for KC. Scherzer might still return from back/thumb issues on Sunday, but for now the Royals get Gray who is coming off a 9ER outing in his last start as they try to even up the series. .
Gray has two starts and one bullpen appearance in his last three outings, but he’s thrown just 8.1 IP over that stretch. His ERA has ballooned to 10.80 in June – largely due to the horrible outing vs the Mets on Monday – and Bobby Witt, Jr. is 3-6 in his career vs. the Rangers pitcher. Hunter Renfroe is 6-15 vs Gray (.400) with 3 of those hits being home runs.
Opposing Gray will be Michael Wacha (4-5, 4.24 ERA) on the mound for Kansas City, making his first start of June after spending time on the IL with a broken foot. Wacha had a great May, allowing 2 ER or less in his last five starts of the month.
Why the Rangers Have Value on Saturday
Even though Scherzer is not starting, Texas might still have the pitching edge on Saturday. Wacha hasn’t started an MLB game in over three weeks and although he had a solid May, one of his outings last month was 7 ER allowed over 3.2 IP to this Texas club on the 4th in a 15-4 Rangers win.
Texas belted out 17 hits and a season high 15 runs the last time they faced Wacha as a starter, and Rangers star Corey Seager has gone 7-15 (.467) in his career vs the Royals pitcher. Texas went just 2-5 the past week, but so was Kansas City so recent trends are basically evened out in this matchup.
Gray (2-3, 3.31 ERA) got rocked in his last outing but he had allowed just 2 ER in his previous two appearances in June. The right-hander also has a 2.18 ERA in three career starts vs. Kansas City, and the Royals hit a mediocre .237 as a tam against Gray.
Free June 22nd Royals at Rangers Betting Pick
Combined these two clubs are 4-10 over their last 14 so there’s really no momentum on either side. The Rangers have at least scored 5+ runs in three straight games, while Kansas City has plated six runs total in their last three so the hotter offense is the play especially in a matchup of two iffy pitchers.
Free Pick: Rangers -138
Free Pick: Over 8.5
