On the Friday MLB betting board we have the 49-52 Kansas City Royals versus the 59-44 Texas Rangers in the second of a four game series in Arlington, Texas. The first pitch is scheduled to be thrown at 8:05 PM ET at Globe Life Park on July 29, 2016.
In Game 1 of this four game series played yesterday the Rangers got the best of the Royals 3-2 getting the money as a large -165 favorite. These two teams traded runs in the second and fifth before Texas broke the tie with the winning run in the eighth. Kansas City did outhit the home squad six to four, but Hamels got out of any trouble that arose by striking out 12 over eight innings to get the win.
The Royals have now lost five of their last six games and sit in 4th place in the AL Central nine games back of the Cleveland Indians. Kansas City ranks 26th in the Majors in runs scored and 19th in team ERA.
The Rangers snapped their two-game losing streak with their victory over the Royals yesterday and they hold first place in the AL West three games up on the Houston Astros. Texas ranks a solid 6th in runs scored, but only 24th in team ERA.
Pitching Match Up
Kansas City: Edinson Volquez (8-8, 4.56 ERA)
Texas: A.J. Griffin (3-1, 4.06 ERA)
Edinson Volquez goes for the Royals tonight and in his last outing he faced the Rangers and went six innings and gave up one earned run, but the Royals still lost 2-1. The Royals had won his previous two starts. The Royals are 2-5 in Volquez’s last 7 road starts. In Volquez’s last 10 starts facing a team with a winning record Kansas City has only won two times.
A.J. Griffin gets the nod tonight for the Rangers tonight and he opposed Volquez in his last outing against the Kansas City going five innings and giving up an earned run the Texas win. The Rangers had lost his previous two starts. The Rangers are 7-3 in Griffin’s last 10 starts. In an interesting trend the Rangers have won their last five games in Game 2 of a series with Griffin on the hill.
Betting Angles
- The Royals are 5-2 in their last 7 games against the Rangers.
- In the last 26 games between these teams the Under record is 17-4-5.
- In the last 11 games between these teams in Texas the Under record is 6-2-3.
- This season the Rangers are 31-17 at home and the Royals are 17-33 on the road.
STRAIGHT UP / OVER/UNDER / RUN LINE RECORDS
Kansas City Royals: 49-52 SU / O/U 45-51 / Run Line W/L 51-49
Texas Rangers: 59-44 SU / O/U 54-44 / Run Line W/L 56-47
Kansas City at Texas Key Betting Trends
- KC is 7-19 in their last 26 road games.
- KC is 4-10 in their last 14 games vs. a right-handed starter.
- KC has an Under record of 4-1 in their last 5 road games.
- TEX is 29-14 in their last 43 home games.
- TEX is 7-15 in their last 22 overall.
- TEX has an Over record of 8-3-2 in their last 13 home games.
Key Player Injuries
ROYALS
[P] 07/19/2016 – Kris Medlen 60-day DL (5/11) ( Shoulder )
[CF] 06/29/2016 – Lorenzo Cain 15-day DL (6/29) ( Hamstring )
[3B] 05/26/2016 – Mike Moustakas 60-day DL (5/23); out for season ( Knee )
[P] 04/04/2016 – Tim Collins 60-day DL; out for season ( Elbow )
[P] 03/31/2016 – Jason Vargas 60-day DL (3/15) ( Elbow )
[P] 04/10/2016 – Mike Minor 60-day DL (3/15) ( Shoulder )
RANGERS
[RF] 04/04/2016 – Josh Hamilton 60-day DL (3/25) ( Knee )
[C] 07/07/2016 – Bryan Holaday 60-day DL (7/5) ( Thumb )
[DH] 07/20/2016 – Prince Fielder 15-day DL (7/19), out for season ( Neck )
[RF] 07/20/2016 – Shin-Soo Choo 15-day DL (7/20) ( Back )
[P] 06/26/2016 – Colby Lewis 60-day DL (6/22) ( Back )
[P] 06/22/2016 – Derek Holland 60-day DL (6/21) ( Shoulder )
[P] 05/28/2016 – Tanner Scheppers 60-day DL (3/25) ( Knee )
[CF] 05/24/2016 – Drew Stubbs 60-day DL (5/23) ( Toe )
