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Royals vs. Rays prediction and odds for Friday, June 23

By Josh Yourish

May 31, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Zach Eflin (24) throws the ball against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
May 31, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Zach Eflin (24) throws the ball against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports /
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For the second game between the last place Kansas City Royals and the first place Tampa Bay Rays the pitching matchup will feature Zack Greinke and Zach Eflin. The loser might have to change the final letter of their name. It’s Game 2 of four and the Rays need to make sure they take care of business in as many of these matchups as possible after splitting a four-gamer with Oakland earlier this month.

Greinke is 1-7 in his 15 starts this year with a 4.81 ERA for the Royals while Eflin is 8-3 with a 3.26 ERA. The Rays are big favorites with the better Zach on the mound in this one. Let’s take a look at the odds.

Royals vs. Rays odds, run line and total

Royals vs. Rays prediction and pick

The Rays are great at home, much better than on the road and that’s already bad news for the Royals in the Trop tonight and this whole weekend, but what’s worse is that their starting pitcher is much worse on the road too.

Greinke had staggering home/road splits last season and that’s the case again this year. In eight starts at home he is 1-3 with a 3.77 ERA and six home runs allowed over 43.0 innings. In seven starts on the road he is 0-4 and has a 6.15 ERA with eight home runs given up in just 33.2 innings pitched. That’s a completely different pitcher and while his numbers look bad overall, he’s actually serviceable in Kansas City, but maybe they should stop bringing him on road trips.

On the other side, Zach Eflin has been so solid for Tampa Bay with 77 strikeouts to just 13 walks in 77.1 innings across his 13 starts. He won’t give up anything easy to the Royals and that’s about the only way that they can score runs. This feels like a big win for Tampa Bay and a high-scoring matchup. I think the run line is a better bet than the over, but I’m comfortable with either.

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change