Royals vs. Rangers Prediction and Odds for Tuesday, May 10 (A Pair of Early Unders)

Martin Perez hopes to continue his sensational stretch of play as the Rangers host the Royals today
Martin Perez hopes to continue his sensational stretch of play as the Rangers host the Royals today / Ron Jenkins/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit

The 9-17 Kansas City Royals are 4-12 over their last 16 games as they head to Texas to open a series with the 11-16 Rangers.

Texas has won five of seven thanks to an excellent stretch from their pitching staff. Martin Perez hopes to continue an exceptional stretch of play in which he's allowed only one run across 20 innings in his last three starts. Despite a 2.25 ERA, Perez has yet to earn a win this season thanks to poor run support and a shaky bullpen.

Kansas City will counter with Brad Keller, who has become a stopper for the Royals. They go on a losing streak, then Keller comes in to stop it. He has a spectacular 1.74 ERA in five starts and has thrown a quality start four times.

Can Keller put a stop to the Royals' struggles or will Perez keep Texas hot?

Let's check out the odds from WynnBET to help find out ahead of this Royals vs Rangers matchup:

Royals vs Rangers Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line:

  • Royals +1.5 (-175)
  • Rangers -1.5 (+145)

Moneyline:

  • Royals: +120
  • Rangers: -130

Total:

  • 8.0 (Over -105/Under -115)

Royals vs Rangers Prediction and Pick

The Royals are terrible at almost everything. They have one of the worst offenses and pitching staffs in the league, which is a pretty bad combination. Their lone bright spots have been Andrew Benintendi and Brad Keller, so at least they'll have both playing today.

When I say Keller has been a bright spot, just know that the dude is shining. He's coming off 6.1 shutout innings against the Cardinals, and Kansas City will need his best effort today to hang around.

Why, do you ask? As great as Keller has been, it's possible Perez has been even better. He has a 0.45 ERA over his last three starts, including gems against potent offenses like Houston and Philadelphia.

Kansas City's offense is more pungent than potent, and I think Perez absolutely shuts them down today. The Royals are 29th in MLB in runs per game and 28th in OPS and will be the worst lineup that Perez has faced.

I'd love to recommend taking the under, but neither bullpen can be trusted. Especially not Kansas City's 28th-ranked unit. As a lifelong Royals fan who still lives near the stadium, this team is downright depressing.

But hey, maybe dollars help depression? Worth a shot, at least. So I've got two wagers in this one. To avoid a potential bullpen disaster, I'll focus on the early innings. Give me the first five innings under 4.0 (-115) and no run first inning (-110). If the Royals offense is going to be abysmal, at least we can profit from it!

Pick: First Five Innings Under 4.0 (-115) and No Run First Inning (-110)


Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.