Kansas City Royals vs Texas Rangers

Texas has won six of the past seven meetings after defeating the Royals 6-2 featuring a three-run double by Marcus Semien in the Rangers' five-run sixth inning. It was the second win in a row for the Rangers, who are desperately trying to get back to their World Series-winning form of 2023. Kansas City has lost seven of 10 and it is 17-21 on the road. Jon Gray goes for Texas today and the Rangers are 5-0 his past five home starts against teams with winning records and the Royals are 0-5 versus starters with a WHIP of greater than 1.30. The UNDER is 6-0 in Gray's past six starts versus winning teams and the Royals are 4-0 UNDER in Michael Wacha's past four starts as a road underdog. Kansas City is 5-2-1 UNDER overall its past eight games. Take the Rangers and the UNDER.

The Texas Rangers went all the way last year, and that set this season's expectations very high. The Rangers have not looked like that team from last season all year. The Rangers have been under the radar for a long time. They have gotten solid pitching, and the hitting has not been very strong. That has this Ranger team at 44-27-3 to the UNDER in their last 74 games. The Kansas City Royals are playing a lot like Texas. The pitching is good, but the hitting has been suspect. The Royals over their last seven games have played five UNDER the total. Make the play on the UNDER.

Texas is on a 12-14 run and plays its third straight road game. The relief staff is 19th in ERA (4.17) and 15th in WHIP. The Rangers have lost eight of their last nine after a win by 4+ runs. Meanwhile, Kansas City is on a 7-4 run winning five of those as an underdog. Kansas City is seventh in team ERA (3.41), plus 14th in the pen (3.70 ERA). The Royals are 12-4 at home against righty starters, plus 20-14 at home versus AL teams allowing 4.4 or fewer runs per game. Play Kansas City as a Max Play.  

Texas hasn't found that October magic yet, on an 11-14 run. They opened this series with a 7-1 loss to the Royals yesterday. Dane Dunning (4.13 ERA) has walked 16 batters in 32+ innings and Texas is 14-34 when Dunning starts on the road. Kansas City is on a 7-3 run. Michael Wacha has great control along with a 1.59 ERA at home. His teams are 21-5 when he starts at home. The Royals are 12-3 at home against righty starters, plus 17-8 versus AL teams with an on-base percentage .330 or worse. Kansas City is fourth in team ERA (3.07) with a Top 10 bullpen (3.28 ERA). And MLB teams like the Royals that are outscoring opponents by one or more runs per game are 30-4 after allowing one run or less in three consecutive contests. Play Kansas City as a Max Play.