KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – JUNE 24: Jonathan Aranda #62 of the Tampa Bay Rays reaches first base safely past Vinnie Pasquantino #9 of the Kansas City Royals for an infield hit in the fourth inning at Kauffman Stadium on June 24, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
The Tampa Bay Rays will continue their series with the Kansas City Royals tonight after notching a victory in game one. That win, which came behind the strength of Tampa Bay's pitching, marked the team's eighth win in their last 11 contests. Meanwhile, the Royals have lost three straight and will look to break out of their slump here.
Another excellent pitching performance might be in store when Drew Rasmussen takes the mound in this contest. Rasmussen has quietly been providing consistent starting pitching since 2022, although injuries have marred some of his fantastic statistical seasons. He has already made more starts in 2025 than he did in his last two seasons combined, earning a 2.61 ERA and a .97 WHIP over 15 outings. Despite these numbers, the Royals managed to tag Rasmussen for three runs in five innings of work the last time they faced off, showing that this is a potentially dangerous matchup.
There are plenty of solid veteran pitchers floating around the MLB, but few have been as overlooked as Michael Wacha. Wacha has seemingly been everywhere in the league, and at age 33, he is still putting up numbers that are more than serviceable, featuring a 3.24 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP in 15 starts. Only two batters in Kansas City's lineup own a career batting average over .250 against Wacha, making this game a favorable circumstance for Wacha to produce another quality start.
Spread
- Rays -1.5 (+126)
- Royals +1.5 (-146)
Moneyline
- Rays (-127)
- Royals (+114)
Totals
- Over 8.5 (-128)
- Under 8.5 (-114)
*The above data was collected on June 25, 2025, and may have changed since writing.
Rays vs Royals Betting Trends
- The Rays are 41-38 ATS this season.
- The Rays are 20-9 ATS as the away team.
- The under is 16-13 when Tampa Bay plays away from home.
- The Royals are 40-39 ATS this year.
- The Royals are 13-26 ATS when playing at home.
- The under is 36-21-1 when Kansas City plays an American League opponent.
Rays vs Royals Injury Reports
Tampa Bay Rays
- Ha-Seong Kim, SS - Out
- Richie Palacios, OF - Out
Kansas City Royals
- Michael Massey, DH - Out
Rays vs Royals Prediction and Pick
Arthur Reyes of Statsalt writes, "The ability to hit with runners in scoring position shows a significant difference for these teams, as Tampa Bay is third with a .814 team OPS while Kansas City is dead last with a .600 team OPS with runners in scoring position. Hitting home runs shows the ability to put runs on the board in a hurry, and there is a gap, as the Rays are 14th with 85 total home runs while the Royals are 29th with only 56 total homers hit. All in all, go with the Tampa Bay Rays to win on the road in this matchup."
The Rays are the right pick here. Rasmussen has been fantastic this season, and the Royals do not exactly boast an intimidating lineup, despite the fact that they managed some decent offensive numbers against the righty the last time he faced Kansas City. Take the road favorites to win this one.
