The Royals edged the Rangers 4-3 on Monday night thanks to home runs from Mike Yastrzemski, Vinnie Pasquantino, and Maikel Garcia, continuing Kansas City’s recent surge as they’ve now won six of their last eight games.
Texas dropped its fifth game in its last six and slipped further below .500, struggling again to find offensive consistency. The Rangers did rally late but ultimately fell short, marking the fourth straight head-to-head win for Kansas City this season.
Merrill Kelly (9-7, 3.36 ERA) gets the start for Texas, though he has gone 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA since being acquired at the deadline.
For Kansas City, Seth Lugo (8-6, 3.77 ERA) will take the ball, bringing with him strong home splits and a history of dominance against the Rangers’ active roster.
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He’s been a steady strikeout arm at Kauffman Stadium, posting 9.3 K/9 at home compared to just 7.1 on the road. The Rangers’ lineup, while dangerous in theory, has been among the league’s least disciplined this year, ranking 24th in strikeout rate and fanning nearly a quarter of the time against right-handed pitching. Lugo has also dominated this roster historically, holding Texas hitters to a .071 average with an 11.7 K/9 across previous matchups. His ability to mix speeds and expand the zone late in counts makes him especially effective against swing-happy lineups like the Rangers.
Kelly has been one of the most effective pitchers in baseball against right-handed hitters this season, holding them to a .196 average and just a .545 OPS, which ranks among the top five starters in MLB. Lugo has been equally steady, limiting first-pitch damage better than any starter in the league and keeping hitters uncomfortable the first time through the order.
Both lineups have been underwhelming, with Texas ranking 28th in batting average and 27th in OPS, while Kansas City sits 27th in runs per game. The bullpens also help support an under look, as the Rangers lead MLB in ERA (3.44) and WHIP (1.18), while the Royals are top-10 in both ERA (3.60) and defensive efficiency.
Yesterday’s matchup finished with seven total runs, and with two pitchers who can work deep and two offenses that have been below average, another low-scoring affair is well within expectation.
Pick: Under 8.5 (-104 at FanDuel)
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.si.com ’
