MLB Predictions & Odds 4/18/23

Texas Rangers (10-6) vs. Kansas City Royals (4-13)
April 18, 2023 7:40 pm EDT
The Line: Kansas City Royals +100 / Texas Rangers -120; Over/Under: +8.5
(Get latest betting odds)

The Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals meet Tuesday in MLB action at Kauffman Stadium. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.

The Texas Rangers have scored 15 runs in their last 3 games and 4 or more runs in 6 of their last 8 games. The Rangers are 9-0 this season when scoring 4 or more runs. Josh Jung leads the Rangers with 17 hits and 9 RBI, while Marcus Semien and Nathaniel Lowe have combined for 34 hits and 26 RBI. Nathan Eovaldi gets the ball, and he is 1-2 with a 6.32 ERA and 19 strikeouts this season. Eovaldi is 3-2 with a 4.62 ERA and 36 strikeouts in his career against the Royals.

The Kansas City Royals have scored 7 runs in their last 3 games and 3 or fewer runs in 5 of their last 8 games. The Royals are 1-10 this season when scoring 3 or fewer runs. Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals with 17 hits and 6 RBI, while Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez have combined for 28 hits and 13 RBI. Brad Keller gets the ball, and he is 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA and 16 strikeouts this season. Keller is 1-2 with a 6.35 ERA and 16 strikeouts in his career against the Rangers.

The Rangers are 4-1 in their last 5 road games and 6-2 in their last 8 overall. The Royals are 1-10 in their last 11 home games and 6-20 in their last 26 overall. The over is 7-2 in Rangers last 9 overall. The over is 5-2 in Royals last 7 overall. The Rangers are 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Kansas City and 37-14 in the last 51 meetings.

Brad Keller has been one of the few bright spots for the Royals this season, but it probably doesn’t matter given that they can’t score runs. The Texas Rangers continue to show healthy production offensively, and Nathan Eovaldi is a better pitcher than what he’s shown through his first few starts. Hard to turn down the Rangers at such a cheap price.