Rangers vs Royals Prediction and Betting Odds May 12
Rangers vs Royals Betting Preview and Odds
Whit Merrifield hit his first home run of the season going 3-4 in total leading the Royals to an 8-2 win over the Rangers last night. Can he continue that momentum in what has been a struggling season overall thus far? WagerTalk MLB analyst Brian Ochsner offers his Texas Rangers vs Kansas City Royals betting preview for Thursday, May 12, with the first pitch scheduled for 8:05pm ET / 5:05pm PT.
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| Thursday, May 12 | MLB Betting Notes, Courtesy of Caesars |
|---|---|
| Moneyline: | Texas Rangers -132 vs Kansas City Royals +122 |
| Runline: | Rangers -1.5 (+150) / Royals -1.5 (-170) |
| Total: | 8.5 Runs (Over -105 / Under -115) |
| Game Time: | 8:05pm ET / 5:05pm PT |
| Where: | Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX |
| Weather: | 82 Degrees / Clear |
Rangers vs Royals Analysis
The Kansas City Royals visit Globe Life Field to take on the Texas Rangers in the rubber match of a three game series. On Tuesday, Whit Merrifield said publicly the Royals “need to get it going” on offense, and they responded Wednesday with an offensive explosion and an 8-2 win.
Tonight it’s a pitching matchup of native Texans as right-hander Jon Heasley from Plano goes against southpaw Taylor Hearn from Royse City.
Royals Preview
The Royals must have read my Wednesday game preview and wanted to prove me wrong about their lack of offense and bad bullpen. And they did a darn good job of it, breaking out of an almost season-long slump at the plate.
Merrifield blasted his first home run of the year, and Kansas City cruised to an easy victory. Relievers Gabe Speier and Joel Payamps set the tone on the mound with five scoreless innings and six strikeouts.
One of the Royals top pitching prospects, Jon Heasley, gets called up to the show and starts tonight after the club demoted Kris Bubic to the bullpen.
He pitched fairly well in his minor-league career with a 17-11 record, 3.66 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP in over 295 innings. He’s also given up 90 walks and struck out 305 in 65 career appearances and 58 starts.
Rangers Preview
After lots of crooked numbers in his stat line for his first four starts, Taylor Hearn had a solid outing against the Braves on May 1. He went 5.0 innings, gave up two earned runs, four hits, three walks and struck out six.
His season long numbers are about as high as Willie Nelson, with a 6.53 ERA and 1.84 WHIP, but it looks like he’s figuring things out at the major-league level.
The Texas offense has been powered almost entirely by Corey Seager and Brad Miller the last couple of games, as Seager hit three home runs and Miller hit two.
The Rangers have had similar problems at the plate as the Royals: Only one or two guys getting hits every game, and not being consistent enough.
Rangers vs Royals Prediction
It’s difficult to trust either team to pick a side because both teams have been inconsistent this year. One of my betting rules is not to bet on a bad team, unless they’re playing an equally bad or worse team and/or they’re in a good situation.
Both teams used six relievers in yesterday’s game and I can’t rely on either starter to “eat innings” or keep the other team’s offense in check. That’s why I’ll take the over 8.5 runs.
Prediction: Over 8.5 Total Runs Scored
Interested in placing a bet on Thursday’s Rangers vs Royals American League clash? Caesars Sports is offering up to a $1,500 match bet for first-time deposits in New Jersey, West Virginia, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona, New York and Louisiana.
First Pitch | MLB Betting Preview for May 12
Join Drew Martin and a rotating panel of guests for First Pitch as we break down the daily baseball slate from a betting perspective. The Yankees and White Sox kick off a 4-game series tonight with each having won four of their past five games. Who will come out on top today as Vince Velasquez and Luis Gil take the mound? Join WagerTalk’s team of MLB betting experts every weekday at 1:45pm ET / 10:45am PT for First Pitch as we discuss the baseball betting slate.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s Live Odds Screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the MLB moneylines, run lines and betting percentages for all of Thursday’s baseball games, including this Rangers vs Royals showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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Meet the Author
Brian Ochsner graduated from Kansas State University with degrees in Accounting and Agribusiness. He’s a life-long baseball fan and “numbers guy” who tolerates the Colorado Rockies (bad ownership), and is a Denver Broncos and Kansas State Wildcats fan. Along with his interest in the sports wagering industry, he enjoys eating good BBQ, reading books on marketing, finance and economics, and playing Texas Hold ‘Em poker.
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